Tsuneo Watanabe, the president and chief editor of Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, passed away on the 19th. Watanabe, a former political reporter, was known for his significant influence on Japanese politics and as a prominent media figure who ushered in the “10 million newspaper circulation era.” He also had deep connections with Korea. He was 99 years old.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Watanabe died of pneumonia in a hospital in Tokyo early in the morning. Until last month, he regularly attended company board meetings and editorial meetings. Even as his health deteriorated from pneumonia this month, he continued to review newspaper editorials from his hospital bed, insisting on fulfilling his duties as chief editor.
Born in 1926, Watanabe had been a member of the Japanese Communist Party while studying in the philosophy department at Tokyo University but left due to ideological differences. After graduating from university, he joined the Yomiuri Shimbun in 1950, where he worked as a political reporter, Washington bureau chief, and political department head, eventually becoming the chief editor and managing director. He served as the president of the newspaper in 1991, the president of the Yomiuri Shimbun Group in 2001, and became chairman in 2004, maintaining his influential role even after stepping down in 2016.
As a journalist, he was credited with steering Yomiuri Shimbun’s editorial stance towards moderate conservatism. He was known for advocating an “advocacy journalism” approach, wherein the newspaper actively proposed major government policy directions. In 1994, he sparked controversy by publishing a “constitutional amendment draft” in the newspaper reflecting the company’s opinions, including maintaining the right of self-defense and establishing a constitutional court. His involvement in politics has received mixed reviews, as he maintained close relations with prominent political figures like former Prime Ministers Yasuhiro Nakasone and Shinzo Abe, and recently Fumio Kishida. Asahi Shimbun noted that he acknowledged his role as an “influencer” behind the scenes of political decision-making and stagecraft. From 1999, he served as chairman of the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association for three years, contributing to the creation of a new “Newspaper Ethics Code” with a previously non-existent “respect for human rights” clause.
Starting in 1991, he also took part in the company’s management as the president and chief editor. He is legendary not only for his over 70-year career as a journalist but also as a manager. He was taught by Mitsuo Mutai, the former honorary chairman hailed as a “management god” for bringing Yomiuri Shimbun to the top of the industry. Under Watanabe’s leadership in 1994, the newspaper’s circulation surpassed 10 million copies for the first time in its history. It maintained high sales numbers, peaking at 10,310,091 copies in January 2001.
Watanabe was also active in political and social activities, serving as a member of governmental committees such as the Fiscal System Council, the Administrative Reform Council, and information protection advisory meetings. In the field of sports, he chaired the Yomiuri Giants, Japan’s most popular professional baseball team, from 1996, and served as the chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Council for sumo wrestling.
He had notable connections with Korea, having made headlines in 1962 as a political reporter with an exclusive report on the “Kim Jong-pil (JP)-Ohira Memo,” revealing secret details of the negotiations for normalizing diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. Mainichi Shimbun noted that he achieved these exclusive reports through close interactions with high-ranking Korean officials and Japanese government figures, acting as a mediator, which sometimes led to controversies over excessive political involvement through specific politicians.
The Yomiuri Shimbun announced that his funeral will be held privately with only close relatives attending, followed by a farewell ceremony. The chief mourner will be his eldest son, Mutsumishi.