Is Japan's most influential newspaper a beacon of truth or a source of scandal?

Cultures · Published 30 September 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Founded in 1879, The Asahi Shimbun is a titan of Japanese journalism and a self-styled intellectual flagship. Yet, this newspaper of record has been rocked by high-profile hoaxes and intense political backlash, leaving its reputation as a trusted source deeply contested in a polarized national landscape.

The Asahi Shimbun began as a modest four-page illustrated paper in Osaka on 25 January 1879, selling for one sen per copy. Over the following century, it evolved into a powerful media conglomerate, becoming the second-largest newspaper in the world by print circulation. Throughout its history, the paper has maintained a distinct liberal editorial stance, often positioning itself as a critic of Japanese nationalism and a staunch defender of the postwar Constitution, particularly Article 9, which renounces war.

Despite its stature, the paper has faced severe crises of credibility. In 1989, the so-called KY case revealed that an Asahi photographer had personally defaced a coral reef in Okinawa to manufacture a story about declining Japanese morals. More recently, the paper suffered a major blow in 2014 when it retracted articles regarding the recruitment of comfort women during World War II, following the exposure of fabricated testimony by Seiji Yoshida. These incidents, combined with a controversial 2014 investigative report on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that was later retracted, have fueled significant distrust, particularly from Japan’s political right.

The internal culture of the Asahi has also been marked by volatility. During the 1930s and 1940s, the paper’s leadership became deeply entangled with ultranationalist factions, leading to a mass resignation of executives in 1945 to atone for wartime compromises. Today, the paper remains a family-controlled business, balancing its role as a critical watchdog against government power with the ongoing challenge of maintaining public confidence. While it continues to be a vital voice in Japanese discourse, its legacy is defined as much by its investigative ambition as by the scandals that have periodically threatened its integrity.

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