Kadokawa buys Kinejun

[Aaron Gerow]

The papers reported that Kadokawa Publishing is buying SS Communications, 
the company that owns Kinema Junpo, Japan's oldest film trade journal. 
Kadokawa will be buying 80% of the company's stock from Seiyu, the main 
owner of SSC.  Kadokawa, famous not only for its book business, but also 
for its film production (responsible in a significant way for the recent 
horror film trend), is apparently interested in using KineJun's 
film-related contents not only in it's information magazines like Tokyo 
Walker, but also in its film production business.

KineJun has not been financially that sound in recent years and I have 
even heard rumors it was going to fold. It shifted to a more "commercial" 
editorial policy in the last two years, but one wonders how well that has 
succeeded.  We must continue to watch to see what the future will hold 
for KineJun, still Japan's most important film magazine.

Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
International Student Center
Yokohama National University
79-1 Tokiwadai
Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
JAPAN
E-mail: gerow at ynu.ac.jp
Phone: 81-45-339-3170
Fax: 81-45-339-3171