Yomiuri Shimbun Marks 150 Years of Publication

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:50 JST, November 2, 2024

The Yomiuri Shimbun marked the 150th anniversary of its first publication on Saturday.

Reports about new projects promoted by the Yomiuri Shimbun group were given at a joint meeting of editors and managers of The Yomiuri Shimbun (Tokyo), The Yomiuri Shimbun Osaka and The Yomiuri Shimbun Seibu on Friday.

About 480 people attended the meeting, including editors, managers and other senior executives, as well as executives from related companies. The Yomiuri Shimbun in Tokyo’s Otemachi, The Yomiuri Shimbun Osaka and The Yomiuri Shimbun Seibu were connected via video conference.

“Ingenuity has been the driving force behind the company since its foundation, and the most important thing is having the trust of our readers,” Shoichi Oikawa, chairman of the board of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, said at the beginning of the meeting. “With this in mind, I would like to make today the new starting point for the next 150 years.”

The reports on new projects included Tokyo Giants Town, which is progressing in Inagi, Tokyo; the redevelopment of the former Tsukiji Market site, with an about 50,000-seat multiuse stadium at its core; and PokéPark KANTO, a theme park that will open inside Yomiuriland. All the projects represent the Yomiuri Shimbun group’s policy of being “a newspaper company that goes beyond newspaper publishing.”

After the reports, The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings President Toshikazu Yamaguchi delivered a speech titled, “The strategy for the next 150 years.”

“If a newspaper company stops publishing newspapers, it is no longer a newspaper company,” Yamaguchi said. “The purpose of each project is to continue publishing newspapers and improve our content. We move forward on each project based on The Yomiuri Shimbun’s long-held ethics that newspapers serve the people as public assets.”

Kazuyuki Shimizu, the chairperson of Yomiuri Tokyo Nanokakai, made up of Yomiuri Centers (YC), which are Yomiuri Shimbun sales locations, said, “YCs will diligently strive to promote The Yomiuri Shimbun as we look toward a shared future.”

Mitsui Fudosan Co. and The Pokémon Company, which collaborate on each project, as well as media outlets, including News Corp, The Washington Post, The Times and The Associated Press, sent messages.

At the end of the meeting, The Yomiuri Shimbun President Akitoshi Muraoka, said: “The urge to take on new challenges is in our DNA and has been passed down to us from generation to generation. We want everyone to firmly join hands and work together to ensure the success of all new projects.”