Sankei Shimbun

The Sankei Shimbun is published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd., and is part of the Fuji Sankei Communications Group. The Fuji Sankei Group is a media conglomerate which owns a variety of media companies including Fuji Television (TV station), Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc. and Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Inc. (radio stations), and Pony Canyon, Inc. (film and music).

The Sankei Shimbun’s history started in 1933, when the Osaka Evening Newspaper launched the Nihon Kōgyō Shimbun. In 1942, the company change its name to the Sangȳo Keizai Shimbunsha and the name of the newspaper was changed to the Sankei Keizai Shimbun. After World War II, the company started to publish a newspaper in Tokyo. In 1944, that newspaper merged with the Jiji Shinpō and became the Sankei Jiji, and in 1959, the Osaka and Tokyo newspapers were unified as the Sankei Shimbun. During the previous year in 1958, as the company was reforming its finances, the management team brought in talent from the business community. Maeda Hisakichi, who had led the company since the Nihon Kōgyō Shimbun was launched, resigned and Mizuno Shigeo became the new president of the company. After that, the tone of the newspaper became more conservative. After Shikanai Nobutaka became president of the Sankei Shimbun in 1968, the newspaper continued with its conservative tone and it started to push for constitutional revision.

In 2013, when the Sankei Shimbun celebrated its 80th anniversary, it published a revised draft of the Constitution titled “The Constitution of the People.” The distinguishing features of the draft included making the Emperor the head of state, maintaining patrilineal imperial succession, the obligation to respect the national flag and national anthem, the prime minister’s authority to command and supervise the military (gun), and stipulations related to respecting the family. The draft also establishes a new emergency clause and explicitly mentions the people’s obligation to defend the nation.