Shukan Bunshun magazine has been making headlines since late January thanks to a string of major scoops on no fewer than seven topics.

These concerned accusations of financial misconduct by economy minister Akira Amari that led to his resignation (Jan. 28, Feb. 4 and Feb. 11); details of the alleged extramarital affair between TV personality Rebecca Eri Ray Vaughan (known professionally as Becky) and Enon Kawatani, the 27-year-old singer in the band Gesu no Kiwami Otome (Feb. 4); followed by the hullabaloo over the rumored breakup of the five-member music group SMAP, which has been performing for 28 years (Feb. 4).

These were followed by news about the arrest of baseball star Kazuhiro Kiyohara on accusations of possession of illegal stimulants (Feb. 18); the tracking down of the nameless and faceless criminal referred to as "Shonen A," who as a 14-year-old serial murderer (but now considered rehabilitated) had terrorized the residents of Kobe in 1997 after he left the decapitated head of one of his victims, an 11-year-old, outside the gate of a junior high school (Feb. 25); revelations of Diet member Kensuke Miyazaki's extramarital affair while on paternity leave (Feb. 25); and "confessions" regarding illegal betting by former Yomiuri Giants ace pitcher Shoki Kasahara (March 3).