Five years ago, Yusuke Umeda was in search of a media industry business model strong enough to survive a difficult time in journalism.
Now the co-CEO and co-founder of Uzabase Inc. is trying to take the global lead in the industry with NewsPicks, a business news platform he created with a subscription-based model inspired by traditional newspapers.
"The point of the model is that it can have a direct connection with readers who pay ¥4,000 to ¥5,000 for the value of content without relying on other companies to distribute it. It's a strong model that has continued for over 100 years," Umeda, 37, said in a recent interview with The Japan Times.