Wikipedia:WikiProject Japan/Reliable sources
(Redirected from Wikipedia:PREFECTURALNEWS)
 | This is an information page. It is not a Wikipedia policy or guideline; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia:Reliable sources guideline It may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
This resource collates and classifies sources often used in Japanese-related articles similar to what other WikiProjects have done and aims to be as comprehensive as possible similar to reliable sources lists by WikiProjects Korea, Africa, and Philippines.
Discussion about the reliability of a certain source or certain sources can be discussed on the project's talk page or at the Reliable Source Noticeboard
Notes
[edit]- Be careful when using Japanese sources in controversial issues related to Japan in WWII.
- Some of the following publications are presumed to be reliable without a proper discussion because they are owned by a reliable source.
- Though media outlets that use the English language are preferred, there are no restrictions over the use of media outlets utilizing non-English languages (see Wikipedia:Verifiability#Non-English sources).
- Consensus can change over time and sometimes be overridden
Search engine
[edit]Listed here are Google Programmable Search Engines that limit results to only include results from established, reliable sources listed below.
- National and Regional (excluding prefectural)
- Entertainment and Sports
Aggregators
[edit]News aggregator
[edit]If you use articles republished by news aggregators like Yahoo! News Japan and 47News, you should specify in the ref both the original newspaper that published the article and the news aggregator, like so:
{{Cite news |newspaper=[[Yomiuri Shimbun]] |via=[[Yahoo! News Japan]] |url=...
| Name | Links | Notes | Uses | News providers list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47News |
|
1   |
||
| Livedoor News |
|
1 |
||
| Yahoo! News Japan |
|
1 |
References
- ↑ "AIがYouTube動画をニュース記事化する新サービス「livedoor ECHOES（ライブドアエコーズ）」がリリース！" [A new service “livedoor ECHOES” that uses AI to turn YouTube videos into news articles has been released!]. PR Times (in Japanese). 12 June 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
Encyclopedia/Dictionary aggregator
[edit]Kotobank
[edit]Kotobank () is an online encyclopedia that aggregates content from Asahi Shimbun Publishing, Kodansha, and Shogakukan.
It is considered reliable by Wikiproject Anime and Manga. (Discussion)
It can be cited as either of the two:
{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Nipponica]] |via=[[Kotobank]] |url=...{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Encyclopedia Nipponica |website=[[Kotobank]] |url=...
Weblio
[edit]Weblio () is an online database that aggregates various dictionaries and encyclopedias, such as Daijisen. NOTE: That it also aggregates the Japanese Wikipedia and Wiktionary.
It can be cited as either of the two:
{{Cite encyclopedia |dictionary=[[Daijisen]] |via=[[Weblio]] |url=...{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Daijisen |website=[[Weblio]] |url=...
Legend
[edit]This legend is partially based on WP:RS/P#Legend; see there for further details. We avoid classifying sources as deprecated and blacklisted ourselves, as we feel those decisions are better handled at the site-level, but we will still display if those sources have received those labels at a site-level.
News
[edit]National
[edit]| Name | Status (Legend) |
Notes | Available in English? | Links | Discussions | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Nippon News Network (ANN; TV Asahi) |  |
Owned by The Asahi Shimbun Company. Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | No |
|
1 | |
| Fuji News Network (FNN) | |
Owned by Fujisankei Communications Group, Take news about controversies of the Fuji TV (i.e. Masahiro Nakai scandal and channel hostilities) with a grain of salt. Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | No | 1 | ||
| Japan Today |
 |
Considered to be a WP:BLOG. The website also reprints translated articles from various sources, including sources with no fact-checking and various self-publish blogs. | English-only | 1 | 1 | |
| Jiji Press | |
A news wire service, similar to that of Kyodo News. Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | Yes |
|
1 | |
| Kyodo News |  |
A wire service agency. | Yes |
|
1 2 | |
| Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) | |
Owned by the Mainichi Shimbun Company. Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | No |
|
1 | |
| Mainichi Shimbun | |
Some articles are paywalled. | Yes |
|
1 | |
| NHK | |
|
Yes |
|
1 | |
| Nippon.com | |
There is a consensus that it is generally reliable as a WP:NEWSORG, but some editors considered to be a biased source. An editor also pointed out that any news regarding Japan in World War II should be taken with a grain of salt. | Yes |
|
1 | 1 |
| Nippon News Network (NNN) | |
Owned by the Yomiuri Shimbun Company. Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | No |
|
1 | |
| Sankei Shimbun (non-controversial topic) |
|
|
Yes | 1 2 | ||
| Sankei Shimbun (controversial topic) | |
Considered by many editors to be generally unreliable for controversial topics related to Japan. (e.g. Japan in WWII, Politics of Japan, International politics, East Asian relations, Migration in Japan)
|
Yes | 1 2 | ||
| TBS News | |
Owned by TBS Holdings, also known as JNN (Japan News Network), Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | No | 1 | ||
| The Asahi Shimbun | |
The Asahi Shimbun is considered to be a left-leaning newspaper. This includes All-Nippon News Network (ANN). Some Japanese articles are paywalled. | Yes |
|
1 | |
| The Japan Times | |
|
English-only | 1 | ||
| The Nikkei |
|
Also known as The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Some of the articles are paywalled. English version is Nikkei Asia. | Yes | 1 2 | ||
| Tokyo Reporter
|
|
Considered to be a tabloid publication. Some editors argued that the website translates articles from other sources. | English-only | 1 | ||
| Yahoo! News Japan (original reporting) |
|
|
No |
|
1 | |
| Yahoo! News Japan Experts |
 |
|
No |
|
1 | |
| Yomiuri Shimbun | |
The Japan News is the English version of this newspaper. Considered to be a right-leaning newspaper. | Yes |
|
1 | |
References
Regional/Prefectural
[edit]The sources listed deal primarily or focus mainly on their selected region and/or prefecture. Per this RSN discussion, editors consider local Japanese newspapers to be generally reliable unless otherwise stated.
Regional Block Newspapers
[edit]| Name | Status (Legend) |
Region | Notes | Available in English? | Links | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Shimbun | |
Hokkaido | Most of the articles are paywalled | No | 1 | |
| Kahoku Shimpō | |
Tohoku region | No | 1 | ||
| Chunichi Shimbun | |
Aichi Prefecture and neighboring prefectures. | They primarily cover stories from Aichi Prefecture and its neighboring prefectures (Mie, Gifu, Chūbu region). Their company also publishes The Tokyo Shimbun in the Tokyo Metro Area. | No | 1 2 | |
| Chugoku Shimbun | |
Chugoku region | No | 1 | ||
| The Shikoku Shimbun | |
Shikoku region | No | 1 | ||
| Nishinippon Shimbun | |
Kyushu region | Note that it exclude Okinawa Prefecture | No | 1 | |
Prefectural Newspapers
[edit]The following newspapers primarily focus on news in their respective prefecture.
- See Hokkaido Shimbun
- Chiba Prefecture : Chiba Nippo
- Gunma Prefecture : Jomo Shimbun
- Ibaraki Prefecture : Ibaraki Shimbun
- Kanagawa Prefecture : Kanagawa Shimbun (Kanaloco)
- Saitama Prefecture : Saitama Prefecture
- Tochigi Prefecture : Shimotsuke Shimbun
- Tokyo Metropolis: See Chunichi Shimbun
- Aichi Prefecture : See Chunichi Shimbun
- Fukui Prefecture : Fukui Shimbun
- Gifu Prefecture : Gifu Shimbun
- Ishikawa Prefecture : Hokkoku Shimbun
- Nagano Prefecture : The Shimano Mainichi Shimbun
- Niigata Prefecture : Niigata Nippo
- Shizuoka Prefecture : Shizuoka Shimbun
- Toyama Prefecture : Kitanippon Shimbun; Toyama Shimbun[b]
- Yamanashi Prefecture : Yamanashi Nichinichi Shimbun
- Ehime Prefecture : Ehime Shimbun
- Kagawa Prefecture : See Shikoku Shimbun
- Kochi Prefecture : Kochi Shimbun
- Tokushima Prefecture : Tokushima Shimbun
- Fukuoka Prefecture : See Nishinippon Shimbun; Fukuoka Kenmin Shimbun
- Miyazaki Prefecture : Miyazaki Nichinichi Shimbun
- Kagoshima Prefecture : Minami Nippon Shimbun
- Kumamoto Prefecture : Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun
- Nagasaki Prefecture : Nagasaki Shimbun
- Oita Prefecture ; Oita Godo Shimbun
- Saga Prefecture : Saga Shimbun
- Notes
- ↑ See Kahoku Shimbun
- ↑ See Hokkoku Shimbun
- ↑ Part of Nihonkai Shimbun
- ↑ Partially owned by The Nikkei
- ↑ Affiliated with The Asahi Shimbun
Entertainment and Popular Culture
[edit]Listed here are some of the selected entertainment websites. You can find more at Wikiproject Anime and Manga and Wikiproject Video Games' list of reliable sources.
| Name and link | Status (Legend) |
Notes | Scope | Available in English? | Link | Discussions[a] | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Junkie | |
Personal self-published gossip blog | General Entertainment | English-only | 1 | ||
| Automaton Media | |
Video games | Yes |
|
1 | ||
| Barks | |
Music | No | 1 | |||
| Billboard Japan | |
Some content is in English | Music | Some parts are in English | 1 | ||
| BuzzFeed Japan | |
Despite owned by The Asahi Shimbun Company. BuzzFeed still operates the website so WP:BUZZFEED still applies. | General entertainment | No | 1 | 1 | |
| CNET Japan
|
|
The Japanese website is operated by 4XCorp (a subsidiary of the The Asahi Shimbun Company) and independently from the english website. There are a small consensus that articles written by the Japanese staff is considered as generally reliable. For translated articles WP:CNET still applies. | Technology | No | 1 | 1 | |
| Denfaminico Gamer | |
Video games | No | 1 | |||
| Eiga.com | |
User reviews are unreliable as user-generated content | Movies | No | 1 | ||
| Famitsu | |
Video games | No | 1 | |||
| Forbes Japan staff written article |
|
General entertainment | No | [b] | 1 | ||
| Forbes Japan contributors | |
|
General entertainment | No | [c] | 1 | |
| Forbes Japan BrandVoice |
|
|
General entertainment | No | [d] | 1 | |
| Impress Watch | |
Listed as reliable on WP:VG/S | General entertainment | No | 1 | 1 | |
| ITmedia | |
Listed as reliable on WP:VG/S | Technology | No | 1 | 1 | |
| Kai-You | |
General entertainment | No | 1 | 1 | ||
| Mantan Web | |
Operated by The Mainichi Shimbun Company | General entertainment | Yes |
|
1 | 1 |
| Model Press | |
General Entertainment | No | 1 | |||
| Natalie | |
|
No | 1 | |||
| Note | |
Blogging website similar to WP:MEDIUM; Maybe usable if the author is a subject-matter expert | General Entertainment | No | 1 | ||
| Oricon | |
General Entertainment | Yes |
|
1 2 | ||
| Real Sound | |
Music, Movies, Tech, Books (including Anime and Manga) | No | 1 | 1 | ||
| Tokyohive | |
Owned by 6Theory owner of Allkpop. Translates news from major media news outlets | General Entertainment | English-only | 1 | ||
| ZDNET Japan
|
|
The Japanese website is operated by 4XCorp (a subsidiary of the The Asahi Shimbun Company) and independently from the english website. There are a small consensus that articles written by the Japanese staff is considered as generally reliable. For translated articles ZDNET on WP:RSP still applies. | Technology | No | 1 | 1 | |
- ↑ Discussion presented here is just some excerpts, as there is a lot of discussion in WP:A&M/RS and WP:GAMESOURCES. Only included here are discussion on WP:RSN and including some notable Wikiproject discussions
- ↑ See WP:FORBES
- ↑ See WP:FORBES
- ↑ See WP:FORBESADVISOR
Shūkanshi
[edit]Shūkanshi or Weekly Magazines are weekly tabloids in Japan. The reliability of some of them is uncertain and requires discussion. Some shūkanshi often feature sensational headlines and gossip articles, most often on celebrities and politicians. Although they often break news about certain scandals (that is later confirmed by high-quality sources), per WP:REDFLAG, per Wikipedia's WP:BLP and WP:NOTGOSSIP policy, avoid directly using these sources and it is advised to use more reputable/high-quality sources.
| Name and link | Status (Legend) |
Notes | Available in English? | Links | Discussions | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | |
Notoriously known for publishing celebrity gossip. See: Friday (magazine)#Controversies | Yes |
|
1 1 1 | |
| Josei Jishin | |
Primarily targeted at females | No | 1 | 1 | |
| Josei Seven | |
A woman's magazine; Publishes questionable stuff about the Japanese Imperial Family | No |
|
1 1 | |
| Shūkan Bunshun (non-BLP and interviews) |
|
|
No | 1 | ||
| Shūkan Bunshun (non-controversial article about BLP) | |
|
No | 1 | ||
| Shūkan Bunshun (controversial article about BLP) |
|
|
No | 1 | ||
| Shūkan Gendai | |
Primarily focus on general interest topics; Be careful on using it on WP:BLPs. | No | 1 | 1 | |
| Shūkan Shinchō | |
Often compared to Shūkan Bunshun; Also known for publishing sensationalist news articles. | No | 1 | ||
| Weekly Asahi Geinō | |
Known for publishing sensationalist news and celebrity gossip. | No | 1 | 1 | |
References
- ↑ "The Japanese magazine shaking up the cosy media club". BBC News. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
Sports
[edit]Some of these publications also publish non-sports-related articles, mainly entertainment news.
| Name | Status (Legend) |
Notes | Available in English? | Links | Discussions | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sports | |
|
No | 1 | ||
| Gekisaka | |
Owned by Kodansha; only publishes articles about soccer, Presumed reliable per WP:NEWSORG | No | 1 | ||
| Nikkan Sports | |
Owned by The Asahi Shimbun; also publishes non-sports articles. | No | 1 | ||
| Number |
|
|
No | [a] | ||
| Sankei Sports | |
Sister newspaper of Sankei Shimbun dedicated to sports. Also publishes non-sports articles. | No | 1 | ||
| Sports Hochi | |
No | 1 | |||
| Sports Nippon | |
Also known as Sponichi. Owned by Mainichi Shimbun; it also publishes non-sports articles. | No | 1 | ||
| Tokyo Sports | |
No | 1 | |||
- ↑ See WP:SHUKANBUNSHUN
Press Releases
[edit]Per WP:PRSOURCE, A press release is clearly not an independent source as it is usually written either by the business or organization it is written about, or by a business or person hired by or affiliated with the organization
. These can be considered as primary sources and cannot be used to determine notability.
| Name | Links | Notes | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyodo News PRWire | PR wire service run by Kyodo News | 1 | |
| PR Times
|
1 | ||
Digital Libraries
[edit]- Information Processing Society of Japan () (available at The Wikipedia Library