NSK Chairman Masato Kitamura Issues New Year's Message for 2008

Against this backdrop, we will soon see the U.S. presidential election, the G-8 summit in Lake Toya, Hokkaido, and the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Also, the Lower House may be dissolved for a general election this year. So, in many ways, 2008 could bring turning points in a number of areas. At the G-8 summit, global warming will be high on the agenda and Japan’s leadership abilities will be under global scrutiny.

For Japan’s newspaper industry, I anticipate a continuing harsh environment this year. But no matter how difficult the situation might be, newspapers will continue to fulfill their mission of presenting factual information from a fair viewpoint as well as providing commentary and opinion for public judgment. We must continue to clearly publicize the role and significance of newspapers and seek wide-ranging appreciation of the public for our role.

In this context, I must refer to a survey on media and “social capital” covering this issues of trust and links within and between social networks. That survey, by the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School, was discussed at last fall's National Newspaper Convention in Nagano City. It found a higher than average tendency among newspaper subscribers to form social networks and to participate in volunteer activities, reflecting heightened respect for interpersonal relations of trust. Such individuals also respected the efforts of newspaper companies to build social capital within their communities. The survey found that a society rich in such social capital also promotes a functional democracy. I was encouraged by the survey's finding that newspapers greatly contribute to heightening social capital and that newspapers are conducive to the establishment and maintenance of a stable democracy.

Regarding the challenges we face in invigorating newspaper advertising, I believe it imperative for newspapers to appeal more strongly to advertisers about our ideal functionality for advertising. As advertisers become increasingly selective in their media targeting, we need to play up the effectiveness of newspapers in reaching socially influential and active consumers. An NSK Advertising Committee survey recently found that newspapers boost public interest in and recognition of business names, products and services, thereby spurring consumer spending. The survey also confirmed a complementary rather than competitive relationship between newspapers and the Internet. All newspapers are actively soliciting advertising through their affinity to the Internet, while also stepping up collaboration in digital media and building “cross-media” relations.

At the same time, NSK's Newspaper in Education (NIE) campaign continues to make steady progress. The number of schools with NIE programs now exceeds 500 nationwide and new initiatives aim to spread NIE even further. Recent surveys by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Japan's education ministry show a drop in the academic ability of Japanese children, especially in reading comprehension and practical application. In this context, the importance of newspapers must be reaffirmed. I believe that the NIE campaign will play a key role in educating our children in fields such as reading comprehension.

The Characters Culture Promotion Organization set up by the newspaper and publishing industries aims to promote books and newspapers by encouraging exposure to characters and reading culture. The organization is also to research measures and legislation worldwide for the promotion of character-based knowledge and reading culture in other countries in order to learn more about how to best sustain newspaper support systems including Japan's resale price maintenance.

Last October, NSK announced a plan for environmental protection. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions is becoming increasingly urgent to prevent global warming. NSK member newspapers and news agencies aim to carry more articles on environmental issues and more related advertisements, as well as organizing supportive events to boost public awareness on environmental protection. All NSK members have also pledged to cut their carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps to lessen their own burden on the global environment.

In closing, I pray for a fruitful new year and I wish you all the best of health and business success.

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Newspaper Circulation Slips 0.5% to 52.03 Million in 2007

The annual NSK circulation survey for 2007 found daily aggregate newspaper circulation to stand at 52,028,671 (copies) as of October. That figure is down 0.5 percent from October 2006.

The circulation of general-interest daily newspapers fell 0.2 percent in a third straight annual decline. The combined circulation of sports dailies also fell, dropping 3.6 percent in the seventh straight drop.

The survey compiled data from 121 NSK member newspapers. The 121 newspapers included 45 that print morning and evening sets of newspapers, 61 that print only morning papers, and 14 that only print evening papers.

The circulation of morning and evening "set" newspapers fell 2.3 percent year-on-year, in a 17th straight annual decrease. The circulation of morning-only papers rose 0.4 percent in a second consecutive gain, but that of evening-only papers dropped 1.9 percent.

By region, circulation increased 0.4 percent year-on-year in Okinawa, and 0.3 percent in Hokkaido. The Hokuriku region reported a marginal surge. But all other regions posted year-on-year declines.

Average newspaper distribution per household stood at 1.01 copies, while the average population per newspaper-copy issued was 2.44.

Upper House Enacts Revised Broadcast Law

An Upper House plenary session on Dec. 21 enacted a revised Broadcast Law to allow holding companies to control multiple broadcasting firms. The law also incorporates new measures to strengthen governance at the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK).

The revised law allows holding companies to own multiple terrestrial (ground-based) and satellite-based broadcasting stations as fully-owned subsidiaries. It also sets the upper limit for a holding company’s ratio of capital contribution to its subsidiary per shareholder at “more than one-tenth and less than one-third.”

The changes include a strengthening of oversight for the NHK management committee by raising some of its members to full-time duties. It also allows NHK to issue programs via Broadband Internet after they have been conventionally broadcast.

In approving the revised law, the Upper House also adopted a supplementary resolution calling for a comprehensive study into the standing principle against any excess concentration of capital in the media.

Local Press Photographers Associations Announce Annual Awards

A number of regional press photographers associations have announced their respective annual awards for photos taken in the year 2007.

The Chubu Press Photographers Association, the Tohoku Press Photographers Association and the Kansai sports press photo managers society issued the following awards:

***The Chubu Press Photographers Association (33 member companies, 191 individual members)

***The Kansai Sports Press Photo Managers Society

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAILY SPORTS

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAILY TOHOKU

The association gave its top prize to Yusuke Ibuka of the Daily Tohoku for a photo of a girl apparently playing with an antelope in downtown Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture.