Around the World in 80 Ways: Huffington Post Now Lands in Japan
As part of what is beginning to feel like a global takeover, the Huffington Post Media Group said it will be launching a Japanese-language version of the service in that country.
The AOL-owned content arm will be partnering with the well-known Japanese publisher, Asahi Shimbun, in what will be its first Asian effort. The Huffington Post currently has versions in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Spain and Italy.
As in previous efforts across the globe, the site will include news, blogging, community, video and social tools. The Huffington Post Japan joint venture is currently looking for an editor in chief, and is still formulating how the arrangement will work.
The partnership with Asahi is key, said Jimmy Maymann, CEO of the Huffington Post Media Group, in an interview yesterday.
“One of the things is that the Japanese market is one of the largest newspaper markets, and they are still doing well,” he said. “So, big media companies have not had to think about the next iteration of new media, and that’s a huge opportunity for us.”
Right now, he said, the Huffington Post Japan’s main news competition would be Yahoo News from Yahoo Japan.
Arianna Huffington, president and editor in chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, noted that the site would be up soon, even as she looks for more markets. Next up: Latin America.
“International momentum and global presence is a big win for us,” she said. “It’s a great model for us to partner with great media companies, so we can move very fast.”
