Nikkei Asia

Japan-based, pro-business, pro-free-market

Background

Nikkei Asia launched in November 2013 under the name Nikkei Asian Review, created by Nikkei, Inc. to serve English-speaking readers interested in Asian business and politics. Nikkei, Inc. itself traces its roots to 1876 and is Japan's dominant financial media company, publishing the Nikkei newspaper — the Japanese equivalent of the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal. In July 2015, Nikkei, Inc. purchased the London-based Financial Times from Pearson PLC for approximately £844 million (~$1.3 billion), significantly expanding its global media footprint. In September 2020, the publication rebranded from Nikkei Asian Review to Nikkei Asia and shifted to a digital-first format, broadening its scope beyond a weekly print magazine. Media Bias/Fact Check rates the outlet as right-center on the Western political spectrum, reflecting its pro-business and pro-free-market editorial positions, while giving it high marks for factual accuracy. Critics have occasionally noted that Nikkei Inc.'s flagship Japanese paper has been slow to challenge major Japanese corporate scandals — citing examples such as the Olympus accounting fraud and the Takata airbag crisis — raising questions about how independently it covers powerful domestic business interests. Nikkei Asia maintains a multinational reporting staff drawn from across the Asia-Pacific region and editorially positions itself as an independent source of Asian business and geopolitical analysis for a global audience.

Sources

1. Nikkei Asia – Wikipedia
2. Nikkei, Inc. – Wikipedia
3. Nikkei Asian Review – Bias and Credibility (Media Bias/Fact Check)
4. Nikkei Asia – Bias and Reliability (Biasly)
5. Nikkei Asia as a Global Flagship – Nikkei Inc.
6. Nikkei Stirs Global Media Waters in Acquiring the Financial Times – Nippon.com
7. Nikkei Redesigns Flagship English Publication with Launch of Nikkei Asia (press release)
8. Trump Administration spotlight – Nikkei Asia
9. Asia has a big Donald Trump problem on its hands in 2026 – Nikkei Asia
10. Nikkei Asia Beating the Competition in Anti-China Reporting – Eurasia Review

Profile compiled 2026-06-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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