The Nikkei
Japan's only business daily and world's largest financial newspaper.
The Nikkei, formally known as The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc., headquartered in Tokyo. It holds the distinction of being the world’s largest financial newspaper, boasting a subscriber base of over three million. As Japan’s sole business daily, it is one of the country’s four national newspapers, the others being The Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, and the Mainichi Shimbun. The newspaper is also responsible for calculating the Nikkei 225, a key stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, a task it has performed since 1950.
The publication’s origins trace back to 1876, when an in-house newspaper department within Mitsui & Company began issuing *Chugai Bukka Shimpo*, a weekly bulletin focused on commodity prices. This department was spun off as the Shokyosha in 1882. The paper transitioned to a daily schedule (excluding Sundays) in 1885 and was renamed *Chugai Shōgyō Shimpo* in 1889. Following a merger with *Nikkan Kōgyō* and *Keizai Jiji* in 1942, it became *Nihon Sangyō Keizai Shimbun*, before adopting its current name, *Nihon Keizai Shimbun*, in 1946. In 1990, an agreement with Singapore Press Holdings enabled the printing of a same-day edition for Southeast Asia, with the first such edition published in Singapore on October 1 of that year.
The Nikkei has faced criticism. According to journalists from *The Japan Times*, detractors argue that the paper relies excessively on leaks, often provided by corporate insiders, and is frequently hesitant to offer blunt criticism of Japanese companies. Additionally, *New York Times* reporter Hiroko Tabuchi expressed concern over the Nikkei’s purchase of the *Financial Times*, describing it as “worrying.” In a separate incident on August 10, 2020, three officers from the Hong Kong Police Force visited the newspaper’s Hong Kong branch with a court order, as part of an investigation into an advertisement placed in the paper a year earlier that called for international support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
- type
- Financial newspaper
- headquarters
- Tokyo
- publisher
- Nikkei, Inc.
- subscribers
- Over 3 million
- known_for
- World's largest financial newspaper; calculates the Nikkei 225 index
- nationality
- Japanese
Quick Facts
- Format
- Blanket (54.6 cm x 40.65 cm)
- Founded
- 1876-12-02 (as The Nihon Keizai Shimbun)
- Owner
- Nikkei, Inc.
- Publisher
- Tsuneo Kita
- Language
- Japanese and English
- Publishing Country
- Japan
- Circulation
- 1,361,000 Morning / 970,000 / Electronic version
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Website
- https: · www.nikkei.com
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Nikkei is the flagship publication of Nikkei, Inc., headquartered in Tokyo, and is recognized as the world’s largest financial newspaper, boasting over 3 million subscribers. Its defining characteristic is its role as Japan’s only business daily, and it has been responsible for calculating the Nikkei 225 stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 1950. The newspaper is one of Japan’s four national newspapers, alongside The Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, and the Mainichi Shimbun. Its history traces back to 1876, when Mitsui & Company’s in-house newspaper department began publishing a weekly market-quotation bulletin called *Chugai Bukka Shimpo*. This department was spun off as Shokyosha in 1882, and the paper became a daily (excluding Sundays) in 1885, renamed *Chugai Shōgyō Shimpo* in 1889. It merged with *Nikkan Kōgyō* and *Keizai Jiji* in 1942, becoming *Nihon Sangyō Keizai Shimbun*, and adopted its current name, *Nihon Keizai Shimbun*, in 1946. The Nikkei has faced criticism for relying heavily on leaks from corporate insiders and for being reluctant to criticize Japanese firms. In 1990, an agreement with Singapore Press Holdings enabled a same-day Southeast Asian edition, first printed in Singapore from October 1. In 2020, Hong Kong police visited its Hong Kong branch with a court order over an advertisement supporting pro-democracy protests.
Reader's Guide
The Nikkei holds significant importance as the world's largest financial newspaper, shaping business and economic discourse in Japan and globally. However, the newspaper has faced criticism, as noted by Shusuke Murai and Reiji Yoshida of The Japan Times, for relying heavily on leaks from corporate insiders and being reluctant to criticize Japanese firms. Hiroko Tabuchi of The New York Times described the Nikkei as 'basically a PR machine for Japanese biz,' citing its initial neglect of the 2011 Olympus accounting scandal (broken by the Financial Times) and limited coverage of the Takata airbag defect. These critiques highlight tensions between the Nikkei's role as a financial information provider and its perceived closeness to corporate Japan. Its legacy includes both its vast subscriber base and its influence on Japanese business reporting, though its editorial independence has been questioned.
Did You Know?
- On August 10, 2020, Hong Kong police visited the Nikkei's Hong Kong branch with a court order over a pro-democracy advertisement.
- Critics, including The New York Times reporter Hiroko Tabuchi, have said the Nikkei initially ignored the 2011 Olympus accounting scandal.
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