The Japan Times

The Japan Times is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It was founded on March 22, 1897, by Motosada Zumoto with the aim of providing Japanese readers with a platform to read and discuss news in English to better engage with the international community. History During World War II, The Japan Times name was temporarily changed to Nippon Times (1943–1956) due to a ban on English-language sentiment and served as an outlet for the Imperial Japanese government's communication. It reverted to The Japan Times in 1956. The paper was long owned by the Ogasawara family following a major acquisition in the 1980s. In 2017, it was sold to News2u Holdings, Inc., a Tokyo-based PR firm. Controversy The Japan Times, Ltd. publishes the daily broadsheet The Japan Times, the weekly The Japan Times On Sunday, and the bilingual weekly The Japan Times Alpha. Since 2013, the paper has been printed and sold along with The New York Times International Edition. In 2018, following its acquisition by News2u, the paper faced criticism after it announced changes to its editorial style guide for sensitive historical terms. The paper stated it would use "wartime laborers" instead of "forced labor" and change the description of "comfort women," a move that drew immediate criticism from readers and staff who viewed it as aligning with conservative political positions. The paper later apologized for undermining trust with its readers and staff. References