In the 1880s, government pressure resulted in the slow weeding out of the Oshinbun, and the koshinbun began to resemble contemporary, "impartial" newspapers. Japanese newspapers have played an important role in problems of free speech and press freedom throughout their history. Japanese newspapers were first established around 1690 by Korean immigrants who came to Japan to trade. They brought with them their own culture and journalism, which became a major influence on the development of Japanese media. Until the middle of the 19th century, most publications in Japan were religious or political. The appearance of new papers led to conflict between writers who had been published before they started up again after a hiatus, which is when defamation laws were introduced. This early struggle for position is said to have helped develop the independence of journalists today. As Japanese newspapers developed their own style, they also began to criticize the government and imperial family openly. This made them dangerous to the status quo and in 1879, two newspapers were burned at the stake for treason against the emperor. But these events only served to strengthen the papers' resolve not to be silenced again. In 1889, the year after these newspapers were burned, another newspaper was launched that would become one of the most influential in modern Japan. It was called the Asahi Shimbun and it has been reporting news in Osaka ever since.