The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc.

What The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc. does

The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc. is the dominant regional newspaper of Nagano Prefecture, Japan, founded in 1873 and operating continuously for over 150 years. The company publishes seven daily regional editions across Nagano delivered via a network of local newspaper dealers, alongside the Shinmai Digital web and mobile platform featuring a paper viewer, keyword search, AI-curated morning/evening newsletters, and a tiered membership program (Free, ¥330/month Web, ¥800/month Digital Bundled, ¥3,500/month Digital Standalone). Headquartered in Nagano, it maintains 25+ bureau locations across the prefecture plus Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya branches, and operates ancillary facilities including the Shinmai Media Garden complex in Matsumoto.

The company's technology stack centers on a cloud-based digital news platform and the Shinmai SHINC generative AI service, co-developed with ExaWizards on the exaBase platform using RAG over 15+ years of proprietary Nagano news article data (from 2010 onward). SHINC supports text summarization, document drafting, Excel/VBA generation, and sales list extraction, with switching capability across GPT, Gemini, and Claude models, sold via tiered enterprise plans (SME ¥25K–50K/month, Standard ¥70K/month, Government/Education ¥80K+/month, 1-year minimum contracts). The company also operates Shinshu Outdoor Training, a corporate training business using the US-origin SPEC (Student-Centered, Problem-Based, Experiential, Collaborative) methodology licensed from WEAJ, serving enterprise clients including NTTデータ and NTTコミュニケーションズCS.

Revenue derives from a diversified mix: traditional home-delivery newspaper subscriptions, digital memberships, advertising (print and digital), SHINC AI enterprise licensing, outdoor training programs (¥22,000/person), publication sales, event ticketing, e-commerce, and the HELAS food-loss reduction app. The customer base spans Nagano Prefecture individual consumers (primary), regional SMBs and enterprises using SHINC, local government and educational institutions, and corporate HR/training buyers. The Shinmai brand ecosystem — extending to EGG educational platform, Media Garden venue, cultural foundation programs, and student journalism initiatives — positions the company as a vertically integrated regional media and services platform rather than a single-product newspaper publisher.

Name

The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc.

Legal name

信濃毎日新聞株式会社 (The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc.)

Website

https://shinmai.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1873

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun is Nagano Prefecture's dominant regional newspaper (founded 1873), operating print, digital, generative AI (SHINC), and corporate outdoor training businesses serving local consumers, enterprises, government, and educational institutions across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

News & Current Affairs Aggregators (MPACAKAA), News & Content Aggregation Portals (BPAMAAAI), Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscription
• Generative AI services
• Corporate outdoor training
• Local media services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nagano (長野市)

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices27 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Newspaper Subscription (宅配新聞): Traditional home-delivery newspaper subscription revenue. Readers subscribe through local newspaper dealers (新聞書店). The newspaper is delivered daily, with regional editions covering North, East, Central, Suwa, and Iida/Ina areas.
2. Digital Membership (有料デジタルサービス): Three digital membership tiers: Digital bundled (¥800/month for newspaper subscribers), Digital standalone (¥3,500/month for non-subscribers), and Web membership (¥330/month for limited access). Includes full article access, paper viewer, newsletters, and point program.
3. Advertising (新聞広告): Traditional newspaper advertising space sold to businesses, along with digital advertising on shinmai.co.jp. The company publishes a MEDIA GUIDE for advertising inquiries.
4. 信毎SHINC AI Service Licensing: Enterprise AI tool sold via subscription plans: Standard (¥70,000/month + usage-based at ¥7-10/1000 characters), SME plans (¥25,000-50,000/month flat), Community (¥30,000/month), Government/Education (¥80,000+/month). Multiple models: Economy (free), Standard (¥7/1000 chars), Premium (¥10/1000 chars). 1-year minimum contracts.
5. 信州アウトドア研修 (Outdoor Training): Corporate outdoor training programs sold to businesses. Pricing is per-person (¥22,000/person for public programs) or custom quotation for private/group programs. Revenue from corporate clients including NTTデータ, メルカリ, and local Nagano companies.
6. Publication Sales (出版物販売): Sale of books, photo products, calendars, and commemorative newspapers through 信毎の本网店 and the 47CLUB e-commerce platform.
7. Event & Ticket Services (イベント・チケット): Revenue from organizing and ticketing events, concerts, seminars, and community programs including 信毎きらめき俱楽部和 信毎文化事業財団 activities.
8. HELAS Food Loss Reduction App: A consumer mobile app matching food sellers with buyers for surplus food, operated by Shinano Mainichi Shimbun as a social initiative with potential monetization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun operates a regional newspaper and digital media business centered on Nagano Prefecture, delivering a daily morning and evening print newspaper across five regional editions (North, East, Central, Suwa, Iida/Ina) plus the Shinmai Digital platform with paper viewer, AI-curated newsletters, and 15+ years of archived articles. Beyond news, the company sells the SHINC generative AI service (built on ExaWizards' exaBase platform) to enterprises, local governments, and educational institutions, and runs Shinshu Outdoor Training corporate programs using the SPEC experiential learning methodology.

Product overview

The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc. operates a portfolio of media and service products centered on its core newspaper business. The primary digital products include the 信濃毎日新聞デジタル platform (web/app news service with paper viewer and newsletters) and 信毎SHINC (generative AI service built on exaBase, integrating 15 years of newspaper archives for business/government/education use). The company also operates business services including 信州アウトドア研修 (outdoor corporate training using SPEC methodology), HELAS (food waste reduction mobile app), and various member services (photography, events, database access). The portfolio includes educational platforms like シンマイEGG for schools, loyalty programs (信毎ポイント), and facilities such as 信毎MEDIA GARDEN. The subscription tiers include Digital Concurrent (with print), Digital Only, Web, and Free memberships, each with different access levels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HELAS: Food loss reduction smartphone matching app connecting shops selling surplus food with consumers
• Shinmai EGG
• Shinmai Database
• Shinmai SHINC (信毎SHINC)

Products and services

• Shinano Mainichi Digital (信濃毎日新聞デジタル)
• Shinano Mainichi Print Newspaper (信濃毎日新聞)

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning investigative journalism recognized by the Japan Newspaper Association (2025 News Division) for gasoline cartel reporting with significant societal impact
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 朝日住建株式会社 / 阿部守一 (Advertising/Sponsorship Partnership)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025信毎 provides advertising space and promotional support for various sponsors and advertisers. Companies advertise through the newspaper, digital platform, and events.
• 綿半グループ (Watahan Group)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Sponsorship of the 'わたしのふる里 자랑絵画コンクール' (My Hometown Painting Contest). Watahan Group sponsors the annual contest hosted at 信毎 headquarters, with judging by university professors and company executives.
• エクサウィザーズ株式会社 (ExaWizards Inc.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint development partnership for the 信毎SHINC generative AI service. ExaWizards provides its exaBase 生成AI platform as the technical foundation, while 信濃毎日新聞 provides 15+ years of proprietary article data for RAG-based responses. The service is co-branded and jointly marketed. ExaWizards handles platform maintenance, AI model management, and security; 信濃毎日新聞 handles local content integration, sales, and customer support.
• 信州アウトドアプロジェクト株式会社 (Shinshu Outdoor Project Co.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Operational partner for 信州アウトドア研修. WEAJ-certified instructors from the company deliver outdoor training programs using the SPEC model methodology. CEO 島崎晋亮 serves as the main instructor for programs, bringing expertise in experiential outdoor education and corporate training.
• 信州とうみ観光協会 (Shinshu Tōmi Tourism Association)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership for corporate training tourism promotion. Jointly planned a 2-night, 3-day corporate training program at Yaginoshiro plateau and local wineries in Tōmi City. Aimed at regional PR and corporate attraction to Nagano through outdoor training experiences.
• WEAJ (Wilderness Education Association Japan / 一般社団法人WEAJ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Licensed use of the international SPEC Model outdoor education methodology (Student-Centered, Problem-Based, Experiential, Collaborative) developed by the Wilderness Education Association. 信濃毎日新聞 operates 信州アウトドア研修 using this methodology.島崎晋亮 (WEAJ Vice Representative Director) serves as the lead instructor for the outdoor training programs.
• HELAS (Food Loss Reduction App)minorOthers · 1 January 2020Mobile app matching food sellers with consumers to reduce food waste (食品ロス削減). Operated independently by 信濃毎日新聞社 as a social initiative. Connects JA fruit sellers and local welfare facilities with consumers in Nagano.
• 47NEWS (47NEWS株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018信毎 is a member of the 47NEWS network, a nationwide consortium of regional newspapers providing local news aggregation and syndication across Japan's 47 prefectures. Enables sharing of local news content nationally.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Nikkei: Japan's flagship economic newspaper with strong digital subscription model. Comparable in operating a paid digital news product for business readers, though at far larger scale and with economics focus.
• Asahi Shimbun: National broadsheet with digital platform and extensive content business. Comparable as a broadsheet newspaper operator with subscription and advertising revenue, but at national scale rather than regional.
• Yomiuri Shimbun: Japan's largest circulation national newspaper. Overlaps with Shinmai as a print/digital news publisher but operates nationally at much larger scale and includes the Yomiuri Giant professional baseball franchise.
• Mainichi Shimbun: National daily newspaper with digital subscription offerings. Comparable as a Japanese broadsheet publisher with hybrid print/digital monetisation.
• Sankei Shimbun: National daily newspaper with digital operations. Comparable as a Japanese newspaper publisher with print-to-digital transition, though nationally focused.

Direct peers

• Hokkaido Shimbun: Regional newspaper serving Hokkaido, similar in being a prefecture-dominant daily with home-delivery model and digital pivot. Comparable scale and structure as a regional broadsheet with diversified media operations.
• Kobe Shimbun: Regional daily newspaper serving the Kobe/Hyogo market. Comparable in scale, regional focus, print-plus-digital model, and membership-based subscription tiers.
• Chunichi Shimbun: Major regional newspaper serving the Chubu region (Aichi/Gifu/Mie/Shizuoka). Closest structural comparable to Shinmai as a long-established prefectural/regional daily newspaper with extensive local coverage and digital subscription products.
• Niigata Nippo: Regional daily serving Niigata Prefecture with similar print/digital hybrid structure. Closely comparable regional newspaper peer with home-delivery subscription base.

Others

• ExaWizards: AI platform provider and Shinmai SHINC's technology co-development partner. Included as an ecosystem participant given its critical role in the SHINC value chain, rather than as a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@shinmai_digital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-shinano-mainichi-shimbun-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc.