[Feature: Jiji Shimpo and Japanese Journalism] Takatoshi Suzuki: The Dissolution of Jiji Shimpo and Transitions After Yukichi Fukuzawa

2025/04/07

Jiji Shimpo has dissolved—On September 11, 2024, Jiji Shimpo-sha Co., Ltd. held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders and resolved to dissolve as of the same date. On the following day, September 12, in the morning edition of the Sankei Shimbun, I, having served as the final Representative Director, reported this in the form of a public notice.

"It is with great regret and sincere apologies that we dissolve Jiji Shimpo-sha, which had entrusted its management to the Sankei Shimbun for approximately 70 years. This was a painful choice made amidst the major shifts in the era of newspapers as a whole. Since the Sankei Shimbun has shown its determination to protect the trademark and traditions of 'Jiji Shimpo,' I will continue to support them."

Having been given the opportunity to write for this magazine's "Jiji Shimpo Feature," I would like to examine the dissolution and merger of the company. First, why did the newspaper, which was hailed as "Japan's Number One Jiji Shimpo" during the Meiji and Taisho eras, dissolve in 1936? Next, why did the Jiji Shimpo, which was revived on New Year's Day 1946 immediately after the Pacific War by former Jiji Shimpo executives Hisakichi Maeda and Takuzo Itakura, merge with the Sangyo Keizai Shimbun (now the Sankei Shimbun)? Finally, I will look at the history of "Jiji Shimpo after the merger with the Sankei Shimbun" leading up to its dissolution in 2024.

First, let us briefly look back at the history of Jiji Shimpo. As is well known, Jiji Shimpo was founded by Yukichi Fukuzawa on March 1, 1882. In fact, six months prior to this, the newspaper publication Fukuzawa had been preparing at the request of Hirobumi Ito and Kaoru Inoue—who wanted him to create a paper like an official gazette—was left in limbo due to the "Political Crisis of 1881." This was a government-led coup in which Ito and Inoue of the Satsuma-Choshu clan government expelled bureaucrats of the Okuma and Fukuzawa factions, claiming that "Shigenobu Okuma and Yukichi Fukuzawa were conspiring to plot an anti-government movement." Fukuzawa sent a letter of indignation to the two men and, using the remaining people, money, and resources, managed to launch Jiji Shimpo in just six months with his nephew Hikojiro Nakamigawa. In the "Purpose of Publication" of the inaugural issue, he set forth the philosophy of "Independence and Impartiality" (Dokuritsu-fuki Muhen-muto). "Our Keio Gijuku Shachu originally reveres the principle of independence and impartiality... valuing the independence of our nation of Japan, our lifelong goal lies solely in the point of national rights... we shall pass judgment based on the standard of the interests of national rights... what we seek is solely the expansion of national rights." The origin of the title was "To record the civilization of recent times (ji), to discuss matters (ji) of strategy for advancing civilization, to keep pace with the new (shin) trends of the day, and to report (po) them to the world." At the time, the press was divided into "O-shimbun" (large newspapers) with strong political party affiliations like the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, and "Ko-shimbun" (small newspapers) which were yellow papers centered on entertainment. For example, the "Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun" was a government-affiliated organ of the Teiseito, and the "Yubin Hochi Shimbun" was a strong organ of Shigenobu Okuma's Rikken Kaishinto. Fukuzawa's Jiji Shimpo was Japan's first neutral opinion newspaper. Yoshimi Uchikawa, Director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication Studies at the University of Tokyo, explained: "Independence and liberalism were the axis of Jiji Shimpo's editorial activities. When newspapers were launched nationwide after the Pacific War and the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association was established, independence and impartiality became the common basic philosophy of Japanese newspaper journalism and the main pillar of the 'Canon of Journalism,' the association's constitution" (Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), April 1982 issue).

From its founding, Jiji Shimpo separated its editorial and commentary departments from its sales and advertising management departments. Fukuzawa oversaw the paper as the proprietor and manager, but in practice, he wrote almost all the early editorials himself as the editor-in-chief and chief editorial writer. Taking over the management was his nephew Hikojiro Nakamigawa, who had been expelled from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the Political Crisis of 1881 and had supported Fukuzawa's newspaper launch. Nakamigawa, then a 27-year-old young bureaucrat who had returned from the UK, stood at the forefront of business (sales and advertising) as president, focusing on advertising and promotion using modern management methods to expand revenue. It is said that through Fukuzawa's fame and credit, combined with Nakamigawa's ideas and activities, they brought a new wind to the newspaper world and gained the support of many readers. Akihiko Sunohara (Professor Emeritus at Sophia University), who was a former head of the research section of the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association and serialized "Management Pioneers" (included in "A History of Newspaper Management Told Through Episodes") for over 10 years in the journal "Newspaper Management," wrote: "Nakamigawa, the first president of Jiji Shimpo, devised various innovations in management... Nakamigawa focused on advertising absorption strategies and promoted them to a public that did not know how to use newspaper advertisements. For example, the copy 'Those who advertise in the Japan-best Jiji Shimpo are the Japan-best at business' was effective and increased advertising."

The biggest topic in Meiji-era newspaper advertising was the commemorative special issue published on March 1, 1907, marking the 25th anniversary of Jiji Shimpo's founding. With a total of 224 pages and advertisements accounting for over 90%, it still boasts the highest number of pages in Japanese newspaper history today.

The next president was Fukuzawa's second son, Sutejiro. Along with his brother Ichitaro, who was two years older, he went to study in the United States in 1883, studied civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and returned to Japan in 1888. His cousin Nakamigawa had left Jiji Shimpo in 1887 and was serving as the president of Sanyo Railway. The presidency of Jiji Shimpo remained vacant for a while, but Sutejiro joined Jiji Shimpo after working at Sanyo Railway and became president in January 1896.

Sutejiro focused on international news reporting, and from 1897, he signed an exclusive contract with Reuters along with the English-language paper The Japan Times, making international news the exclusive domain of Jiji Shimpo. Furthermore, he adopted the best aspects of American newspaper reporting and reader services, successively proposing new sports reporting and various business projects. In the fall of 2008, in connection with the 150th anniversary of the founding of Keio University, I wrote a four-week serialized project for the Sankei Shimbun titled "Learning from the Newspaperman Yukichi Fukuzawa—'Jiji Shimpo' Living in the Present," where I introduced projects and reader services that Jiji Shimpo implemented for the first time as "Jiji Shimpo Firsts."

These included: (1) Presentation of photo frames of winning sumo wrestlers, (2) The first beauty contest, (3) World-class scoops in international reporting, (4) Pioneer of manga journalism (newspaper comics), (5) A 25-year struggle of "despite being a woman" (female reporters), (6) "Yorozu Annai" (pioneer of classified ads), and (7) Long-distance marathons (12-hour lap race around Ueno Shinobazu Pond).

The presentation of sumo photo frames is still carried on today at the Kokugikan as a project of the Mainichi Shimbun. Regarding the world-class scoop in international reporting, the aforementioned Uchikawa spoke as follows at the 147th Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Commemoration Meeting in January 1982 (Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), April 1982 issue): "The most famous event in Jiji Shimpo's international news reporting was the major scoop regarding the establishment of the Four-Power Treaty at the end of November 1921... At the time, Masanori Ito, famous as a naval reporter, and Takeo Goto, who became the president of the Ibaraki Shimbun in Mito after the war, were Washington correspondents. The two caught the content a week before the Four-Power Treaty was announced and wired it to Jiji Shimpo in Tokyo. The first report was an extra on November 30, and detailed content was reported in the evening edition on December 1, completely overwhelming other papers. The news was sent back from Tokyo to Washington and traveled around the world" (Summary).

This emphasis on international news and aggressive stance toward international reporting was highly evaluated by readers. Furthermore, newspapers at the time featured editorials written by scholars and cultural figures, such as Gen'ichiro Fukuchi (Ochi), president of the "Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun," and Yukichi Fukuzawa, proprietor of "Jiji Shimpo," known as the "Two Fukus of the World." Fukuchi, who used "Goso-iwaku..." (We say...) as a subject, was called "Goso-sensei," and Mikiaki Ishikawa, who took over Jiji Shimpo editorials from Fukuzawa in the later Meiji years, gained popularity by starting his writings with "O-o aran kanaredomo..."

During President Sutejiro's time from the 1890s to the 1900s and the first half of the Taisho era, it was literally "Japan's Number One Jiji Shimpo." However, when plans were made to expand into Kansai in 1905 and the "Osaka Jiji Shimpo" was launched, it faced a fierce counter-offensive, including boycotts by the sales agent organizations of the Osaka Asahi Shimbun and Osaka Mainichi Shimbun. The ambition to dominate the newspapers of both Tokyo and Osaka ended in failure, directly leading to the deterioration of Jiji Shimpo's management. Furthermore, in 1922, an internal dispute over personnel arose when President Sutejiro tried to hire his son-in-law, leading to the successive resignations of influential executives such as Editor-in-Chief Mikiaki Ishikawa and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Takuzo Itakura. The following year, a reconciliation was reached through the mediation of a Keio University senior, and most employees, including Itakura, returned, but Ishikawa ultimately did not.

Following this, the Jiji Shimpo headquarters in Ginza, Tokyo, was completely destroyed by fire in the Great Kanto Earthquake on September 1, 1923. Furthermore, in June 1926, President Sutejiro resigned due to illness and passed away in November. Jiji Shimpo's management became increasingly distressed, leading to its dissolution in December 1936. During this period, five business leaders from Keio University, including Kango Koyama, Ikunoshin Kadono, Wasaku Natori, and Sanji Muto, took charge of management over 10 years "for the sake of Yukichi Fukuzawa." However, they were no match for the massive deficit, and on December 24, the paper was finally discontinued and dissolution was resolved.

The person who put the most effort into reconstruction and even lost his life was Sanji Muto, the former president of Kanegafuchi Spinning (Kanebo). I introduced him as "Sanji Muto, who fell to an assassin's bullet" in the aforementioned "Learning from the Newspaperman Yukichi Fukuzawa." Muto was from Aichi Prefecture, entered Keio from the Yochisha Elementary School, and studied in the United States after graduating in 1884. Upon his return, he started Japan's first advertising agency at the recommendation of Fukuzawa. Later, he was entrusted with the management of Kanegafuchi Spinning by Hikojiro Nakamigawa and grew it into the company with the highest sales in Japan, becoming a business leader representing the textile industry. Muto entered politics by forming the Jitsugyo Doshikai but retired and built the Kokumin Kaikan in front of Osaka Castle at his own expense to practice political education activities. At the request of Jiji Shimpo Chairman Ikunoshin Kadono and others, he joined the management team in 1932 and worked energetically on reconstruction. According to "Sanji Muto, Who Fell to Terrorism—His Final Years Fighting Injustice in Politics, Bureaucracy, and Business as President of Jiji Shimpo," written by the late Takashi Matsuda, former Executive Director of the Kokumin Kaikan, Muto published a serialized campaign titled "Exposing the Bancho-kai" in Jiji Shimpo starting in January 1934. He exposed, with real names, how groups from politics, bureaucracy, and business were attempting to corner stocks and take over companies at the homes of business leaders in Bancho, Tokyo, which caused a great sensation. However, on the morning of March 10, 1934, Muto was shot and killed by a thug with a pistol in Kita-Kamakura while on his way to work. "Exposing the Bancho-kai" developed into the "Teijin Incident," which shook the political world and led to the arrest of former ministers, but the defendants were found innocent at trial, and the truth remains unknown to this day.

A major role in the discontinuation of Jiji Shimpo before the Pacific War and its revival immediately after the end of the war was played by Hisakichi Maeda, who founded the "Osaka Shimbun" and served as president of the "Sangyo Keizai Shimbun," which later became a national paper. He was a unique newspaper manager known as the "Ima-Taiko" (Modern Taiko) in the post-war newspaper world and was also the father of Tokyo Tower, which has been open for over 60 years. The Newspaper Association's "Newspaper History Told Through Interviews" introduces Maeda as "one of the top three managers representing the Showa era." It states: "(Maeda) started with a newspaper sales agent, published the 'Minami Osaka Shimbun' at the end of the Taisho era, and expanded into Osaka City, where it developed into the 'Osaka Shimbun.' Anticipating trends in economic development, he founded the 'Nihon Kogyo Shimbun,' which became the 'Sangyo Keizai Shimbun' and is now the 'Sankei Shimbun.'"

After Muto fell to an assassin's bullet, in 1934–1935, Takuzo Itakura returned to the company at the request of Chairman Ikunoshin Kadono, and Shingoro Takaishi of the Mainichi Shimbun, a Keio graduate, arranged for fellow alumnus Masao Matsuoka to serve as chairman. Under the Matsuoka-Maeda system (with Editor-in-Chief Itakura resigning and leaving the company), the shareholders' meeting on December 24, 1936, was held. Faced with the choice between a 2-million-yen capital increase or dissolution, the majority voted for dissolution, and the light of Jiji Shimpo was extinguished in a manner akin to "self-destruction." It is said that Kadono even paid the funds required for dissolution out of his own pocket.

In August 1945, after the nightmare of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War on August 15, Hisakichi Maeda, then president of the Osaka Shimbun, brought the idea of reviving Jiji Shimpo to Takuzo Itakura at the end of the year. The two had been the Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief, respectively, at the time of Jiji Shimpo's dissolution. According to records of an interview with Hisakichi Maeda, Maeda persuaded Itakura as follows:

"With Japan in this state of national affairs and the Communist Party becoming arrogant, we must create a good newspaper no matter what. At this time, I want to create a newspaper like the London Times. A newspaper with a very high fragrance is necessary. We will revive the old Jiji Shimpo. You are the only person left involved with Jiji Shimpo. Could you take the lead in reviving Jiji Shimpo?" (Summary, expressions as per original quote)

Itakura is believed to have taken action due to Maeda's persistent persuasion and the desire to call upon the people with Yukichi Fukuzawa's spirit of independence and self-respect as a guidepost for post-war Japan. Like Fukuzawa during the founding period, Itakura served as both president and editor-in-chief, reminiscing, "I wrote every day. There were times I wrote more than 20 times in a month." Uchikawa evaluates that the spirit of independence and impartiality was maintained, stating: "In the progressive trend of the post-war newspaper world, the post-war Jiji Shimpo was a newspaper that took a unique position that could be called conservatism and raised sharp voices of warning. It goes without saying that Professor Itakura was at the top of that."

On January 1, 1946, Jiji Shimpo was revived for the first time in 10 years. In his "Address on the Republication of Jiji Shimpo," President Itakura emphasized, "We will protect the orthodoxy of liberalism taught by Yukichi Fukuzawa and contribute to the construction of a new Japan." It restarted from issue number 19,250, inheriting the issue numbers from the time of its discontinuation, and revived the popular column "Jiji Shokan." Along with President Itakura, the "revival issue" set off with executives such as Masanori Ito and Misao Kondo, who were primarily people associated with the old Jiji Shimpo.

While many people felt nostalgic for Jiji Shimpo, its circulation gradually decreased. The cause is believed to be that Jiji Shimpo's conservative tone and anti-communist stance did not fit the trends of the time, which was the heyday of leftist ideology under GHQ guidance and labor union activities. During this time, in the fall of 1950, Hisakichi Maeda was cleared from the purge of public officials by GHQ and returned as president of Sankei and the Osaka Shimbun. The Sangyo Keizai Shimbun expanded into Tokyo in the late 1940s and early 1950s, changed its title to "Sankei Shimbun," and pursued the path of a national paper. Consequently, talks of a merger between the Sankei Shimbun and Jiji Shimpo progressed rapidly, and an agreement was finally reached to change the title of the "Sankei Shimbun" to "Sankei Jiji" and for the Sankei Shimbun in Tokyo to take on all Jiji Shimpo employees. On November 30, 1955, Jiji Shimpo-sha merged with Sangyo Keizai Shimbun-sha, and the title became "Sankei Jiji." Three years later, on July 1, 1958, it returned to "Sankei Shimbun," and Jiji Shimpo completely ceased activities, delegating all management rights to the Sankei Shimbun-sha. Normally, the company would have dissolved at this point, but those involved at the time kept the organization so that it could be restarted someday if conditions were met.

Thereafter, Takuzo Itakura wielded a powerful pen as Director, Editor-in-Chief, and Chairman of the Editorial Board of Sankei Jiji, and Masanori Ito as Director and Editor-in-Chief. In particular, the series "The End of the Imperial Fleet" by naval reporter Masanori Ito—who had the major scoop on the termination of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the conclusion of the Four-Power Treaty at the Washington Naval Conference—captivated readers. Itakura was from Hiroshima Prefecture and joined Jiji Shimpo while also serving as a university faculty member after graduating from the Department of Politics. He worked at Mita as the Dean of the Faculty of Law in the morning and wrote editorials for Jiji in the afternoon; the editorials he wrote over 37 years reportedly numbered 2,700. When the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association was established in 1946, Ito drafted the Canon of Journalism, which can be called the constitution of post-war newspaper journalism, and became the chairman of the association and Kyodo News. In October 1951, Itakura received the first Newspaper Culture Award established by the association.

Although the newspaper's masthead disappeared, "Jiji Shimpo-sha Co., Ltd." remained a company with a capital of 70 million yen and an accumulated deficit of over 111.81 million yen, holding annual shareholders' meetings in a "dormant state," delegating all management of Jiji Shimpo to the Sankei Shimbun without conducting business activities. For 70 years from 1955 until last year, it continued to exist, performing necessary administrative tasks under the Commercial Code such as shareholders' meetings, board of directors' meetings, and the appointment of officers. The Representative Director and other officers and auditors were served by Sankei Shimbun editorial executives who were Keio University alumni. From the late Showa era until 1993, Shiro Mikumo, Chairman of the Editorial Board (later Director and Advisor), served as Representative Director for 11 years. In the Heisei era, after Mr. Kuninae Fujimura (Managing Director and Editorial Director, later Vice President of Fuji Television) served for 6 years, Mr. Takehiko Kiyohara served as Representative Director for 20 years from 2005 until last year. Last summer, Mr. Kiyohara, due to poor health, passed the baton to me, saying, "I'm counting on you to be the Representative Director." I had also been active with Mr. Kiyohara for 20 years as a Director and Auditor, and this dissolution was my first and last job. When I received the news of Mr. Kiyohara's passing at the end of last year, I remembered how we had repeatedly refined the "public notice draft" for the dissolution of Jiji Shimpo with a shared sense of regret.

In the April 1995 issue of Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), Mr. Shiro Mikumo reported on the current status of Jiji Shimpo after the merger with Sankei in an article titled "Jiji Shimpo is Alive," writing, "Even if it is against our will, there is no other way but to protect Jiji Shimpo now." In a roundtable discussion titled "Learning the Spirit of Independence from Jiji Shimpo" in the April 2007 issue's "125 Years of Jiji Shimpo" feature, Mr. Kiyohara said, "There is much to learn from Jiji Shimpo's discourse of independence and impartiality, which does not pander or flatter public opinion."

Even if Jiji Shimpo disappears, the philosophy and spirit of "Independence and Impartiality" (Dokuritsu-fuki Muhen-muto) derived from Jiji Shimpo and championed by Yukichi Fukuzawa must be inherited as a pillar that runs through modern Japanese journalism.