This is a big news paper. 

The Yomiuri Shimbun is a major newspaper in Japan. 

The Yomiuri Shimbun is a very important newspaper in Japan. 
This newspaper works by printing stories twice every single day. 
The history of this paper began a long time ago in 1874.
There are many impressive numbers tied to this newspaper.
You might see the Yomiuri name in many parts of daily life. It is the financial patron of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. The company also owns the Nippon Television network. They even own an amusement park called Yomiuriland. If you like reading old history, you might use their digital tools. In 1999, they released CD-ROMs to help people search old news. These allow readers to see digital images of articles from the Meiji Era. This makes it much easier to study how the past looked.
The Yomiuri Shimbun is a major Japanese newspaper based in Tokyo. 
The newspaper operates through a complex organizational structure. It is a privately held company by law. The ownership belongs to present and former employees. The Matsutarō Shōriki family also holds a significant stake. This family has owned part of the company since 1924. Currently, they own 45.26% of the stock. However, the family does not manage the daily executive operations. The paper is printed twice every day. It also produces several different local editions for various regions. In 2009, the paper formed a tie-up with The Wall Street Journal. They work together on editing, printing, and distribution. This partnership allows the Yomiuri to summarize Asian news headlines from the Journal. 
Historically, the Yomiuri began as a small daily publication. It was launched in 1874 by the Nisshusha newspaper company. 
The postwar period brought significant challenges and changes. In 1945 and 1946, the paper faced a labor scandal. A group called the "democratization group" wanted Shōriki removed from power. They disagreed with his support for Imperial Japan during World War II. Shōriki responded by firing five members of this group. This led to the first "production control" strike on October 27, 1945. This specific strike method later became a common tactic for unions. Shōriki was arrested in December 1945 as a Class-A war criminal. He was sent to Sugamo Prison. Employees continued to produce the paper despite executive orders. This lasted until a police raid occurred on June 21, 1946. The charges against Shōriki were eventually dropped in 1948.
The Yomiuri Shimbun has achieved massive scale in the modern era. In 1994, its daily circulation exceeded 10 million copies. By 2010, Guinness World Records recognized it for its scale. It held the record for the highest daily newspaper circulation globally. It was also the only paper with a morning circulation over 10 million. As of December 2024, its morning circulation was 5.7 million. Under editor-in-chief Tsuneo Watanabe, the paper gained international prominence. Watanabe served from 1991 until his death in 2024. He was noted for his influence over Japanese politics. The paper also established the Yomiuri Prize in 1949. Famous authors like Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami have won it.
The Yomiuri Group is a massive conglomerate with many different branches. It owns the Nippon Television network. It also owns the Chuokoron-Shinsha publishing company. The group includes the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. It even owns an amusement park called Yomiuriland. The group also publishes The Japan News, an English-language daily. This paper was originally established in 1955 as The Daily Yomiuri. The company also publishes the Hochi Shimbun, which focuses on sports.
Digital technology has also changed how the company manages its history. In 1999, the company released a series of CD-ROMs. These archives included news from the Meiji Era. They used digitalized images from microfilm to show original print versions. This allowed users to search for specific articles and pictures. Other collections covered the Taishō Era and the pre-war Shōwa Era. These digital resources are used in many major academic libraries in the United States. This helps researchers study how news was presented in the past. The company continues to manage its news through digital platforms today.
🖼️ Images & Media (6)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.