The weekly magazine Shukan Kinyobi has apologized to Kyodo News and Jiji Press for plagiarizing stories from the two news agencies about the Sept. 11 general election.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Kyodo, Hajime Kitamura, chief editor of Shukan Kinyobi, said the magazine was considering punishing the staff involved.
The weekly also plagiarized an article from Jiji Press and sent a letter of apology to that news service as well.
Shukan Kinyobi does not subscribe to Kyodo, but an article in its Sept. 16 edition included a section almost identical to an analysis Kyodo filed Sept. 12 regarding preparations within the Democratic Party of Japan to choose a new leader after its huge setback in the previous day's House of Representatives election.
The part in question involved how the DPJ had suffered losses in urban districts.
Kitamura said the article was compiled by an editor using stories from an outsourced writer. The plagiarism came to light after the magazine was told of the similarities by an outside party, he added.
When questioned, the writer admitted copying from Kyodo's article "to meet the deadline," Kitamura said.