Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly Sept. 10-16, 2009

The End of This Nichi Bei Chapter

By KENJI G. TAGUMA
Nichi Bei Times

There I was, an inaka no ko or kid from the country, the son of a tomato farmer from the countryside of West Sacramento. A scant few days after turning 26, I was by far the youngest staff member, taking helm of the English section of what is perhaps the most storied community institution.

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Before making the trek, I called Dr. Clifford Uyeda, a good friend of mine, to ask him about the Nichi Bei Times. “I don’t think anyone can do anything with that paper,” he warned.

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By Justine Koo Drennan
New America Media
Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Nichi Bei Times’ board of directors has decided to close Northern California’s oldest Japanese American newspaper on Sept. 30 of this year after 63 years of business. In its place, a group of Nichi Bei Times staff and community members plan to start the Nichi Bei Foundation, a separate nonprofit reincarnation of the paper.

Kenji G. Taguma, the Nichi Bei Times’ vice president and English edition editor, has pioneered plans for the new Foundation because he believes the paper is an essential voice for Japanese Americans.

“Today, I see the paper as the glue that holds the community together,” Taguma said.
Decline in circulation and advertisements were chief reasons for the decision to close the Nichi Bei Times, said Ken Abiko, board chair of the paper, whose circulation base of around 8,000 includes primarily Northern California readers.

As the growth of online news, changing audiences and the economic downturn force media to close or consider new business models, Japanese media have been hit harder than many other ethnic media.

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Today’s headline news may come as a shock to many, particularly given the relative success, popularity and visibility of the Nichi Bei Times, and particularly this groundbreaking Nichi Bei Times Weekly. What many of you may not see or understand is that we also have a thrice-weekly Japanese-language edition, too.

We have, probably, the most talented and enthusiastic staff that we have ever had — in both sections, English and Japanese — who continue to impress me on a daily basis.

I have been blessed with being charged to maintain a historical legacy that I feel is unsurpassed — from the Nichi Bei Shimbun founded in 1899 by legendary newspaperman Kyutaro Abiko, to the postwar Nichi Bei Times, whose main founder Shichinosuke Asano utilized our pages to raise awareness and funds for postwar relief to a war-devastated Japan.

Their legacy, and the work of countless other unknown soldiers along the way who committed themselves to community service, have fueled us each and every day.

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Dear Readers,

It is with great sadness that we, the Board of Directors of Nichi Bei Times and its many shareholders, have decided to close the newspaper. The Nichi Bei Times will cease publication of its newspapers with the final edition on September 10, 2009.

This decision was not taken lightly. Many hours of consideration and discussion were involved in this decision. Since 1990 the Nichi Bei Times experienced a steady decline in circulation as well as declining advertising revenue. Over the recent years, alternative plans of action and ideas were considered to gain new subscriptions and advertisers. Community service has been the primary consideration of the Nichi Bei Times. We felt the traditional bilingual daily did not serve today’s Japanese American community.

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