Three Major Regional Papers To Develop Integrated Database

The Kyoto Shimbun, Kobe Shimbun and Chugoku Shimbun on Sept. 5 said they will develop an integrated database of articles, photos and page images. The three major regional newspapers signed a memorandum on the project at the head office of the Kyoto Shimbun.

They aim to launch the database by June 2002, starting with in-house use and then exploring the feasibility of commercialization.

IBM Japan has been engaged to develop the integrated database in the first such project in Japan’s newspaper industry. The newspapers are to invite other regional newspapers to join the project to reinforce links among newspapers aiming to survive ever-intensifying competition.

The integrated database project is motivated by a desire to cut the costs of initial investment and maintenance, to save labor in management and operation of the database, and to accommodate NewsML ?new standard for electronic transmission of texts, photos, sound and images.

The database will be designed with a common-use base and optional capabilities for each company’s particular needs. The main portion of the database will be stored at an IBM Japan-affiliated data center known for low maintenance fees and high data protection from earthquakes and other natural disasters.

The three newspapers are to evenly split the operating costs and the fees for line connections between the database center and their respective head offices.

The papers agreed upon the joint project as the renewal date approached for their internal database schemes, launching a feasibility probe last year. Starting this past January, they have held regular direct consultations. They have decided to collaborate on the joint integrated database while continuing their own respective database-related projects.

Competition Up Among Chinese-Language Media in Japan

There are a growing number of newspapers, magazines and TV or radio programs being offered in the Chinese-language for the roughly 380,000 resident Chinese in Japan.

With new interests now poised to enter the growing market for Chinese-language media, a wave of shake-out competition is expected.

According to media experts, about 30 newspapers and magazines are being published in the Chinese language in Japan. Three broadcasters run five TV channels in Chinese over CS satellite and radio channels are due soon.

The Chinese Review Weekly (Chubun Do-ho) is the largest such newspaper, with a claimed circulation of 80,000 copies. The publication is available in Tokyo convenience stores and the Kiosk chain of subway shops.

Wu Yue-ming, 42, is the deputy editor of the Chinese Review Weekly. “We are not a spokesman for China. We are set up to report what we believe is true, in an objective manner, from the perspectives of resident Chinese in Japan.”

“Raku Raku China” is a CS satellite TV channel that went into service in 1998. It claims a subscriber total of 20,000. Mainly intended for resident Chinese, the channel also provides popular TV programs to Taiwan and Hong Kong. Channel officials plan to air programs subtitled in Japanese to draw Japanese subscribers. They also plan to produce access programs to present a “life-size Japan” to viewers in China. A female Chinese program director with the TV station said the service is in a transitional period. “It is important for us to enhance the uniqueness of our channel in Japanese society,” she said.

Duan Yue-zhong, a resident Chinese expert on media for Chinese people, said, “At present, there are too many China-language media players in the market. Competition should drive out the lower-quality media.”（Kyodo）

Panel to Propose Substitutes for Foreign Words

The National Language Research Institute on Aug. 7 held a first meeting of its newly created panel on foreign words.

The research institute is affiliated with the Education, Science, Sports and Technology Ministry. It formed its foreign-word panel in June at the suggestion of Education Minister Atsuko Toyama, to consider Japanese substitutes for difficult-to-understand foreign words.

The institute recently named panel members comprising scholars, writers and translators, experts on house style from the Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun, as well as a chief researcher from NHK’s Broadcasting Culture Research Institute.

The panel is to study the annual reports, newspapers, magazines and other publications of government ministries and agencies to try to agree how to substitute simplified Japanese terms for complex foreign words.

The panel is starting by examining the foreign words used in government white papers, along with other words specifically cited by panel members. The panel is due to draft a set of proposals by the end of this year, suggesting how to substitute Japanese for key foreign loan words.