The agreement creates a combined English-language print edition, in which each publication will comprise one section. It will be distributed Monday through Saturday, like the International Herald Tribune, which will be renamed this autumn as part of a New York Times Co. rebranding. The first issue of the combined publication will be distributed Oct. 16.
“This deal will, we believe, give us a very significant circulation boost and make Japan our largest circulation market and will benefit our entire organization,” Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, the publisher of the International Herald Tribune, said in a news release. “We are thrilled that the International New York Times will be made available to Japan Times readers later this year. As the IHT we have built a reputation as the premier source of news, opinion and commentary for global citizens, and as the International New York Times we will further build on this distinctive international voice.”
Material for The Japan Times section will be produced from its office in Tokyo and its bureau in Osaka. The International New York Times section will be edited from the organization’s Hong Kong, New York, Paris and London offices, according to the news release.
Digital content will also be shared; subscribers to The Japan Times and International New York Times will have free, unlimited access to NYTimes.com using any device, including smartphones and computers, plus the full range of NYTimes apps for smartphones, tablets and computers.
The Japan Times, founded in 1897, is its home country’s largest-circulation English-language newspaper.
“We will remain a proudly independent newspaper, and will continue to offer our readers the very best in English-language journalism available in Japan,” Takeharu Tsutsumi, president of The Japan Times, said in a news release.
The IHT said Feb. 25 that it would be rebranded as a multiplatform international version of The New York Times.
The IHT had a publishing agreement with the Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun from 2001 until 2011. Under the arrangement, the IHT was published together with the English-language edition of Asiahi Shimbun.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/technology/26iht-japantimes26.html?partner=rss&emc=rss