Josei Jishin
Josei Jishin 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.
Josei Jishin established the term OL, or Office Lady, in its November 25, 1963 issue.
History and profile
[file:女性自身_昭和33（1958）年12月12日.jpg|thumb|December 12, 1958 cover]Josei Jishin was established in 1958, with the first issue was published on 2 December 1958. The founding company is Kobunsha. The magazine is published on a weekly basis. It developed a collaboration with American youth magazine Seventeen and published its photographs during the initial years.
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.
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.
Retractions and legal issues
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.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.
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.
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. This information had already been judged as "fake" by Snopes, an American fact-checking website.
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.
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.
Associated people
- Isamu Kurosaki, first Editor-in-Chief
- Kiyoshi Inoue, second Editor-in-Chief
- Hidekazu Sakurai, third Editor-in-Chief
- Takaya Kodama
- 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.
- 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
- Sequence Hayatomo, comedian of Yoshimoto Kogyo, who says he also possesses psychic abilities.