When was the Asahi Shimbun founded?
The Asahi Shimbun was founded on the 25th of January 1879 in Osaka. It launched as a four-page illustrated paper selling for one sen a copy, with a founding circulation of approximately three thousand copies.
Questions about The Asahi Shimbun
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the Asahi Shimbun's circulation today?
As of June 2025, the Asahi Shimbun had a morning edition circulation of 3.26 million and an evening edition circulation of 892,295. By print circulation it ranks second in Japan behind the Yomiuri Shimbun and second in the world.
What is the Asahi Shimbun's political stance?
The Asahi Shimbun is considered left-leaning and has been called the intellectual flagship of Japan's political left. It takes a progressive stance on cultural and diplomatic issues but holds a neoliberal economic position. It has consistently supported Japan's postwar constitution, including Article 9, which bars the use of war to resolve disputes.
What controversies has the Asahi Shimbun been involved in?
Major controversies include the 1989 KY case, in which an Asahi photographer fabricated evidence of coral reef damage near Okinawa, leading to the president's resignation; the 2014 retraction of comfort women articles based on the discredited testimony of Seiji Yoshida; and the Fukushima Daiichi reporting dispute, in which the paper's headline about plant workers was widely criticized for implying cowardice, leading to another presidential resignation.
How did the Asahi Shimbun behave during World War II?
From the latter half of the 1930s, the Asahi ardently supported Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe's wartime government under Editor in Chief Taketora Ogata. Key editorial writers were members of the Showa Kenkyukai, a political think tank advising Konoe. After the war ended, the president and senior executives resigned en masse on the 5th of November 1945 to accept collective responsibility.
What is the Asahi Prize?
The Asahi Prize is an award established in 1929 and administered since 1992 by the Asahi Shimbun Foundation. It recognizes achievements in scholarship or the arts that have made a lasting contribution to Japanese culture or society.