History
![](/img/contents/bg_header_s.jpg)
Meiji Era
Nov. 2, 1874The Yomiuri Shimbun is launched
![Notes explaining the meaning in colloquial language are printed beside the kanji characters (shown enlarged at bottom left)](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_01.jpg)
Jan. 1, 1897Serialization of Koyo Ozaki's novel, Konjiki Yasha (The Golden Demon), begins
![Illustration from Konjiki Yasha](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_02.jpg)
Taisho Era
Apr. 3, 1914New Yomiuri Fujin Furoku (women's supplement) is launched
![Page from Yomiuri Fujin Furoku](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_03.jpg)
Apr. 27, 1917The Yomiuri Shimbun sponsors the Tokaido Ekiden Kyoso (footrace). It was the beginning of Japan's ekiden long-distance relay race.
![Tokaido Ekiden Footrace handover point](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_04.jpg)
Sep. 1, 1923Head office building is destroyed by fire in the Great Kanto Earthquake
![Ginza-dori Street after the Great Kanto Earthquake](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_05.jpg)
Feb. 25, 1924Matsutaro Shoriki becomes the seventh President of The Yomiuri Shimbun
![Matsutaro Shoriki](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_06.jpg)
Nov. 15, 1925New Yomiuri Rajio Ban radio program page is launched
![Page from the Yomiuri Rajio Ban pages](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_07.jpg)
Showa Era
Nov. 25, 1931Evening edition is published for the first time
Dec. 26, 1934The Dai-Nippon Tokyo Yakyu Kurabu (baseball club), forerunner of the Yomiuri Giants
![Dai-Nippon Tokyo Baseball Club team members](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_08.jpg)
Jul. 25, 1936The Yomiuri Shimbun uses the term "Gorin" (lit. "five rings") to refer to the Olympics in print for the first time
![Article with the headline “Gorin-ki (Olympic Flag) Arrives in Berlin”](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_09.jpg)
May 25, 1945Head office building is destroyed by fire in an air raid on Tokyo by U.S. air force bombers
![Head office building burning after air raid](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_10.jpg)
Jul. 1, 1946Typeface for "Yomiuri Shimbun" title is changed to reisho-tai
![New and old titles (top is the new typeface on July 1, 1946, edition; bottom is the old typeface on June 30, 1946, edition)](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_11.jpg)
Sep. 1, 1946Creed of The Yomiuri Shimbun is announced
![Full text of the Creed of The Yomiuri Shimbun](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/4bbe2bbc41ffe90a21d4a8faf1bfcb0d.jpg)
Oct. 16, 1946Yomiuri labor dispute is resolved
![Article reporting the resolution of the Yomiuri labor dispute](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_12.jpg)
Mar. 1, 1949Henshu Techo (Editor's Note) becomes a permanent feature of the morning edition's front page
![Henshu Techo](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_13.jpg)
Nov. 25, 1952Publication in Osaka begins (marking a leap toward becoming a national newspaper)
![Page from the inaugural issue of the “Osaka Yomiuri Shimbun”](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_14.jpg)
Aug. 28, 1953Nippon TV begins to broadcast officially
![Article reporting the official start of Nippon TV’s broadcasts](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_15.jpg)
Mar. 16,1954Japanese fishing vessel, Daigo Fukuryu Maru, is exposed to radioactive fallout from hydrogen bomb testing at Bikini Atoll. Reports on the incident win the Kikuchi Kan Prize.
![Article reporting Daigo Fukuryu Maru’s exposure to radioactive fallout](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_16.jpg)
Apr. 1, 1955English-language newspaper is launched
![Page from the inaugural issue of the English-language newspaper](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_17.jpg)
Apr. 1, 1962Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra is established
![© Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra<br>Public performance at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan on September 26, 1962](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_18.jpg)
Public performance at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan on September 26, 1962
Jun. 30, 1966The Yomiuri Shimbun sponsors the first performance in Japan by the Beatles
Jan, 1967The Yomiuri Shimbun carries photographs showing Chinese leaders being exposed to public scorn by Red Guard soldiers and a special report on China's Cultural Revolution. The report wins the Vaughn International Journalistic Prize.
![Article reporting the actual state of the Cultural Revolution](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_20.jpg)
May 30, 1970Mitsuo Mutai becomes the ninth President of The Yomiuri Shimbun
![Mitsuo Mutai](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_21.jpg)
Jun. 30, 1971The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the true perpetrator of the murder of Hirosaki University professor's wife confesses 22 years after the crime. The reports won the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award and the Kikuchi Kan Prize.
![Special article reporting the true perpetrator’s confession](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_22.jpg)
Aug. 1973The Yomiuri Shimbun reports involvement by South Korean intelligence agency operatives in the kidnapping of Kim Dae Jung. It wins Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award.
![Scoop article reporting that “intelligence agency operatives were involved” in the Kim Dae Jung kidnapping](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_23.jpg)
Mar. 25, 1975Publication of the Chubu Yomiuri begins
Feb. 1977The Yomiuri Shimbun becomes Japan's top-circulation newspaper
![Article reporting recognition by Guinness Book of Records](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_25.jpg)
Aug. 1985The Yomiuri Shimbun prints photographs of 500 victims of Japan Airlines plane crash
![Page showing the photographs of 500 victims of JAL plane crash](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_26.jpg)
Oct. 19, 1986Newspaper production at Tokyo headquarters is completely computerized
![Computerized newspaper production system](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_27.jpg)
Mar. 1988The Yomiuri Shimbun launches a campaign to expose embezzlement by an Osaka police officer of cash found and handed in and police's attempts to paint the housewife who handed it in as a thief. The campaign wins the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award
![Article that prompted the campaign (March 6, 1988, Osaka city news page)](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_28.jpg)
Heisei Era
Jun. 1991Pyroclastic flow from the eruption of Mount Unzen's Fugen-dake (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Photograph of the pyroclastic flow shot by Yomiuri Shimbun journalist, Tsugikazu Tainaka, who was killed in the blast](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_29.jpg)
Jun. 1992Diet member doing stretching exercises in a corner of the Diet chamber during prolonged debate of the PKO bill (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award, Tokyo Press Photographers Association Special Award)
![Diet deliberations stalled by snail’s pace tactics](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_30.jpg)
May 1994Circulation surpasses 10 million copies
![Guinness Book of Records certification of world’s largest circulation](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_31.jpg)
Nov. 3, 1994The Yomiuri Shimbun announces proposed amendments to the Constitution
![Article announcing proposed amendments to Constitution](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_32.jpg)
Jan. 1, 1995Detection of sarin residues in (then) Kamikuishikimura, Yamanashi Prefecture
![Scoop article reporting the detection of sarin residues](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_33.jpg)
Jun. 16, 1995News website is established (launch of digital service)
![Screen of news website at time of establishment](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_34.jpg)
Jun. 6, 1998Japan's first case of successful vitro fertilization with a donor egg (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Article reporting Japan’s first successful IVF procedure with a donor egg](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_35.jpg)
Feb. 1, 1999Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc. is established and becomes part of the Yomiuri Shimbun Group
![Establishment of Chuokoron-Shinsha](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_36.jpg)
Apr. 1999Pictorial reporting of the Kosovo War in Yugoslavia (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award, Tokyo Press Photographers Association Special Award)
![Pictorial reporting article on the Kosovo War in Yugoslavia](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_37.jpg)
Jan. 1, 2000New Creed of The Yomiuri Shimbun is adopted
![New Creed of The Yomiuri Shimbun](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/e4488902d21af921795b53a81a5f0985.jpg)
May 10, 2001The Code of Conduct for the Editorial Staff of The Yomiuri Shimbun is established
Oct. 17, 2002The Yomiuri Shimbun becomes an official partner of the Japanese Olympic Committee
![Special page in The Yomiuri Shimbun cheering on the Japanese delegation on the road to the Athens Olympics (October 2002)](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_39.jpg)
Jul. 9, 2004Zenkoku Yomiuri Bohan Kyoryokukai (national Yomiuri crime prevention cooperation association) is established
![Crime prevention educational leaflets produced by the association](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_40.jpg)
Apr. 1, 2005Readers' Center is established at Tokyo headquarters
![What the Readers’ Center looks like](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_41.jpg)
Apr. 2006Cellphone screens of victims of the train accident on the JR Fukuchiyama Line (five photographs) (Tokyo Press Photographers Association Award )
![Page showing the cellphone screens of accident victims](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_42.jpg)
Aug. 13 and 15, 2006Publication of the final report on responsibility for the "Showa War"
Mar. 31, 2008Introduction of "mega characters." The number of columns per page is reduced to 12.
![Article informing readers of the introduction of mega characters](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_43.jpg)
Dec. 2009Secret nuclear agreement document found in former Prime Minister Sato's house (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Article reporting the existence of the secret nuclear agreement document](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_44.jpg)
Mar. 3, 2011The Yomiuri KODOMO Shimbun newspaper for children is launched
![The Yomiuri KODOMO Shimbun](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/english/group/history/img/shoshi-kodomo.jpg)
Jul. 2011DNA of someone other than convicted man found in the personal effects of murdered TEPCO female office worker (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Article reporting the possibility of a retrial in the TEPCO female office worker homicide](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_46.jpg)
Oct. 12, 2011The Yomiuri KODOMO Shimbun receives a Jury Commendation in the editorial category of the World Young Reader Prize offered by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
Jul. 2013"Let's show the world Japan's true strength!" (Tokyo Press Photographers Association Award)
![Passengers and station staff push a train carriage to widen the gap between the train and the platform and rescue a woman trapped in the gap](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_47.jpg)
Jan. 6, 2014The Yomiuri Shimbun officially starts operating from its new headquarters in Tokyo's central Otemachi district
![The Yomiuri Shimbun Building in Otemachi, Tokyo](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_48.jpg)
Jun. 10, 2014Tokyo headquarters appoints its first female officer
Nov. 7, 2014The Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun for teens is launched
![The Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/english/group/history/img/shosi-chuko.jpg)
Nov. 14, 2014Eight patients die after laparoscopic surgery at Gunma University Hospital (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Article reporting the deaths of eight patients after laparoscopic surgery](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_50.jpg)
Apr. 9, 2015The Yomiuri Shimbun marks its 50,000th issue
![Morning edition of issue No. 50,000](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_51.jpg)
Sep. 3, 2015The Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun is awarded the top editorial award in the World Young Reader Prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
![Then editor of The Yomiuri Chukosei Shimbun, Gessho Kobayashi, receiving the trophy](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_52.jpg)
Jan. 2016The Yomiuri Shimbun signs a contract to be a Tokyo 2020 Official Partner (newspapers category) with the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Jan. 2017Inaugural presentation ceremony of the Japan Para-Sports Awards
![Inaugural presentation ceremony of the Japan Para-Sports Awards](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_53.jpg)
Jan. 1, 2019The Yomiuri Shimbun raises the monthly price of its set of morning and evening newspapers for the first time in 25 years to ¥4,400 (tax included)
Feb. 1, 2019New digital service "Yomiuri Shimbun Online" is launched
Apr. 4, 2019Yomiuri Namiki-dori Street Building opens for business in Ginza, Tokyo. Tenants, Mujirushi Ryohin Ginza (retail store) and MUJI HOTEL GINZA, begin operation
![Yomiuri Namiki-dori Street Building in Ginza, Tokyo](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_56.jpg)
Reiwa Era
Jun. 22, 2020The Yomiuri Shimbun publishes an emergency proposal in response to the spread of novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19
Mar. 21, 2021The Yomiuri Shimbun publishes a second emergency proposal in response to spread of novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19
Mar. 25, 2021Yomiuri Land Co., Ltd. is made a wholly owned subsidiary of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings through a successful tender offer (TOB) and becomes one of the seven core companies.
Apr. 27, 2021Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. makes Tokyo Dome Corporation a wholly owned subsidiary via a successful TOB. The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings acquires a 20% stake in Tokyo Dome and makes it an affiliated company.
Sep. 7, 2022Series of scoops reporting Olympic corruption scandals (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Article reporting shady monetary transactions by the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_1.jpg)
Mar. 2023The Yomiuri Shimbun concludes a JFA National Team Partner agreement with the Japan Football Association
Sep. 6, 2023Series of scoops reporting trafficking of organs and facilitation of transplants overseas (Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association award)
![Article reporting organ trafficking](https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/group/history/img/index_img_55.jpg)