Mainichi Shimbun

The Mainichi Shimbun

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Blanket (54.6 cm x 40.65 cm)
Owner(s)	The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
Publisher	Masato Kitamura
Founded	February 21, 1872
Language	Japanese
Headquarters	Tokyo
Circulation	Morning edition: 3,945,646 Evening edition: 1,610,293 (ABC Japan, average for July-December 2005)
Website	www.mainichi.co.jp

File:A Japanese newspaper on the plane.jpg

The front-page of Mainichi Shimbun.

Newsroom at Mainichi Shimbun.

The Mainichi Shimbun (毎日新聞, Mainichi Shimbun, lit. "Daily News") is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd (株式会社毎日新聞社, Kabushiki-gaisha Mainichi Shinbunsha).

History

The history of the Mainichi Shimbun begins with founding of two papers during the Meiji period. The Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun was founded first, in 1872. Its 135-year-long history makes the Mainichi the oldest Japanese newspaper. The Osaka Mainichi Shimbun was founded four years later, in 1876. The two papers merged in 1911, but the two companies continued to print their newspapers independently until 1943, when both editions were placed under a Mainichi Shimbun masthead. In 1966 the Tokyo office was moved from Yurakucho to Takebashi, and in 1992 the Osaka office was moved from Dojima to Nishi-Umeda.

The Mainichi has 3,200 employees working in 364 offices in Japan and 26 bureaus overseas. The Mainichi is one of Japan’s big three newspapers in terms of circulation and employee numbers, and has 79 associated companies, including Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) and the Sports Nippon Newspaper.

Two former Mainichi Newspapers Chief Executive Officers have gone on to become prime ministers of Japan. The Mainichi is the only Japanese newspaper company to have won a Pulitzer Prize. The Japan Newspapers Association, made up of 180 news organizations, has granted the Mainichi is Grand Prix award on 21 occasions, making the Mainichi the most frequent winner of the distinguished prize since its inception in 1957.

In addition to the Mainichi Shimbun, which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language Web version of the defunct Mainichi Daily News, and publishes a bilingual news magazine, Mainichi Weekly. It also publishes paperbacks, books and other magazines, including a weekly news magazine, Sunday Mainichi.

Like other Japanese newspaper companies, Mainichi hosts many cultural events such as art exhibitions and sporting events. Among them, the most famous are the Sembatsu high school baseball tournament held every spring at Koshien Stadium, and the non-professional baseball tournament held every summer in the Tokyo Dome (formerly held in Korakuen Stadium).

Partnership with MSN

On 15 January 2004, Mainichi Shimbun and MSN Japan announced they were to merge their websites. The partnership has been known as MSN-Mainichi Interactive, effective since 1 April 2004. On 18 September 2007, Mainichi announced the launch of their new website, mainichi.jp, which would include "heavy use of social bookmarking, RSS and blog parts" and will "pay attention to bloggers". The new website began operations on 1 October 2007, marking the end of MSN-Mainichi Interactive, and was replaced by mainichi.jp. The English-language Mainichi Daily News also moved to the new website. MSN-Japan switched to Sankei Shimbun.

'WaiWai' controversy and abolition

For years the online-only English version of the Mainichi Daily News ran a feature called WaiWai, in which articles from Japanese weekly tabloids were translated and presented in English by Ryann Connell. These articles routinely featured ribald material and graphic descriptions. They appeared in their own section separate from the normal news headlines, and a disclaimer noted that their veracity was always suspect, but that they were presented for entertainment purposes only.

In late May 2008, bloggers on the Japanese bulletin board 2channel complained to the Mainichi that the WaiWai articles were shining a negative light on the country of Japan. The editorial board of the Mainichi blocked access to the archived past stories and announced a “fundamental review” of its editorial policy regarding the feature. Upon receiving further criticism, the Mainichi promised “to severely punish the head of the Digital Media Division, which is responsible for overseeing the site, the manager responsible for the corner and the editor involved with the stories.” On June 21 2008,Mainichi decided to abolish the corner. As of yet, 2channel bloggers have not demanded the Japanese tabloid magazines, the original source of the WaiWai articles, to cease publication. Similar sordid and vulgar articles, written by Japanese reporters, remain available in these publications, on sale at all bookstores nationwide. One case where the journalist had been making a change to a former article was confirmed. Other cases will be investigated by third-party institution.

Disposal (On June 27 2008)

Head of editorial department : Official position stop 2 months

Charge vice-chief of bureau : Official position stop 1 month

Charge chief of bureau : Director's fee 20% Return 1 month

Charge managing director : Director's fee 10% Return 1 month

Sentence making correspondence journalist : Discipline & Suspend from duty 3 months

Tabloid Tokyo series:

Tabloid Tokyo: 101 Tales of Sex, Crime and the Bizarre from Japan's Wild Weeklies. Ryann Connell, Kodansha International

1. Released September,2005 ISBN 9784770028921
2. Released April,2007 ISBN 9784770030603
3. Released September,2008 ISBN 9784770030856

The following is a compilation of article titles that appeared in the WaiWai feature. These articles are the one referred in en.wikipedia.org.

• "Deserted daughter causes howls when she bolts from 'whipped dog' kennel", Mainichi Shimbun, January 28, 2005.
• "Durable love dolls turn amazing tricks, but at a fat price." Mainichi Daily News. December 11, 2003.
• "More moms going down, to ensure grades go up!." Mainichi Daily News. January 6, 2002.
• "Top dog Sugita digs her way to freedom", Mainichi Shimbun, June 25, 2005, Connell, Ryann.
• Razor Ramon slices along Japan's cutting edge. Mainichi Daily News. Connell, Ryann. January 22, 2007 .
• Sinking starlets see nothing wrong in stripping to save career. Mainichi Daily News. Connell, Ryann. February 16, 2007.
• Gigantic J-cup model left lopsided after breast implosion. Mainichi Daily News. Connell, Ryann April 11, 2007.
• "Boom or bust: Breast milk ballyhooed to beat the bulge". Mainichi Daily News. Connell, Ryann April 20, 2007.
• Iconic gay magazine has revolving door installed in financial closet (English). Mainichi Shimbun. Connell, Ryann.
• "'Oh ****!' - Foul-mouthed starlet Sawajiri's career in crisis", Mainichi Shimbun, April 11, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "Baby, take off your dress, but you can leave your facemask on!", Mainichi Shimbun, April 25, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Beach volleyball star and Olympic no-show Miwa Asao pays the bills without the skills", Mainichi Shimbun, May 2, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "Ex-Morning Musume star Ai Kago blazing a trail back to top (using a cigarette lighter)", Mainichi Shimbun, April 18, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "Exposed genitalia makes breakthrough on Japan's silver screens", Mainichi Shimbun, August 5, 2005. Connell, Ryann.
• "Fallen star hits rock bottom after meteoric demise", Mainichi Shimbun, July 6, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Friendless fascists pay high price to be Mr Right", Mainichi Shimbun, November 1, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "From AV to TV, Ai Iijima faces the final curtain after doing it 'her way'", Mainichi Shimbun, March 9, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Fumie Hosokawa's triple trouble: single, unemployed, and possibly preggers", Mainichi Shimbun, September 14, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Girls gush over pleasures of new age bathroom relief", WaiWai, Mainichi Shinbun, 2002-07-29. Connell, Ryann.
• "Hikaru Kawamura strives to stop secret skinflick from seeing the light of day", Mainichi Shimbun, February 1, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "It might take two to tango, but only one to Tenga", Mainichi Shimbun, December 20, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Japan's biggest male porno star finds his career going flaccid", Mainichi Shimbun, May 28, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Japan's former Pink Princess trades raunchy scenes for rural canteen", Mainichi Shimbun, March 2, 2006. Connell, Ryann.
• "Japan's king of porn gets his hands dirty once again -- on the farm", February 26, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Japan's latest titillating trend: Hiding those huge hooters!" at Mainichi Daily News, December 8, 2006. Connell, Ryann.
• "Japanese bondage documentary 'Bakushi' knot suitable for faint-hearted", Mainichi Shimbun, May 27, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "Ladies flash the cash, but don't want the money shot in their dirty DVDs", Mainichi Shimbun, June 5, 2006. Connell, Ryann.
• "Panty sellers roll in the cash by rolling off their soiled skimpies in disabled toilets", Mainichi Daily News, October 23, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Pin-up girls Yinling of Joytoy, Yoko Kamon have intimates bared after MPD file leak", Mainichi Shimbun, June 22, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Porno actor Chocoball Mukai to bite into world of professional wrestling", Mainichi Shimbun, December 28, 2005. Connell, Ryann.
• "Porno queen's mysterious death -- murder or suicide?", mainichi-msn.co.jp, July 11, 2005. Connell, Ryann.
• "Present-hunting parents say domo arigato, Mr. Airboto", Mainichi Shimbun, December 19, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Preserve Japan's tacky shag shacks as World Heritage sites, says love hotel aficionado", Mainichi Shimbun, August 31, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Sexy Kano sisters flash the flesh but men denied a peek", Mainichi Daily News, 5 April 2006. Connell, Ryann.
• "Sexy thespian Tomoko Yamaguchi uses booby trap to snare audience for TV show", Mainichi Shimbun, January 11, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "Sourpuss thespian Sawajiri snared in Doppelgang bang scandal", Mainichi Shimbun, February 29, 2008. Connell, Ryann.
• "Surgeon says demise of hymen restoration operations no skin off his, er... nose?", December 4, 2006. Connell, Ryann.
• "Thinking man's idol Rei Kikukawa shows off the boobs as well as the brains", Mainichi Shimbun, April 20, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Weekly hacks expose the dirty secrets of squeaky-clean soaplands", Mainichi Shimbun, May 18, 2007. Connell, Ryann.
• "Yen and the art of Takashi Murakami", Mainichi Shimbun, August 7, 2007. Kamiyama, Masuo.
• "The dark side of baseball's brightest star". Mainichi Daily News, Kamiyama, Masuo.
• "What to do if a groped gal fingers you." Mainichi Daily News. Kamiyama, Masuo.
• "The sultry secrets of AV starlets' prolonged careers", mainichi-msn.co.jp, October 22, 2005.

Peculiar meta-keywords in website

On 23 June 2008 the Mainichi Daily News(MDN) website apparently removed some meta-keywords. It was "japanese girls" and "hentai". This is often seen in the pornography site. It is thought that MDN camouflaged the pornography site to increase the number of accesses. But, indecent sentences were obviously included in a part of MDN(Refer to the previous chapter.) . Mainichi confirmed fabrication was included in at least one article. Therefore, it is necessary to note it for the reference to the article.

MDN's meta-keywords transition history

June 22 2008:

<meta name="keywords" content="japan news,mainichi,mainichi daily news,mainichi daily,daily mainichi,mdn,mainichi shimbun,shimbun,news,nikkei,yen,asia,asian,asians,japan,tokyo,japanese,osaka,japanese dictionary,nippon,japanese names,nihon,japan airlines,kanji,japanese translation,kyoto,japanese girls,geisha,japanese english dictionary,samurai,japanese symbols,ninja,haiku,waiwai,wai wai,wa,anime,animation,hentai,manga,comic,j-pop">

June 26 2008:

<meta name="keywords" content="japan news,mainichi,mainichi daily news,mainichi daily,daily mainichi,mdn,mainichi shimbun,shimbun,news,nikkei,yen,asia,asian,asians,japan,tokyo,japanese,osaka,japanese dictionary,nippon,japanese names,nihon,japan airlines,kanji,japanese translation,kyoto,japanese english dictionary,samurai,japanese symbols,ninja,haiku,anime,animation,manga,comic,j-pop" />

June 28 2008:

<meta name="keywords" content=""mainichi,mainichi daily news,mainichi daily,daily mainichi,mdn,mainichi shimbun,shimbun,news" />

Offices

Palaceside Building, the headquarters of Mainichi Shimbun in Tokyo.

Osaka Office

• Tokyo Head Office (東京本社, Tōkyo Honsha), corporate headquarters

1-1-1, Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

• Osaka Office (大阪本社, Ōsaka Honsha)

3-4-5, Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka

• Seibu Office (西部本社, Seibu Honsha)

13-1, Konya-machi, Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu

• Chubu Office (中部本社, Chūbu Honsha)

Midland Square, 4-7-1, Meieki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya

See also

• Japanese media
• Mainichi Film Awards

External links

• mainichi.jp（毎日ＪＰ）, News in Japanese
• Mainichi Daily News, News in English
• Corporate, Corporate information in English