It is often said that if you really want to understand what is happening in Japan you should read the weekly magazines. Though the weeklies' journalistic standards are considered less rigorous than those of the daily newspapers, they are less reluctant to step on toes that belong to people who might make life and commerce difficult for them. Newspapers and TV networks not only belong to press clubs that rely on the authorities for news items, they also sell space and air time to major corporations whom they don't want to make mad.

According to critic Takeshi Kamewada in his Magazine Watch column in the Asahi Shimbun, TV news shows increasingly report as news scoops stories published by weekly magazines. The result has been a drop in the weeklies' circulation. In order to remain vital, the magazines have had to look for stories that they are sure television will not touch in any form.

As an example, Kamewada cites an article in the March 2 issue of Shukan Bunshun that attacks Hiroyuki Ehara, a "spiritual counselor" who is such a TV ratings hog that even the scandal-happy wide shows wouldn't dare re-report the story. In the article, unnamed former associates accuse Ehara of boorish behavior that contradicts his media image as a gentle, thoughtful man.