Friday (magazine)

Friday (フライデー, Furaidē) is a Japanese weekly magazine that contains celebrity gossip, politics, news, and porn. It is published by Kodansha. New issues are released every friday, hence the name.

Friday
CategoriesPhotographs
FrequencyShūkan (weekly)
First issue9 November 1984 (1984-11-09)
CompanyKodansha
CountryJapan
Based inTokyo
LanguageJapanese
Websitefriday.kodansha.ne.jp

History

Friday, often called Friday Saseru (フライデーされる, Friday will be done), was launched on November 9, 1984. The magazine is best known for its candid, paparazzi-style photographs of celebrities and politicians, accompanied by often scandalous rumors of their private lives. It has been compared to as a mix of the magazinesPeople and Newsweek. A special supplementary issue called Friday Dynamite is published several times a year.[1][2]

Friday usually covers stories too risqué for the daily newspapers. Their covers usually depict either female celebrities or scantily clad models.

In 2003, the magazine published its 1,000th issue – a double issue covering both the Golden Week and the Bon Festival/Christmas and holiday season.

Friday is one of three Japanese weekly magazines, along with Flash, also published by Kobunsha, and Focus, published by Shinchosha, that are collectively known as the "3F".[3] In the early 1990s, following the rapid rise of the 3F, other major publishers began issuing their own tabloid-style magazines. In addition to the appearance of Emma (Bungeishunjū) and Touch (Shogakukan), the "3F" became the "3FET"; however, Emma and Touch were not able to compete with Flash and Friday. Both were shut down by the end of the decade. After Focus was discontinued in 2001, Friday became the most widely circulated weekly magazine. It has 409,082 subscribers according to the Japan Magazine Society. At its peak in the mid-1990s, Friday was selling roughly 600,000 issues per week.[4]

Editors

※ Source: Kodansha no 100-nen (company history)

NameTermRemarks
Toshio ItoJul 1984 – Jun 1985Former "Shūkan Gendai" editor-in-chief. Later founded Tamis Co. Ltd. and issued Shūkan Tamis at Gakken.[5]
Akihiko TerashimaJun 1985 – Apr 1987After retiring from the editorial office he took on the editor of "Shūkan Gendai".
Shin SugawaApr 1987 – Apr 1988
Iwahiro MoriApr 1988 – Mar 1991After retiring from the editorial office he took on the editor of "Shūkan Gendai".
Masahiko MotokiMar 1991 – Mar 1993After retiring from the editorial office he took on the editor of "Shūkan Gendai".
Tetsu SuzukiMar 1993 – Jul 1996After retiring as editor-in-chief, he transferred to another department, and appointed editor-in-chief of "Shūkan Gendai".
Masashi TaniJul 1996 – Mar 1998
Haruyuki KatoMar 1998 – Jul 2000After being editor-in-chief, he was in charge of the publication department of the Gakugei Tosho Publishing Department, and editor in charge of "Shūkan Gendai".
Tomoyuki SuzukiJul 2000 – Jun 2002
Ichioya DelhiJun 2002 – Jul 2004
Kenji NakamotoJul 2004 – Mar 2006
Ichioya DelhiMar 2006 – Apr 2008Second inaugural editor-in-chief. From the "Shūkan Gendai" editorial department (editor-in-chief) transfer.
Hisayuki SenbaApr 2008 – Jun 2009
Atsushi AkiyoshiJun 2009 – Jun 2012

Controversies
  • In December 1986, Friday published an article alleging that the TV personality Takeshi Kitano was having an affair with a college student. Kitano was furious and felt that he and his family had been harassed by the magazine. He and a group of followers attacked the Friday offices in retaliation.[6] The men involved were charged and received suspended sentences. During the trials, the information and sources that the magazine used were criticized. Thus, this incident directly caused a decline in the magazine's circulation.
  • In September 1991, Happy Science protested the content of an article. This caused widespread demonstrations and calls for legal action. A feature article posted later in the 1,000th issue said, "the work of Kodansha was temporarily stopped due to this one case."
  • According to a report in May 2000, Prime Minister Yoshirō Mori offered a delicate English greeting to the President of United States, Bill Clinton. This was reported on 21 July, in the 2000th issue of Friday relating to 26th G8 summit and Shūkan Bunshun.[7] In addition, journalist Shūkan Asahi is skeptical of the report of Friday and verified the articles, exposing that the articles were created by Akio Takahata, editorial writer of Mainichi Newspapers.[8][9]
  • In October 2006, the magazine published a Scenic Kiss Photo in Minamiaoyama, Minato, Tokyo with Democratic Party of Japan member Goshi Hosono and freelance announcer Mona Yamamoto at the top of the spread page. Because Hosono was in a relationship, the affair triggered a scandal, leading to his resignation in October of that year. As a representative on behalf of the Democratic policy investigation, Chairman Yamamoto stopped making appearances on Tetsuya Chikushi, News23 from October 2 on the grounds of "poor physical conditions", and left on October 23. This photo was awarded the 2006 "Editors' Choice Magazine Journalism Award Topic Award."
  • In August 2011, Friday published an exposé of TV personality Shinsuke Shimada and his ties to Yakuza. Shimada admitted exchanging text messages with the leader of an Osaka-based gang affiliated with Yamaguchi-gumi and was forced to resign as a result. He later sued Kodansha for compensation in the amount of 55 million yen, stating that his honor and reputation had been irreparably damaged by allegations. The Tokyo District Court ordered Kodansha to pay 3.3 million yen and rejected Shimada's demand to have the magazine apologize.[10]
  • In the June 23, 2017, issue, an article alleged that actor Keisuke Koide had been drinking with and had sex with a female minor. Koide admitted to the crimes and was subsequently suspended by his talent agency. Prosecutors indicted him on the charge of drinking but dropped the charge of statutory rape against Koide, as the minor-in-question desired an out-of-court settlement.[11]

Issue circulation
Issue circulation (After April 2008) (Japan Magazine Society)
Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
2008 380,000 copies375,834 copies364,616 copies
2009 345,000 copies335,417 copies340,000 copies330,231 copies
2010 330,231 copies315,734 copies324,892 copies305,546 copies
2011 303,625 copies306,000 copies308,131 copies311,250 copies
2012 311,250 copies296,100 copies311,850 copies305,910 copies
2013 293,334 copies275,917 copies269,167 copies269,167 copies
2014 273,637 copies275,834 copies277,500 copies278,462 copies
2015 260,000 copies263,334 copies260,910 copies253,847 copies
2016 254,167 copies256,364 copies257,500 copies254,167 copies
2017 254,167 copies254,167 copies250,833 copies

References
  1. "総合誌：講談社" (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. "フライデー襲撃事件からちょうど30年！ 成宮寛貴をスクープした『FRIDAY』". Excite News (in Japanese). Excite. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  3. "創刊60周年、週刊女性古参記者が語る「田原俊彦と中山美穂の幻のデート取材」ほか" (in Japanese). Shūkan Josei Prime. 12 January 2017. p. 2. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  4. "フライデー創刊編集長で襲撃事件の当事者・伊藤寿男さんに聞く「怒られても前向きでいる方法」". Pasona Career (in Japanese). Hata Labo –Hataraku Koto Kenkyūjo–. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 23 Mar 2018.
  5. "編集者ほど面白い仕事はない/伊藤 寿男【著】- 紀伊國屋書店ウェブストア" (in Japanese). Books Kinokuniya. Retrieved 23 Mar 2018.
  6. "Kitano Takeshi: Marching to His Own Creative "Beat"". nippon.com.
  7. "サミットで首脳夫人にも嫌われた森喜朗首相の英会話". Shūkan Bunshun (in Japanese). Bungeishunjūdate=3 August 2000. 42 (29): 27–28. From the National Diet Library Search (Detailed Information)
  8. "ブッシュ再選と今後の日米関係" (PDF) (in Japanese). Ryūkyū Shimpō. 8 Dec 2004. Retrieved 23 Mar 2018. At the 141st Ryūkyū Forum lecture meeting, Takahata acknowledged that it was creative.
  9. Nakamura, Mariko (11 Aug 2000). "森首相、クリントン大統領に「フー・アー・ユー」失言の真偽". Shūkan Asahi (in Japanese).
  10. "島田紳助さんが勝訴　フライデー記事で賠償命令" (in Japanese). 47News. Kyodo News. 26 Sep 2012. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 24 Mar 2018.
  11. "Prosecutors drop case against actor Keisuke Koide for drinking with under-age girl". Japan Today. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
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