The Most Popular Journal » Japan

World’s Most Popular Newspapers

jeremy — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:14:28 +0000

“Popular newspapers” may seem like an oxymoron in this post-paper-and-ink era, but you may be surprised by the number of copies of printed news publications in circulation. While newspaper readership is in decline, the world’s most popular newspapers report circulation in the tens of millions.

Surprisingly, the top newspaper is Northern India’s Dainik Jagran. With thirty-two editions and 200 sub-editions, this popular daily is read by over 21.2 million people. Following closely behind is Rajasthan Patrika at 21 million.

The remaining three of the five most popular newspapers come from Japan. Yomiuri Shimbun dominates the island with 14.2 million readers. Asahi Shimbun follows with a circulation of 8 million and the world’s fifth most popular newspaper is Mainichi Shimbun with just under 4 million readers.

The most popular newspaper in the English language is The Times of India with 3.1 million readers. The most popular newspaper in the United States is USA Today with 2.3 million copies circulated.

Most Popular Car Color in Japan

jeremy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:22:51 +0000

We’ve told you about the most popular car color in the United States, but what about Japan? Are the Japanese buying white in droves as much as Americans are? According to DuPont’s 55th Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, they certainly are. As you can see from the cart below, 24% of all vehicles purchased in Japan in 2007 were white. While white wasn’t as popular as silver in intermediate or compact/sports cars, or black in SUVs, it dominated in luxury cars and MPVs. In fact, white was even more popular in Japan than it was in the US!

Most Popular Sport in Japan

tom — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:48:58 +0000

Last month, in a contest played over 2 continents, Japan defeated Cuba 10-6 in the final game of the World Baseball Classic, becoming the first champions of baseball’s first international tournament. To some this came as a surprise, but as most baseball fans can tell you, baseball is by far the sport with the most fans in Japan today.

Yakyu, as baseball is called in Japanese, was introduced from the United States during the early Meiji Period. This was a time of great shift from traditional Japanese ways of life to a more western, industrial era.

There are two professional baseball leagues in Japan: the Central League and the Pacific League. They consist of six teams each. Baseball games are broadcast live on television several times per week during the season. Furthermore, there is a large number of university and high school baseball teams. The finals of the high school baseball tournaments, in particular, enjoy a large popularity and are broadcast nationwide.

One doesn’t need to look across the ocean for prof of baseball’s popularity in Japan, many of today’s most popular players are products of the Japanese Leagues. The New York Yankees, famous for only hiring the best at any cost, have Hideki Matsui as part of their starting line-up. Ichiro Suzuki enjoys his position as not only the lead off man for the Seattle Mariners, but also as the city’s fan favorite. These and other Japanese players in the Major Leagues are national heroes back home, and their every at bat is watched religiously on a daily basis.

With Japan’s new title of world champions of baseball, and more and more Japanese players going professional here in the US, Baseball is sure to remain a popular sport in Japan for years to come.