Japan's top manga magazine, once printing 6.35 million copies, falls below 1 million

A Dragon Ball cover featured in Japan's major manga magazine Shonen Jump. [SNS]

Japan's largest manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump — once a Guinness World Record holder for printing more than 6 million copies of a single issue — has seen its quarterly circulation fall below 1 million copies, the Yomiuri Shimbun and other outlets reported Thursday. The magazine launched blockbuster titles including Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk and One Piece.

Founded in 1968, Weekly Shonen Jump has been published for more than 50 years and stands as one of Japan's most iconic manga magazines. Its New Year combined issue in early 1995, which carried popular series including Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk, sold about 6.35 million copies — a figure that earned it a place in the Guinness World Records.

Publisher Shueisha announced that the magazine's circulation for the second quarter reached 985,000 copies. It is the first time since comparable quarterly figures began to be tallied and disclosed in 2008 that the number has dropped below 1 million.

A Slam Dunk cover featured in Japan's major manga magazine Shonen Jump. [SNS]

Japan no longer has a single print magazine with a circulation exceeding 1 million copies.

Weekly Shonen Jump's circulation had already fallen below 2 million in 2017, squeezed out by webtoons that emerged with the spread of smartphones and e-books.

Other leading boys' manga magazines are faring no better. Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine posted quarterly circulation of 281,000 copies, while Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday recorded 120,000 — underscoring a broad decline across Japan's print manga magazine market.

A One Piece cover featured in Japan's major manga magazine Shonen Jump. [SNS]

Saito Nobuhiko, an editor with deep expertise in boys' manga, told the Yomiuri that the magazine's circulation breaking below 1 million marks "a turning point for an era," adding that the shrinking print magazine market will have a significant impact on Japan's bookstore industry.

Meanwhile, Kyodo News reported that a woman in her 30s was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of business after placing and canceling orders more than 2,000 times on an online shopping mall operated by Shueisha.

She used more than 200 accounts on the platform to place bulk orders for One Piece figurines without paying for them. She reportedly told investigators she did it "to relieve stress."

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