JOURNALISM IN JAPAN.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 1586, 22 April 1887, Page 4

JOURNALISM IN JAPAN.

The Chamberlain of Prince Lomatsu, who has been staying for some time in Paris, haa furnished aome interesting particulars to the Figaro with reapect to the progress of newapaper enterprise in Japan. He aaya that the first political journal appeared at what waa then Yeddo, but ia now called Tokio, in 1833, and contained merely extracta from the Engliah and Dutch newspapers published in the Indies. Up to this date the only sort of newspaper which appeared waa a Japanese print called the Shimbun, which gave rough drawinge, with texta to match, of Crimea and accidents. The revolution of 1865 brought about a great change, and newspapers soon became plentiful, oneofthe first being a Government paper called the Kampo, which still appears, and which publishes all kinds of official documents. Upon the ISth of June, IS7I, the first daily paper, the Mainichi Shimbun, was brought out at Yokohama, and this journal, now published at Tokio, has done very well. It has 70 contributors, six of whom write leading articles, and its daily circulation is about 10/JOO. The other leading papers in Japan are the yichi Shimbun {Daily Neics), the Choya Shimbun (organ of the Government and the peopl<), ard the Jiji Shimbun (Times). These three journals have about the same number of contributora and the same circulation as the \Mainichi Shimbun. The Choya Shimbun* in the habit of distributing a great many copies in the villages for the purpose of "enlightening the people." The Jiji, or Japanese Times, waa founded in March, ISS2, and its editor i« M. Fukusawo, *bo publishes some well-written Utters from correspondents in the principal capitals of Europe. The Yubin Hoclii Shinbun is a small paper publiahed at Jd, and also containing a good deal of European news. Most of these papers appear either at Yokohama or Tokio, and contain plenty of local news. Most of the small towns also have a print of their own. Tokio also has two monthly reviewi and balf-a dozen illustrated journals, which are mnch appreciated by the public, especially when they give sketches of military reviews and Court ceremonies. The best of the literary reviews is one called the Remoji Laxshi, which, as its title indicates, ia printed in Roman characters.