Type
Blanket (54.6 cm x 40.65 cm)
Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd. (mostly owned by Fuji Media Holdings)
Takamitsu Kumasaka
March 1, 1882 (as Jiji News); June 20, 1933 (as Nihon Kogyo Shimbun)
Japanese
- Tokyo
- Osaka
It and its English-language paper Japan Forward have been described as having a far-right[14][15][16][17] or right-wing[18] political stance. It has previously published books denying the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II,[19] and has expressed skepticism that the Kantō Massacre occurred.[20]
Corporate profile[edit]
The Sankei Shimbun is part of the Fujisankei Communications Group and is 40% owned by Fuji Media Holdings. The company is also the owner of Osaka Broadcasting Corporation (OBC, Radio Osaka).
History[edit]
The Sankei Shimbun was created by the merger of two older newspapers: Jiji News and Nihon Kogyō Shimbun. Jiji News was founded in 1882 by author, translator, and journalist Fukuzawa Yukichi, who also founded Keio University. Nihon Kogyō Shimbun, founded in 1933 by Hisakichi Maeda, specialized in business and was published by the Minami-Osaka Shimbun (the South Osaka Evening newspaper). In 1941, the Osaka Shimbun (renamed from Minami-Osaka Shimbun) merged with Osaka Jiji Shimpō (Jiji-Shimpō Osaka edition). The following year, Nihon Kogyō Shimbun merged with other business newspapers in Western Japan, and changed its name to the Sangyō Keizai Shimbun (or the Sankei). In 1955, the Sankei merged with Jiji Shimpō. In 1959, the Sankei and Jiji Shimpō were placed under the Sankei Shimbun masthead.[21]
In 1958, the Sankei was acquired by Shigeo Mizuno and Nobutaka Shikanai. After financial difficulties, it changed direction from being liberal to being conservative (Tenkō). Both Mizuno and Shikanai would go on to found Fuji Television a year later.[22]
The Sankei Shimbun started two online newspapers in 1996: Sankei Web, in website style, and E-NEWS, in personal digital assistant style. In 2001, the Sankei Shimbun started a new electronic newspaper delivery edition, NEWSVUE. In 2002, the Sankei Shimbun merged with Osaka Shimbun. Both editions were placed under the Sankei Shimbun masthead. In 2005, the Sankei Shimbun added video to its digital edition, suitable for smartphone, and renamed it as Sankei NetView. In 2007, the Sankei Shimbun started a new online newspaper, MSN Sankei News, in collaboration with Microsoft. In 2014 the Sankei Shimbun rebranded its online news as Sankei News.[21]
In 2017, Sankei Shimbun launched the English language online website Japan Forward.