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Development of Mass Media in Japan & Its Background

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Development of Mass Media in Japan & Its Background COVER STORY • 1 Development of Mass Media in Japan & Its Background By IWASAKI Ieo Dawning of Cross-Media Age tion of multi-function next-generation reached about 90% around 1900. In mobile phones, large-sized liquid-crystal those days, it was extremely high com- The advancement of mass media such home TV sets geared to digitized broad- pared with the rest of the world. The as television, newspapers, magazines and casting and personal computers. advancement of Japan’s publishing cul- radio contributed in no small measure to ture was backed by the presence of the the economic development of Japan in High Literacy, Reading Public highly literate general public eager to the second half of the 20th century. TV Back Japan’s Modernization read. This is an important factor that broadcasting was introduced in the needs to be taken into account when 1950s and took root in Japanese society Japan’s modernization and successful reviewing the development of Japan’s during the so-called “high growth peri- advance into an industrial society since mass media. od” of the Japanese economy in the the Meiji Restoration of 140 years ago 1960s. It was TV that did the most to have owed a great deal to the print Basis of Media Development Built evolve the country’s sophisticated mass media, such as newspapers and maga- in Edo Era consumption society against that eco- zines, and the publishing culture, which nomic background. had already taken root in the Edo era During the Bunka and Bunsei periods In Japanese homes’ living rooms, TV (1603-1867), against the background of (the early 19th century) of the Edo era, took its place like a family member, pro- the high literacy ratio of the Japanese the publishing culture came to flourish. vided various news, information on life public. Since the Meiji Restoration, In the Kanei period (the mid-17th cen- and the economy, and entertainment, Japan successfully achieved moderniza- tury) of the early Edo era, Japan’s pub- and aroused a strong desire for con- tion ahead of other Asian countries. lishing culture began with the wood- sumption through advertisements. TV Behind the success was the fact that the print publication of Chinese classics and broadcasting is scheduled to be com- Japanese people’s literacy ratio was Buddhist scriptures by bookstores in pletely digitized in 2011, triggering a already very high toward the end of the Kyoto. For the sake of the reading pub- drastic change in the country’s media Edo era, even compared with Western lic, Ihara Saikaku’s Ukiyozoshi entertain- environment. This, coupled with the powers. ing stories (novels of the floating world) rapid spread of a high-speed data com- In the Bunka period (1804-1818) of were published during the Genroku munication network, will cause Japan to the Edo era, there were as many as period in the latter half of the 17th cen- enter a cross-media age – the fusion of 1,200 to 1,300 large and small terakoya tury, and aohon/akahon (illustrated blue- the media, based on a high-speed digital private schools in the Edo region, teach- and red-covered storybooks), which cor- network. In regard to the platform for ing reading, writing and arithmetic to respond to today’s paperbacks, in the the cross-media, the Japanese market is the general public. The Japanese peo- middle of the 18th century, while the currently marked by the rapid propaga- ple’s literacy ratio is estimated to have lending of these books came to be estab- lished as a full-blown business. Thus, Photos: Both possessed by Japan Newspaper Museum the general public in the Edo era was already able to read thanks to the high literacy ratio based on the terakoya edu- cation. During the Edo era in the second half of the 17th century, woodprint newspa- pers called kawara-ban (tile-block-print editions) were published, transmitting various information to the general pub- lic. They were similar to today’s popu- lar tabloids, keeping the public informed about diverse things, such as natural dis- asters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, rumors on world matters, kabuki plays and sumo wrestling. Kawara-ban, although woodprint papers, included colored prints, and this Right: “Kawara-ban” tabloid reporting on an earthquake and tsunami in the late Edo era. Left: “Nishikie-shimbun,” popular in the early Meiji era, carries news of a child tugging a bale of rice with incredible strength. JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • January / February 2008 5 COVER STORY • 1 tradition was handed over to nishikie- Meiji era, and provided news to provin- found that they spend three hours and shimbun (multi-colored woodblock print cial newspapers in exchange for the use 27 minutes on weekdays, four hours and newspapers) after the Meiji Restoration. of advertisement space. Later, Japan’s three minutes on Saturdays, and four Furthermore, the Edo era also witnessed major advertisement agencies such as hours and 14 minutes on Sundays the development of advertising media in Dentsu and Hakuhodo derived from the watching TV. such forms as hikifuda (leaflets), ebira advertisement sections of news agencies. The complete shift of terrestrial tele- (posters), trademarks and signboards. casting to digital broadcasting, slated for Mass Media in Today’s Japan 2011, will be a crucial test for terrestrial Mass Media Prior to World War II telecasters, which have so far proved TV’s Role their advertising effects mainly through During the Meiji era (1868-1912), After World War II, Japan continued surveys on household audience ratings. Japan introduced Western culture under to build an advanced mass consumption The progress of information technology the banner of civilization and enlighten- society, which reached its peak in the has brought about a remarkable advance ment, and went on to develop into a middle of the 1980s. In postwar in the techniques of measuring and fore- modern industrial nation. Early in that Japanese society, four mass media – casting the effects of advertisements. era, multi-colored woodprint nishikie- newspapers, magazines, television and This will enable terrestrial telecasting to shimbun reported on diverse world mat- radio – brought their characteristics into drastically alter its measurement of ters. Japan’s first “newspaper” was pub- full play to arouse an earnest desire for advertising effects and present even lished by Joseph Hiko, who had been consumption among the general public more elaborate results of audience sur- rescued after a shipwreck and taken to and thereby contributing to establishing veys, making it possible to realize a more the United States. He published Japan’s an affluent society. Above all, TV effective combination of mass media for first monthly newspaper in 1864. broadcasting played a remarkable role. advertising. Moreover, the complete The first daily newspaper Yokohama Since the debut of TV, Japanese people digitization of telecasting will enable Shimbun (later renamed Yokohama have viewed the world’s news and expe- new services, such as interactive broad- Mainichi Shimbun) was founded in rienced the world’s joys and griefs casts, fusion with other media and Yokohama on December 8, 1870 (the through the medium of TV while pur- video-on-demand services. As a result, third year of the Meiji era). Tokyo suing a life of affluence. As of 2006, TV TV viewers will be able to watch diverse Nichinichi Shimbun and Yubin Hochi advertisements accounted for as much as programs of their choice whenever they Shimbun were issued in 1872, followed about ¥2 trillion or one-third of Japan’s please. by Yomiuri Shimbun in 1874 and Asahi total advertisement expenses of ¥6 tril- Shimbun in 1879. At first, newspapers lion. Future of Newspapers focused on presenting editorial com- Even today, a great majority of Newspapers still continue to be a ments. However, newsgathering also Japanese people, while at home, make it powerful component of the mass media. became a major task for newspapers as a a habit to leave their TV sets on to use Nonetheless, the digitization of the mass result of their wartime coverage of the them as a sort of time signal. A survey media has brought on a decline in the Sino-Japanese War from 1894 and the on how they spend their hours in their circulation of newspapers. According to Russo-Japanese War from 1904. News daily life, conducted by Japan a survey by the Japan Newspaper agencies also came into being in the late Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) in 2005, Publishers and Editors Association in 2002, the total circulation of national Photos: Both possessed by Japan Newspaper Museum and provincial newspapers plus sports tabloids was about 50 million copies. However, the survey also confirmed a circulation decline for an unprecedented third straight year. Up to around the 1960s, advertising expenditures via newspapers exceeded those of TV. Since the 1970s, however, the ranking has been reversed. Newspapers’ share of total advertising spending has shrunk from a decade ago when the Internet began to spread. Japan’s major national newspapers continue to be giant news media with- out parallel in the world, with Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun boasting a circulation of about 10 million and Right: Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbun launched two years after the foundation of the first daily newspaper (Miyazawa Tomoko collection) Left: Japan’s first daily newspaper Yokohama 6 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • January / February 2008 Shimbun. COVER STORY • 1 eight million, respectively. Newspaper younger population, a prolonged reces- were concerns about the possible “digital publishers play a central role in almost sion in the 1990s and youngsters’ divide” (economic gap between Internet all media groups in Japan. increasing indifference to fashion. Still users and others). Nowadays, however, Since the debut of the Internet in the another factor is young people’s chang- the Internet has already taken firm root mid-1990s, both the circulation and ing form of contact with the media in the daily lives of Japanese people.
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