The Asahi Shimbun
First issue on 25 January 1879 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper Company type: Private |
|---|---|
| Format | Blanket (54.6 cm x 40.65 cm) |
| Owner(s) | Repurchased shares (25%) Murayama family (21.02%; 10% through the KOSETSU Museum of Art) Ueno family (total 14.22% by Shōichi Ueno's death in 2016) TV Asahi (11.88%) Toppan (7.31%) Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdcorp (2.31%) |
| Founder(s) | Murayama Ryōhei Ueno Riichi |
| Founded | January 25, 1879 |
| Political alignment | |
| Headquarters | Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan |
| Country | Japan |
| Circulation |
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| Website | www www |
The Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞; IPA: [asaçi ɕiꜜmbɯɴ], lit. 'morning sun newspaper') is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan.
The Asahi Shimbun is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Mainichi Shimbun, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Chunichi Shimbun. The newspaper's circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and 1.33 million for its evening edition as of July 2021, was second behind that of the Yomiuri Shimbun. By print circulation, it is the second largest newspaper in the world behind the Yomiuri, though its digital size trails that of many global newspapers including The New York Times.
Its publisher, The Asahi Shimbun Company, is a media conglomerate with its registered headquarters in Osaka. It is a privately held family business with ownership and control remaining with the founding Murayama and Ueno families. According to the Reuters Institute Digital Report 2018, public trust in the Asahi Shimbun is the lowest among Japan's major dailies, though confidence is declining in all the major newspapers.