Japan Agricultural News

What Japan Agricultural News does

Japan Agricultural News (日本農業新聞) is a privately held Japanese media company headquartered at 2-3 Akihabara, Taito-ku, Tokyo that publishes Japan's only daily specialized agricultural newspaper. The publication was established in 1928 (per firmographic data) or 1933 (per company history; sources conflict) and reached approximately 280,000 combined print and digital circulation as of October 2023, with a 100th anniversary milestone referenced in 2023. It targets farmers and agricultural workers, JA (Agricultural Cooperative) organizations, agribusinesses, government policymakers, agricultural schools, and general consumers with coverage spanning agricultural policy, farming techniques, market prices, JA cooperative news, rural community affairs, food topics, and cultural content. The company's editorial positioning and JA-anchored distribution give it an entrenched role in Japan's agricultural information ecosystem.

The company's product portfolio centers on the daily print edition (日本農業新聞 紙版) at ¥3,100/month and a digital/electronic edition (電子版) at ¥1,100/month, supplemented by an extensive set of digital sub-brands: The Japan Agri News (English), Wagyu News (和牛新聞, beef-focused), Tomato News (トマト新聞), DEN-NO-GAI (電農街, ICT in agriculture), Global AX Journal (overseas agricultural information), and Fra Marsche (フレ マルシェ, direct-sales support magazine). It also operates a corporate database subscription service for agricultural market and news archive access and distributes content across website, mobile apps, email newsletters, a Voicy audio channel (聞く農), LINE messaging, plus more than 10 regional X/Twitter accounts, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook pages.

Revenue is generated through five streams: print subscriptions (recurring, via JA account transfer or newspaper shop contracts), digital/electronic subscriptions, advertising, corporate database subscriptions, and one-time publication sales. Pricing varies by region (Hokkaido is ¥2,980/month due to Sunday publication holiday), with student discounts and new-farmer promotional campaigns. Distribution is hybrid: institutional JA cooperative contracts (enterprise channel), newspaper shop network (consumer/SMB channel), online subscription portal (e-commerce), and the English website (global reach). The company maintains six regional sales/marketing offices across Hokkaido (Sapporo), East Japan (Tokyo), Tokai (Nagoya), Kinki Hokuriku (Osaka), Chugoku Shikoku (Hiroshima), and Kyushu (Fukuoka), alongside its Tokyo headquarters, providing nationwide sales and customer-acquisition coverage.

Name

Japan Agricultural News

Legal name

株式会社日本農業新聞

Website

https://agrinews.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1933

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Japan Agricultural News is the publisher of Japan's only daily specialized agricultural newspaper, offering print and digital editions plus an ecosystem of niche sub-brands to farmers, JA cooperatives, agribusinesses, and policymakers across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK)

Keywords

• Agricultural news
• Farm journalism
• Newspaper publishing
• Agricultural media
• Rural press

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print Newspaper Subscription: Daily newspaper subscription delivered through newspaper sales shops. Subscription fees collected via JA account transfer or direct shop contracts.
2. Digital/Electronic Edition Subscription: Electronic version subscription at ¥1,100/month. Includes student discount programs and new farmer support campaigns.
3. Advertising: Advertising space sales on website and potentially in print edition. Dedicated advertising inquiry page and media kit available.
4. Database Services: Corporate/focused database subscription services for agricultural market data and news archives.
5. Publications: Sale of related publications and print materials including special issue booklets and promotional materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Japan Agricultural News (日本農業新聞) publishes Japan's only daily specialized agricultural newspaper, delivered in both print and electronic editions. It covers farm policy, agricultural technology, rural community news, food industry, market prices, and JA (agricultural cooperative) activities, supported by a nationwide distribution network and supplementary digital media properties and corporate database services.

Product overview

Japan Agricultural News operates as a media platform offering the only daily specialized agricultural newspaper in Japan, distributed in both print (紙版) and digital (電子版) formats. The company provides a comprehensive portfolio including the main Japanese newspaper, an English version (The Japan Agri News), the direct sales support brand 'フレ マルシェ' featuring recipes and agricultural content, corporate database services, and specialized digital media like '和牛新聞' for wagyu beef information. The platform also maintains active social media presence and LINE integration for customer communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• フレ マルシェ: Direct sales store information magazine operated by Japan Agricultural News, launched to celebrate 20th anniversary
• 和牛新聞
• グローバルAXジャーナル
• トマト新聞
• 電農街

Products and services

• Japan Agricultural News Paper Edition (日本農業新聞 紙版) Daily print newspaper providing comprehensive agricultural news, farming techniques, market prices, policy updates, JA cooperative information, and rural community coverage; circulation of approximately 280,000 copies (paper + digital) as of October 2023.
• Japan Agricultural News Digital/Electronic Edition (日本農業新聞 電子版)

Quantifiable outcome

• Circulation of approximately 280,000 copies (paper + digital) as of October 2023

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Farmers Weekly (UK): Leading UK agricultural trade publication covering farming news, policy, and markets for British farmers. Comparable as a paid subscription trade newspaper serving a national farmer base with policy, market, and technical content.
• Farm Journal: One of the largest US agricultural media companies, publishing flagship agricultural trade titles and operating data, events, and digital platforms serving farmers and agribusiness. Closely comparable as a multi-channel agricultural trade publisher with print heritage and growing data/services revenue, mirroring Japan Agricultural News's print-to-digital trajectory.
• Progressive Farmer: US agricultural publication operated within DTN, an agribusiness data and decision-tools platform. Comparable as a content-led agricultural publisher integrated into a wider ag-data/services ecosystem, similar to Japan Agricultural News's push into corporate database services.
• Successful Farming (Dotdash Meredith): Long-running US agricultural trade publication covering farming techniques, market news, and agribusiness, now operating under a major digital media group. Comparable as a heritage agricultural trade title migrating from print to digital, serving a similar farmer + agribusiness audience with editorial + data monetization.
• Agri-Pulse Communications: US agricultural policy and market intelligence publisher with subscription newsletters, digital content, and events focused on agribusiness decision-makers. Comparable as a subscription-driven agricultural intelligence publisher that complements (or competes with) Japan Agricultural News's database and policy coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei): Japan's flagship business newspaper with national subscription reach, strong digital/database products (Nikkei Telecom), and broad agricultural/economic coverage. Comparable as a national Japanese subscription newspaper incumbent that overlaps with Japan Agricultural News on agribusiness and policy coverage from a broader perspective.
• Yomiuri Shimbun: Japan's largest circulation national newspaper, operating print, digital, and database services. Comparable as a national Japanese subscription newspaper incumbent sharing the same print + digital + archive/database monetization structure, though at far broader scope.
• Asahi Shimbun: One of Japan's largest national general-interest newspapers with national distribution, digital subscriptions, and database products. Comparable as a national Japanese newspaper incumbent with overlapping print + digital subscription economics, though operating in the general-interest rather than agricultural-specialist segment.

Others

• Kyodo News: Japan's dominant cooperative news wire service distributing news content to Japanese media outlets including newspapers. Comparable as an upstream news infrastructure provider in the Japanese media ecosystem — adjacent rather than competitive, and a potential content partner/distributor.
• Jiji Press: Japanese news wire and economic intelligence service supplying real-time news, market data, and corporate information to Japanese media and financial institutions. Comparable as a Japanese news + market data infrastructure provider, adjacent to Japan Agricultural News's database services ambitions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jagrinews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@jagrinews
• Facebookfacebook.com/Wakamonoryoku
• Instagraminstagram.com/japan_agrinews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-japan-agricultural-news-co-ltd-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Japan Agricultural News