（株）福井新聞社

What （株）福井新聞社 does

Fukui Shimbun Co., Ltd. (株式会社福井新聞社) is a privately held regional newspaper publisher headquartered in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It publishes the daily Fukui Shimbun and operates the digital platform fukuishimbun.co.jp, the D-Kan electronic newspaper subscription service (web plus iOS/Android apps), and an extensive portfolio of Fukui-specific content products including an Election Results Database, a Visual Data Archive, and the historical ふくい玉手箱 archive. National news is supplemented through Kyodo Newswire and the 47NEWS consortium. The company also runs the Fukui Shimbun Mock Test (模擬テスト) — a three-round high school entrance exam program distributed through 150+ registered tutoring schools — plus the Education Channel, Sokushu Seminar, and a sub-brand ecosystem (fu lifestyle portal, ミラカナ crowdfunding, JURACA membership, purin, 47CLUB, e-books, video studio rental).

Revenue is generated across nine identified streams: print newspaper subscriptions, D-Kan digital subscriptions (six pricing tiers from ¥330/month fast plan to ¥2,980/month standalone), advertising (print, web, digital), mock exam fees (¥5,500/session or ¥16,800 bundle), education and exam content sales, reader services (birthday/anniversary newspapers, obituary photo services), event hosting and venue rental (風の森, video studio), and group-company products. Distribution combines a traditional newspaper sales-agent network for print with self-serve online and mobile-app registration for digital, plus reselling through tutoring schools for exam products. The company is the dominant local media outlet in Fukui Prefecture, serving general readers, middle-school students and families, tutoring schools, local advertisers, and the public sector.

Technology stack is conventional digital media: cloud-hosted publishing platform, mobile apps, RSS feeds, payment integrations (credit card, Amazon Pay, d払い, au PAY, SoftBank carrier billing), YouTube for English listening tests, and a text-to-speech audio news feature. No proprietary AI/ML models, APIs, or developer platform are exposed. The wholly-owned subsidiary structure covers PR (福井新聞PRセンター), sales (販売センター), content production (fuプロダクション), printing (印刷センター), digital media (ふくいのデジタル), mobile (ふくアプリ), aerial photography (日本空撮), and dinosaur content (恐竜総研).

Name

（株）福井新聞社

Legal name

株式会社福井新聞社

Website

https://fukuishimbun.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1899

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fukui Shimbun Co., Ltd. is a privately held regional newspaper publisher serving Fukui Prefecture, Japan, with print, digital (D-Kan), and exam-preparation products distributed via sales agents, mobile apps, and tutoring schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscriptions
• Local journalism services
• Educational testing services
• Media advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

福井市, 福井県

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print Newspaper Subscriptions: Home delivery of the daily print edition of Fukui Shimbun newspaper. Primary revenue driver for print subscribers. Subscription packages are available at various pricing tiers. Managed through a network of local newspaper sales agents.
2. D刊 Digital Newspaper Subscriptions: Paid digital newspaper service offering full print edition replicas plus D刊-exclusive articles, education channels, election databases, and multimedia content. Available as standalone digital subscription (D刊单独プラン), bundled with print (D刊併読プラン), student plan, and corporate plans for in-prefecture and out-of-prefecture businesses.
3. fast Plan (fastプラン): A lightweight, lower-cost digital news subscription providing basic digital access to the newspaper's digital edition and selected D刊 content. Positioned as an entry-level paid digital tier.
4. Print and Digital Advertising: Advertising placements across the print newspaper, the fukuishimbun.co.jp website (web広告), vision/advertising screens (ビジョン広告), and the D刊 digital platform. Sold directly by the sales department.
5. Mock Exam Services (福井新聞模擬テスト): Revenue from the three-round high school entrance mock exam program (模擬テスト) targeting middle school 3rd-year students in Fukui Prefecture. Individual exam fee: ¥5,500 per session; three-session bundle: ¥16,800. Sold via registered tutoring schools and direct online purchase.
6. Education and Examination Content: Sale of exam preparation materials including the 福井県高校入試問題集 (high school entrance exam question book), special education channels (教育チャンネル), and the 中学生速習セミナーナース (student速習 seminar series). These are sold as individual products or bundled with D刊 subscriptions.
7. Reader and Community Services: Revenue from reader services including 生日・記念日新聞 (birthday/anniversary newspapers), 記事付き写真 (articles with photos), 新聞掲載写真 (newspaper photos), event hosting (主催・共催行事), and the 政経懇話会 membership organization. Also includes ふくい玉手箱 historical archive services.
8. Event and Venue Services: The company operates 風の森 (Kazenomori) as a rental event facility and 福井新聞動画スタジオ (video studio) for commercial use. Additional revenue from cultural events organized by the company (e.g., theater performances via 劇団民藝公演).
9. Group Company Products and Services: Revenue from related group companies: JURACA (card service), 福井新聞パスポート (passport membership service), ぷりん (local app/platform), 本・電子書籍 (e-books), ミラカナ (local crowdfunding platform), ふくアプリ (Fukui app).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Fukui Shimbun publishes the daily Fukui Shimbun newspaper in both print and digital (D刊/D-Kan e-paper) formats, providing local news coverage of Fukui Prefecture. The company sells print and digital newspaper subscriptions to individual readers and corporate clients, runs a mock high school entrance exam program, offers advertising across print and digital channels, and hosts events and educational content services.

Product overview

Fukui Shimbun is a regional newspaper publisher offering a platform of digital and print products centered on local news. The core product is the 福井新聞D刊 e-paper subscription service (available via web and mobile apps for iOS/Android), which provides digital access to the newspaper's full content including premium articles, obituaries, and photo galleries. Supporting the e-paper is the 福井新聞PASSPORT membership program, which provides registered users online access, promotional benefits, and customer support. The company also offers education-related products: the 福井新聞模擬テスト three-round mock exam series for high school entrance exam preparation, the 速習セミナー daily study supplement published in both print and digital formats, and the 教育チャンネル (Education Channel) database providing Fukui prefecture high school graduate university admission and employment outcome data. The 福井新聞動画スタジオ (Video Studio) is available for external rental. The election database provides coverage of Fukui prefecture electoral results across gubernatorial, municipal, and national elections with visual data presentation. The portfolio operates primarily as a subscription-based digital platform supplemented by print and event services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• fu: Lifestyle and gourmet information portal covering Fukui Prefecture restaurants, events, and local information.
• 福井新聞D刊
• ぷりん
• ミラカナ
• JURACA
• 47CLUB

Products and services

• 福井新聞D刊 (Fukui Shimbun D-Kan Electronic Newspaper) Subscription-based electronic newspaper (e-paper) service providing digital access to the full Fukui Shimbun content plus D刊-exclusive articles, photo galleries, obituaries, breaking news, and audio news reading. Available via web browser and dedicated iOS/Android mobile apps. Targeted at individual subscribers, students, and corporate clients in and outside Fukui Prefecture.
• 福井新聞 Print Newspaper Subscription Home delivery of the daily print edition of the Fukui Shimbun newspaper covering Fukui Prefecture local politics, economy, society, sports, weather, and culture. Distributed via a network of newspaper sales agents (新聞販売店) across Fukui Prefecture. Targeted at individual households in the prefecture.
• 福井新聞模擬テスト (Fukui Shimbun Mock Exams) Three-round mock high school entrance exam program for Fukui Prefecture middle school students, with subject-level deviation value analysis, school admission predictions, and comparative ranking data. Available as home-based (自宅受検) or venue-based (会場受検) exams. Priced at ¥5,500 per session or ¥16,800 for the three-session bundle. Sold through a network of 150+ registered tutoring schools (登録塾) and direct online purchase.
• 福井新聞PASSPORT (Fukui Shimbun PASSPORT Membership) Membership service providing registered users with online reading access, digital magazine subscriptions, promotional benefits, and dedicated customer support via a toll-free phone number (0120-084-291). Acts as the credential management system for D刊 subscription logins.
• 福井新聞動画スタジオ (Fukui Shimbun Video Studio) Commercial video production studio operated by Fukui Shimbun, available for external rental for video recording and production needs. Operated as a facility-based service.
• 速習セミナー (Sokushu Seminar) Daily study supplement series for junior high school students covering Japanese, math, English, social studies, and science, with detailed answer explanations and self-check marks for progress tracking. Published in both the print Fukui Shimbun newspaper and D刊 digital platform. Targeted at middle school students preparing for high school entrance exams.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Apple Inc. (App Store) and Google LLC (Google Play)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe 福井新聞D刊 mobile app is distributed through Apple's App Store and Google Play. Both platforms serve as app distribution channels making the D刊 digital newspaper accessible to mobile users.
• 47NEWS Consortium (47NEWS参加・相互リンク社)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFukui Shimbun is a member of the 47NEWS national newspaper consortium, which aggregates and cross-publishes local news from 47 regional newspapers nationwide. Fukui Shimbun's national news section (全国ニュース) is populated through this partnership, and Fukui news is distributed to readers of other participating newspapers.
• Japan Air Photography (日本空撮)minorOthersListed as a recommended partner/service on fukuishimbun.co.jp under 福井新聞のおすすめ (Fukui Shimbun recommendations). Japan Air Photography provides aerial photography services using multi-copters. Referenced as a recommended service provider for visual content.
• 47CLUB (47CLUB нектом)</ "partner_type": "GTM or Marketing Partner"minor47CLUB is a nationwide gourmet product e-commerce platform featuring local specialty products from each prefecture. Listed as a recommended service on fukuishimbun.co.jp, cross-promoting regional products from Fukui Prefecture alongside products from other prefectures through a curated national platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Niigata Nippo: Regional daily serving Niigata Prefecture with similar print/digital hybrid operations and local content depth. Comparable in scale and rural/prefecture-wide distribution model.
• Hokkoku Shimbun: Regional daily newspaper headquartered in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, with a comparable single-prefecture footprint, print + digital subscription model, and local election/news coverage focus. Closest geographic and structural analog to Fukui Shimbun in the Hokuriku region.
• Kobe Shimbun: Regional daily covering Hyogo Prefecture with print + digital subscriptions and local election coverage depth. Similar mid-sized Japanese regional newspaper operating model.
• Shizuoka Shimbun: Regional daily serving Shizuoka Prefecture with print + digital hybrid operations and AT-S regional portal. Comparable in size, audience, and prefecture-focused model.

Others

• Kyodo News: National news wire service that already supplies Fukui Shimbun with national/international news content. Functions as a content infrastructure partner and adjacent player in Japanese news distribution.
• 47NEWS: National consortium of regional newspapers including Fukui Shimbun that cross-publishes local news. Functions as both a partner (distribution/referral) and a peer consortium for digital reach.

Broad incumbents

• Chunichi Shimbun: Major regional newspaper group based in Nagoya covering the Chubu/Hokuriku region, including Fukui-adjacent markets. Operates a broader multi-prefecture footprint with overlapping digital subscription products and similar local news/education extensions.
• Asahi Shimbun: National daily with digital subscription platform and educational publishing lines (e.g., Asahi Shimbun Publications). Provides overlap in Fukui readership and competes for digital ad spend.
• Mainichi Shimbun: National daily with digital subscription and education content operations. Competes in Fukui for subscribers and advertisers, and overlaps via the 47NEWS consortium.
• Yomiuri Shimbun: Largest national daily in Japan with significant regional penetration including Fukui. Competes indirectly via national news, digital subscriptions (Yomiuri Digital), and 47NEWS consortium participation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/fukuinpmedia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCj5MHw_2q4tKdP2HmAQ9RKA
• Facebookfacebook.com/fukui.news
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%EF%BC%88%E6%A0%AA%EF%BC%89%E7%A6%8F%E4%BA%95%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E%E7%A4%BE

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries8 records

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 （株）福井新聞社