Beating the Recessions of Newspaper Industry: The Japanese Experience

國際發行量組織聯盟（IFABC）與世界報紙及新聞出版者協會（WAN-IFRA）的統計數據指出，全球付費報紙的發行量前十名中，日本即佔了五名。但二まま八年金融海嘯之後，全球報業陷入經營危機，日本報業也受到衝擊，只是發行量下滑的速度較其他國家緩慢，加上電子網路與社群媒體的興起，讓年輕人逐漸遠離文字，也改變了閱聽眾使用傳統媒體的習慣。 面對這波衝擊，身為全球報業大國之一的日本，如何維持報社的經營，以及如何開拓新的讀者，皆是本報導的重點，期望能帶給臺灣報業新的想法。本報導主要分成兩個部分：（一）從全球報業的衰退談起，探討日本報業如何因應金融風暴與數位化，以及如何開拓報業經營的新模式；（二）日本報社除了進行革新之外，還用什麼方式挽回流失的年輕讀者群。 本報導發現，雖有宅配制度支撐日本報業，但發行量仍年年下滑，而東日本大地震卻讓日本的報業出現轉機，萌生各家報社互相合作、以報紙咖啡館轉換報紙形象等想法，並積極發展新媒體，如設立網站與手機應用程式，力圖轉型之餘，也仍在摸索下一步該何去何從。 另一方面，日本新聞協會（報業公會）參考美國經驗，在各級學校推廣讀報教育，包含讀報教育時間、以報紙作為教材、各項徵文比賽等活動，企圖培養孩子的讀報情感，長大後成為報社的讀者。報社、新聞協會、各級學校與學生家長形成一個系統，將讀報教育從課堂帶到生活中，提升孩童的閱讀能力。從日本國內舉行的學力測驗結果可以得知，接受讀報教育的孩童表現較佳，也強化了孩童的書寫能力。According to statistics from the International Federation of Audit Bureau of Circulations (IFABC) and World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), five titles out of top ten paid daily newspapers are from Japan. Nowadays, global press industry faces a huge recession since 2008 financial crisis. Though circulation in Japan did not drop as sharp as those in other countries, press industry was still impacted by depression and raise of the internet and social media which make readers changing the habits of traditional media usage. Japan, a leading country in newspaper publishing, has adopted several measures to meet those challenges. Experience in Japan could shed lights on Taiwan press industry. This report consists of two parts: (a) new business model of press industry in Japan when facing global recession and digitalization, and (b) measures to win the hearts of young readers. Although door-to-door delivery system supports newspaper industry in Japan, circulation still declines year by year. However, the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 brought opportunities to the industry changing their image. More efforts were made in website designs, mobile applications and interactive reports in order to reach transformation and take the next steps. Furthermore, Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (NSK) conducted Newspaper in Education (NIE) projects, which include NIE Time, newspaper text and essay competitions, to cultivate children’s media literacy by reading newspapers. Newspaper companies, the NSK, schools and parents form a system that brings NIE out of classrooms and enhance children’s reading skills. From the result of achievement exam held in Japan, we find that students who took part in NIE projects achieved higher scores and improve writing skills