The number of such responses total 220,000 annually. The offices also handle public affairs reply to inquiries from other media.

1. Is the information useful to our readers

2. Is it of a quality worthy of choice in every respect

3. Is it an action that will meet with public support

The CS Action Programs are designed to embody the CS Guidelines in our daily work. All divisions and sections set up respective goals, such as: “Produce articles that are sound and easy to understand” or “Ensure swift and courteous responses to complaints regarding circulation and newspaper quality.” Every year we assess the goal attainment level.

The Asahi Shimbun also organizes symposiums, lectures and events, including hands-on sessions to learn about newspaper production, in various places around the nation to promote exchanges with our readers. As of May 2007, about 220,000 had seen our “Message of Little Megumi and Her Family-Shigeru Yokota’s Photo Exhibition” which has been traveling across the nation. We invited readers to send in their essays in our “Oyaji o Kataru (speaking about my dad) Project.” The essays are to be published in a book form. We called for people to think about their family, how to raise their children and ultimately change society by speaking about their fathers.

Our head offices and factories welcome visitors. The Tokyo Head Office and the Osaka Head Office both renovated their tour courses, which now allow visitors a closer view of the rotary presses. The total number of visitors to The Asahi Shimbun, including the Hanshin Factory equipped with the state-of-art facilities, totaled 65,000 in fiscal 2006.

The task of the Publicity Department is to raise The Asahi Shimbun’s corporate profile and promote the contents of our newspaper via TV and radio commercial advertising, posters in stations and fliers. Our “Journalistic Proclamation” commercial, started in January 2006 with the catchy copy, “We believe in the power of words,” was well received by the general public. In April 2007 we mounted a promotional campaign regarding our large-scale changes to our newspaper pages. Mostly through advertisements displayed in various types of transportation, we managed to instill a powerful message that “The Asahi is changing.” A campaign highlighting the newspaper’s position as the number one source of information for university entrance examinations also captured widespread attention by featuring anatomist Takeshi Yoro and young actress Mina Fujii. We are promoting the idea: “Learn. Empower yourself. The Asashi Shimbun.”

The department also makes full use of our special vehicles, which are used to publish extras for various missions. We offer special services where the vehicles are dispatched to cover events such as soccer classes and high school baseball games. Special occasion extras for the events are created on the spot, which can then be delivered to individual homes later on. Our Gogai (extra edition) vehicle was dispatched to locations affected by the Niigata Chuetsu earthquakes, which struck in October 2004 and July 2007. The Gogai vehicle was instrumental in producing local extras, focusing on gas and other lifeline information. The copies were handed out to those affected by the earthquake and were greatly appreciated.

In the face of the growing tendency in which the younger generation is moving away from reading, the Office to Promote Reading strives to implement various programs that encourages the younger generation to read and feel closer to the printed word.

One of our endeavors is the “Author Visit” program. Authors of books that enjoy popularity among the younger generation are invited to visit schools, and teach classes in their own unique style. Hopefully, such contacts will inspire the young students to read a book written by the author, and help them to branch out, nurturing a wider, deeper appreciation of the joy of reading. The program began in 2003 and is in its fifth year of implementation. The visits take place in elementary, junior high, and senior high schools around the nation. So far we have had writer and dramatist Hisashi Inoue, poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, writers Atsuko Asano and Nahoko Uehashi, anatomist Takeshi Yoro, TV news journalist Tetsuya Chikushi participate in our Author Visit program as lecturers.

The Office to Promote Reading is also involved in creating a book page for our young readers. The “Ohanashi no Kuni” is a column that introduces picture books suitable for very young children and elementary school students; “Book Surfing” introduces popular books targeting the young adult readers.

For college students we have been providing assistance to the “Dokusho Marathon” (reading marathon) program that is organized by the Daigaku Seikyo Renmei (university co-op federation) for the past few years. We also are working on launching new projects aimed at the younger generation as a whole. Japan is now at a major turning point. We feel that during such times, everyone should be called upon to prove their strength in being able to take the initiative and think for themselves. Based on this belief, the members of our Office to Promote Reading will continue to carry out their mission with utmost efforts.

The In-house Bulletin Editorial Office is a section that plays a central role in Asahi’s in-house communication. The office has two major responsibilities.

The first is to publish our in-house bulletin “A’(A dash).” The bulletin is put out once a month. The format is a handy B5 standard size and consists of 60 pages or so. The booklet is delivered to all current and former Asahi Shimbun employees. A total of about 13,500 copies are published each month. A’ is not merely an in-house tool used to make announcements, but picks up various voices of Asahi employees and also serves as a place where various sections of the company can exchange information.

The bulletin is filled with a host of topics. Readers will find a greeting from the president, and a special project spotlighting employee opinions; in one segment, staff reporters present an inside story about how a major case was handled. There is also a page that keeps updates on former Asahi employees.

Our in-house bulletin used to be called “Asahijin.” The contents were renewed and A’ was born in 2001. The “A” stands for Asahi, and the “dash” is intended to evoke an image of dashing towards our goal.

Combined with the former Asahijin, we have so far produced 530 issues of the two bulletins as of July 2007.

Another important role for the editorial office is to publish our “newsletter.” The newsletter is used to inform the views of the company to Asahi employees during labor-management negotiations and other occasions. The newsletter is now distributed mostly via the Internet.

The In-house Bulletin Editorial Office used to be part of the Administration Division, but was transferred to the Corporate Communication Division in spring 2007. The move was implemented to enhance communication inside and outside the company, with the In-House Bulletin working together with the Publicity Department and the Public Affairs Department, departments that are tasked with the providing communications outside the company.