Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun censored in China

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun's social media accounts in China were deleted on Wednesday amid growing tension between the two countries over a territorial dispute. Until Wednesday's move by the censors, Japan's second-largest newspaper had a following of 1.3 million people on Chinese microblogging platforms, making it the most popular foreign media outlet in China. Its posts on Sina Weibo were shared 191 times on average, according to a report by China Newsweek in February.

Reading Time:2 minutes

Another post shared by Asahi Shimbun on Sina Weibo. Screenshot from weibo.

Published: 11:33am, 18 Jul 2013Updated: 12:55am, 19 Jul 2013

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun's social media accounts in China were deleted on Wednesday amid growing tension between the two countries over a territorial dispute.

Until Wednesday's move by the censors, Japan's second-largest newspaper had a following of 1.3 million people on Chinese microblogging platforms, making it the most popular foreign media outlet in China. Its posts on Sina Weibo were shared 191 times on average, according to a report by China Newsweek in February.

One of the posts shared by Asahi Shimbun on Sina Weibo. Screenshot from weibo.

It is unclear what triggered deletion of the accounts on the Sina, Tencent, Sohu and Netease microblogging platforms. The newspaper said in a statement on Thursday that it had not received a reply from the microblog operating companies about the incident.

A former social media editor for Asahi, who uses the pseudonym Wangzuo Zhongyou, wrote in a microblog post that the accounts were taken down because of "instructions from above".

"Give me back Asahi-kun!" many, among the thousands who commented on the deletions, wrote on Sina Weibo. Some posted icons of candles to commemorate its disappearance.

The Asahi Shimbun has become one of the most popular media outlets on Chinese social media by outsmarting censors with clever wordplays, earning the honorific title Asahi-kun, or Master Asahi, among Chinese netizens.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x