There's an eclectic array available, offering a focus for every conceivable group. Presently, some 200 new titles each year are introduced into Japan's mature and sophisticated magazine market, according to Masahiko Motoki, head of publisher Kodansha's planning division and editor in chief of Web Gendai . But today there are no influential magazines. Their lifecycle is getting shorter and shorter. Part of the reason is that advertisers are becoming more sophisticated in their demographic targeting, and they won't support a title that doesn't have a sharply defined audience.
Themes turn on concepts of betrayal, honor, and fidelity.
NHK's morning drama programs, for example, focus on women establishing their own work and lifestyles. For example, Japanese newspapers are not as open to their audience as those in the US and other countries. Keiichi Katsura, a media expert at the Tokyo University of Information Sciences, explains that while American newspapers' letters sections serve as forums for dialogue between the editors and readers, Japanese readers' tend to submit their personal views simply to have them publicized. Also, when the media covers accident or crime victims excessively, Japanese readers tend to expect the government to do something to control the press rather than show concern about violating freedom of expression. This year, the Diet will be debating several new laws targeting protection of youth and privacy that may also have wide-ranging implications for press freedom.