The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-06-25
Yoshikaru NaruSe Says Cumber-
some Alphabet Is Principal
Burden They Must Bear
ALSO LACK ADEQUATE
NEWS ASSOCIATIONS
Praises The American Newspa-
pers For Their NOn-Partisan-
ship In News Items

I tiaI newspapers OF Japan published
lin Toxic. Mr. Naruse has spent the
last two years IN travelling for his
paper as a special correspondent
/ Three weeks ago he started home 10
! Japan from London by way OF tho
! United States, He decided 20 spend
fortnight in New York observing
| tho American newspaper field. Just
before he departed from this city he
consented 10 discuss newspapers.
I'VE are still in the pioneer state
IN Japan. he said. as far AS even
the mechanics of getting the news Is
! concerned. Here in this country you
have been at it very much longer,
and you have reduced the whole bust.
ness OF finding out what has hap
pened and getting it before your read
ers pretty close 10 an exact science.
For instance, you have the entire
territory in which you are most in
terested mapped out and covered In
detail by men whose business IL IL
10 look after that particular locality.
And you are always watching the DO.
lice, the Offices OF the city govern
ment and other promising sources Of
news and ready 10 use telephone and
telegraph and typewriters and all the
other time saving devices 10 hurry
the news before your readers almost
before it has occurred.
I'VE have still very much To learn
along those lines. For one thing, we
have nothing that really corresponds
to your great news associations. the
United Press and others. There
is an organization called the Japan
ese Associated Press, and also a
branch OF the Reuter- news service,
but neither Of them, compared TO
the organizations whose names they
bear, really amount TO very much.
For another thing. from your point
OF view, our newspapers are very
much handicapped. You use an
alphabet OF 20 letters. 10 numerals
and q few odd symbols. We use not
one, but two alphabets. The japan
csc alphabet has 40 characters, but
that is not the worst OF 1t, for we
have also TO employ continually the
Chinese alphabet--and il contains
around 5000 distinct characters. Nat
urally, nobody has yet succeeded In
patenting a typewriter which can be
used In Japanese newspaper Office.
And the size of the fonts OF type
which we use, naturally, would cause
the head of an American composing
room TO throw up his hands. The
printers trade is not a simple one In
Japan, you may well believe
All these things together CON
tribute 10 a very different condition
OF affairs from your own. The fact
that writing copy is in itself some
thing of an art, to say nothing Of set
ting it up in type, and that all copy
must be written out by hand, together
with the other difficulties arising
from the conditions OF news-gather-
ing | have limited at, make a stan OF
reporters for a Japanese daily neces-
sariIy OF a size to wonder at.
"Jiji Shimpo has a circulation OF
about 100,00 copies daily And to
get out the paper we employ a city
star OF reporters OF about 100. / un-
derstand that 30, for the STAFF OF a
New York daily, would be considered
ample.
1"Still. when you consider that the
first Japanese newspaper was founded
only 81 years ago-we" are 20 years
old, an old paper as papers go In ia
pan--our success, judging by the
newspaper mans criterion OF circula-
ton. has been nothing TO be ashamed
OF. Toxic. has about 2000,000 inhab-
itants, and IL supports, altogether,
very nearly as many newspapers as
New York.
Jill Shtmpo, with its circulation OF
100 900, is only bit above the aver
age. There are one or two papers
which run up close 20 the half-mulion
mark but there are more papers be-
low US in circulation than there are
above.
"The evening paper is still rather a
novelty TO Us Japanese. and the even
ing papers do not begin 70 compare
with the morning journals In In
huence, circulation or standing. They
are growing tremendously fast,
though. The most striking l-dng
about our profession in recent years
has been the spread OF the evening
paper, OF which the first was founded
in the memory OF children yet young.
Our evening papers follow the
lines Of your American ones quite
closely. That IS, they are not SO
much newspapers I'm the true sense
The morning paper, with MS as with
you, is the one that prints the news.
The evening paper prints just enough
news 10 cover the outside page, and
inside il has all sorts OF special fea-
lures, fiction, stories, fashion plates,
special articles, more like daily
magazine than a newspaper
Mr.. Naruse. wouldn't be pinned
down 20 any severe criticism OF New
York papers. 81 am here 10 learn.
not to teach" he smiiingly parted
the questions But he would talk
about the London papers. with which
he is better acquainted
'"The great fault | find with Eng
Ish papers he said. lis that they
are all so tainted with partisanship,
politically. Now, here In New York
you seem 90 be approximating to-
ward the same ideal that we in ia
pan are looking for. absolute politi-
cal independence.
Our. newspapers may have lean
ings toward one party or one policy
more than another. but We don't
allow ourselves 20 be drawn into
thick-andLthin championship OF any
political party on any political theory.
And when we have political opinions,