There are many English news sources here. What’s their leaning? Which one is the old school intellectual paper? What’s the tabloid? Which one is Fox News? What leans left or right? Which one is owned by “Murdoch”?
I have no idea what news I should be reading!
12 comments
Bonus question: Which ones aren’t stuck behind paywalls?
I get my news from Google news feed, I set it to show both English and Japanese. I don’t focus a lot on source rather I keep my mind open that it could be biased. If it is important news to me I’d search for more sources. Eventually you’d learn which source to trust much less than the others.
So far I haven’t avoided a Japanese source but I find them often to lack details. So I end up searching social media for details when there is an incident or infamous crime.
I read the Mainichi, they have both the English version and the Japanese version online. It used to have a reputation for being somewhat conservative but the right-wingers in r/japan are always telling me that it’s too liberal, probably because of its support for LGBT rights. The Asahi has a reputation for being more liberal but the English version tends to focus on international news.
Fox News had a brief stint on cable/satellite TV here but they didn’t offer Japanese language support so couldn’t sell advertising and gave up. Japan is better off without that lunatic propaganda machine. CNNj (CNN International) and CNN US are available on SkyPerfecTV (satellite) and Hulu live streams CNN US.
Mainichi is seen as left-leaning because it is willing to criticize the government and tends to emphasize social welfare, pacifism, and in general talks about social issues from a more left-leaning perspective compared to other major news sources.
Asahi is seen as left-leaning because it is willing to criticize the government and tends to be against Japanese military expansion.
I feel like the Nikkei is conservative-leaning in the sense that it is business oriented and very pro-capitalist, which is going to inherently align itself with more conservative interests. I feel like their reporting is still overall reliable though, and I am not aware of them being particularly socially conservative.
Yomiuri is seen as more conservative-leaning because it tends to support the LDP and promote nationalistic views.
I regularly read Mainichi and one of our local prefectural papers.
Am I going to sound stupid for saying I don’t find Japanese news outlets engaging compared to the best western ones? It just isn’t very incisive.
My Japanese new source is “The Japan Times” on Facebook and reddit r/japanlife.
“Which one is Fox News?”
You’ve gotten a lot of accurate responses about your other questions, but to answer this one: it’s Sankei and their English operation Japan Forward.
> what I should be reading
just read a few and see which you agree with by yourself?
If you hate the LDP (particularly the Abe faction) – Mainichi
Old school left leaning – Asahi
Love money – Nikkei
Love the LDP – Yomiuri
Love the LDP and think apartheid is a good idea – Sankei
Go to your local library and read them through. Pick the one that entertains you the most
Ob top of that, has anyone read those weekly newspaper magazines like Shinchou or Bunshun? Which way do they swing?
I first came here in the 1990s. The Japan Times was more or less a real newspaper in those days, and almost the only place to find job openings for foreigners. How times have changed!