Josei Jishin

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Wikipedia

Josei Jishin
CategoriesWomen's magazine
FrequencyWeekly
PublisherKobunsha
Founded1958
First issue2 December 1958
CompanyKobunsha
CountryJapan
Based inTokyo
LanguageJapanese
Websitejisin.jp

Josei Jishin (女性自身) is a Japanese weekly women's magazine. Published by Kobunsha, it is the first weekly women's magazine in Japan, which targets single working women. It has been in circulation since 1958.[1]

Josei Jishin established the term OL, or Office Lady, in its November 25, 1963 issue.

History and profile

December 12, 1958 cover

Josei Jishin was established in 1958, with the first issue was published on 2 December 1958.[1][2] The founding company is Kobunsha.[2][3] The magazine is published on a weekly basis.[1] It developed a collaboration with American youth magazine Seventeen and published its photographs during the initial years.[2]

In its November 25, 1963 issue, the weekly magazine introduced the term OL (Office Lady) as an alternative to "Business Girl" after holding a competition among readers.[4]

The fashion magazine JJ, which was first published in 1975, originated as a special issue of Josei Jishin aimed at female college students. It has since spawned Classy, a version of JJ targeted to women aged between 24 and 28, and JJ Bis is a version for older teens.

In 1999, in honor of its fortieth anniversary Josei Jishin and its logo were redesigned.[5]

The magazine has received multiple complaints and demands for corrections from the Imperial Household Agency for publishing articles containing false information regarding the Imperial family.[6]

In October 2007, J-pop duo Pink Lady sued Kobunsha for ¥3.7 million after Josei Jishin used photos of the duo on an article on dieting through dancing without their permission. The case was rejected by the Tokyo District Court. In February 2012, the Supreme Court rejected the duo's appeal based on the right of publicity.[7][8]

In 2013, the weekly reported that Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, had instructed that the kitchen of the Prime Minister's official residence be renovated at a cost of ¥10 million, but this was denied by Abe himself on his Facebook page, who demanded a retraction.[9]

In August 2019, Josei Jishin reported misinformation about broadband cellular network 5G, claiming that it "caused a mass death of starlings," based on a conspiracy theory medical blog from overseas.[10] This information had already been judged as "fake" by Snopes, an American fact-checking website.[11]

An article titled "How to Avoid Losing to the Coronavirus: Medications You Should Stop Taking Now," published in the March 24/31, 2020 combined issue, received a flood of criticism, and the article was removed from Yahoo's headlines and other platforms.[12]

An extra-large poster of Japanese men's national volleyball team player Ran Takahashi was included as a supplement in the October 10, 2023 issue; the Japan Volleyball Association issued a statement of protest, claiming that it was published without their permission. The organization manage and control the image rights of members of the national team.[13][14][15]

Associated people

  • Isamu Kurosaki, first Editor-in-Chief
  • Kiyoshi Inoue, second Editor-in-Chief
  • Hidekazu Sakurai, third Editor-in-Chief
  • Takaya Kodama (He was in charge of articles related to Yukio Mishima at Mishima's request, who wanted "an excellent editor to be assigned to him." He even started bodybuilding at Mishima's suggestion. He became the third deputy editor-in-chief in 1967.[16])
  • Koji Tanabe, current Editor-in-Chief
  • Daizo Kusayanagi, political writer
  • Rō Takenaka, entertainment writer
  • Junichiro Kuroki, who was responsible for the "Series Human" program, including segments on Jakucho Setouchi, etc. Husband of actress Chieko Matsubara.[17][18]
  • Tadaaki Maeda. After working as an entertainment reporter for this publication, moved to Fuji Television for which he currently works as a contracted entertainment reporter.
  • Omoro Yamashita, former comedian. Entertainment writer[19]
  • Sequence Hayatomo, comedian of Yoshimoto Kogyo, who says he also possesses psychic abilities.

Awards

The magazine is a four-time recipient of Fujisankei award.[20]

Circulation

Josei Jishin sold 705,399 copies in the second half of 1979.[21] In 2006 the circulation of the magazine was 519,464 copies.[22] Its circulation was 255,089 copies in 2010 and 243,568 in 2011.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jan Bardsley (2014). Women and Democracy in Cold War Japan. London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4725-2566-6.
  2. 1 2 3 Emiko Ochiai (1998). "Decent Housewives and Sensual White Women: Representations of Women in Postwar Japanese Magazines". In Edward R. Beauchamp (ed.). Women and Women's Issues in Post World War II Japan. New York; London: Garland Publishing, Inc. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-8153-2731-8.
  3. ↑ "History of Kobunsha". Kobunsha. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Cherry, Kittredge (1987). "Office Flowers Bloom: Work Outside the Home". Womansword: What Japanese Words Say about Women (paperback) (First mass market edition, 1991 ed.). Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. p. 103. ISBN 4-7700-1655-7.
  5. ↑ "Poster for "Josei-Jishin" magazine by Kobunsha". Tokyo TDC. 1999. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  6. ↑ “「女性自身」（平成22年6月29日号）の記事について”. 宮内庁 (2010年6月17日). Retrieved 2025年12月17日
  7. ↑ "Pink Lady Lose Supreme Court Appeal". Japan Zone. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Getting the Deal Through: Right of Publicity" (PDF). Law Business Research, Ltd. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  9. ↑ “安倍晋三さんの写真アルバム”. 2013年2月2日閲覧
  10. ↑ 福田, 瑠千代 (28 August 2019). "「5Gでムクドリ大量死」デマ拡散 2018年にFacebookで流行したフェイクニュース". ねとらぼ ITmedia. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  11. ↑ Kasprak, Alex (13 November 2018). "Did a 5G Cellular Network Test Cause Hundreds of Birds to Die?". Snopes. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  12. ↑ 『女性自身』記事“今やめるべき薬”が大炎上！「患者を殺す気か」
  13. ↑ 光文社発行「女性自身」10月10日号について”. 日本バレーボール協会 (2023年10月13日)
  14. ↑ “人気沸騰中の男子バレーで思わぬ騒動 高橋藍の特大ポスター、女性誌が無断で発行 バレー協会声明「高橋選手も困惑」”. デイリースポーツ (2023年10月13日)
  15. ↑ “【バレー】高橋藍の特大ポスター無断発行に日本協会が抗議「事前相談なく…」”. 東京スポーツ (2023年10月13日).
  16. ↑ 加藤邦彦「『女性自身』と三島由紀夫――『雨のなかの噴水』の再掲をめぐって――」（研究15 2015, pp. 35–44）
  17. ↑ 松原智恵子語る50年の結婚生活 母の猛反対退けてまで夫に週刊誌記者を選んだ理由”. 女性自身. 光文社 (2022年6月2日). 2022年6月20日閲覧。
  18. ↑ ^ “松原智恵子「素敵な世界を見せてくれてありがとう」50年連れ添った夫へ贈るラブレター”. 女性自身. 光文社 (2022年6月2日). 2022年6月20日閲覧。
  19. ↑ “オモロー山下 芸人引退で女性自身記者に！異例の転身を告白”. 2021年7月1日閲覧。
  20. ↑ "Josei Jishin & Yahoo Japan Collaboration Gets 12 Million Unique Hits Monthly!". Universal Vision. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  21. ↑ Michael Dylan Foster (2008). Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA; London: University of California Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-520-94267-7.
  22. ↑ "Manga Anthology Circulations 2004-2006". ComiPress. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  23. ↑ "Top 20 Magazines by ABC Circulation" (PDF). Nikkei Business Publications. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.