Dentsu

Dentsu appears in the account not through a particular advertising campaign but through its influence over the structure of Japanese news media. As the country’s largest and most powerful advertising agency, it held a controlling interest in Kyodo News, a relationship the book suggests could color the news agency’s coverage.

Position in the Media Landscape

The account situates Dentsu within a media system dominated by large, influential outlets. The Yomiuri Shinbun had the world’s largest newspaper circulation, while the Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shinbun were among the country’s other major papers. In that setting, Dentsu’s scale—as the leading advertising agency in Japan and the world—gave its connection to a national news service particular institutional weight.

Relationship with Kyodo News

Kyodo News is described as Japan’s equivalent of the Associated Press. It had originated as Domei, the Japanese government’s propaganda branch during World War II, and became independent after the war, though the account says not all of its former connections were severed. Dentsu’s controlling interest was another factor shaping the agency’s position: the book notes that such influence could color Kyodo’s reporting, without identifying a particular story altered by Dentsu.

Influence and Institutional Contrast

The account places Dentsu’s ownership influence alongside a countervailing feature of Kyodo News: its reporters’ labor union. The union helped ensure that employees could use the vacation days owed to them, a protection described as rare among Japanese firms. The contrast makes Kyodo’s institutional character more complex: its coverage could be shaped by its relationship with a powerful advertiser, while its reporters had an unusually strong workplace safeguard.