[Bungeishunju Ltd.] The renewed issue of “Weekly Bunshun” is on sale today! Featuring a fresh cover illustration by Ayumi Takahashi, an exclusive 80-minute confession from Takeshi Niinami, a special feature delving into the true nature of “Japanese First,” interviews with four popular figures, and a new start with six new serials!
Bungei Shunju Co., Ltd. Press release: September 4, 2025 To Members of the Press The renewed issue of “Weekly Bunshun” is on sale today! A fresh new start with a fresh cover illustration by Takahashi Ayumi, an 80-minute exclusive confession from Niinami Takeshi, a special feature delving into the true nature of “Japanese First,” interviews with four popular figures, and six new serials! We aim to be a magazine that is “even more interesting, in-depth, and useful.” Weekly Bunshun, a general-purpose weekly magazine published by Bungeishunju Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shigeyuki Iikubo), is undergoing a major overhaul with the September 11, 2025 issue, released today, Thursday, September 4, 2025. The magazine marks a new start with illustrations by Ayumi Takahashi, replacing Makoto Wada, who has been responsible for the cover art for 48 years.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/43732/760/43732-760-b16e31d1d6d94442be45e0eb4012fccd-896×1268.png The final issue features Makoto Wada on the cover. With the new cover, the contents have also been completely revamped. In addition to more powerful scoop articles and gorgeous gravure photos than ever before, six powerful serializations will also begin. ◆ Six new series have also started! ☆Keigo Higashino Novel The latest installment in the “Galileo” series, “Nichijo-ru (Tsuzureru)” ☆Yuka Murayama Novel The controversial work “GAME,” in which a Bunshun reporter also appears ☆ Risa Wataya: Is this an essay? Or a personal novel? The author’s first attempt “Risa Wants to Live Elegantly” ☆Yuichi Nakamaru: Why did I get a serial in Bunshun…? “Push and push” ☆Kaho Miyake wins the Shinsho Grand Prize for “Why Working Makes You Unable to Read Books” “Reiwa New Word Collection” ☆Kazuto Hongo: Deciphering the “Intelligence War of Conspiracy and Betrayal” Through Letters “Intelligence Sekigahara” ◆ Main Table of Contents of the Renewal Issue ★ Is “No to Preferential Treatment for Foreigners” Discrimination or Patriotism? The True Nature of Japanese First ★ After Nabetsune’s death, a series of false reports: The Yomiuri Shimbun is acting strangely! ★ “Prince Hisahito’s ‘Search for a Princess’: Four Ideal Conditions” by Keiji Emori ☆☆☆☆Four major interviews☆☆☆☆ Gambling bookmaker Michael Bowyer reveals: “Things I bought with 2.6 billion yen of Ohtani money” Saki Asai’s “Triple Bogey Affair” is Suspected… “Unending Tears and Slander” Miho Nakazono’s “Anpan” Spoiler Confession Hamamoto Yuko talks about Kagawa Teruyuki, Dango, and Saruon Emergency Coverage: Suntory Chairman Suddenly Resigns Over “Cannabis Allegations” ★ Takashi Niinami (66) 80-Minute Exclusive Confession On September 1st, I spent four hours telling the company that I was not satisfied. But they said, “If you’re not satisfied, you’ll be fired.” ◆In-car hanging advertisements will also be featured on all Tokyo Metro lines! Train interior hanging advertisements, which ended four years ago, are also making a big comeback. These advertisements will be displayed in widescreen on all Tokyo Metro lines starting Friday, September 5th.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/43732/760/43732-760-df5665e90464329acb9767b9defb46cc-1929×640.png ◆ Comment from Shukan Bunshun Editor-in-Chief Takeda Sei This time, we have carried out a major renewal in conjunction with the new cover. The publishing industry continues to be grim, with magazine
suspensions, bookstore closures, and a decline in magazine shelves in convenience stores. However, I believe there is still potential for weekly magazines. Scoops and direct interviews you can’t read in newspapers, on TV, on YouTube, or on social media. Tables, graphs, and even photos can be viewed at a glance. We also use various techniques to maximize the visual impact of essays and novels by combining them with illustrations and photographs. The cover art changes every three months, with works submitted by select illustrators from around the world. The layout has also been changed, with the text now slightly larger and easier to read. In this one issue, you can enjoy everything from the latest news and scoops to high-quality columns, essays by popular authors, exquisite novels, and star photo shoots. Shukan Bunshun will continue to grow stronger, striving to be “an even more interesting, in-depth, and useful magazine.” We hope you will continue to read it. ◆ About the 2025 Renewal of “Weekly Bunshun” The renewed issue marks the start of a new cover, replacing Makoto Wada, who has been in charge of the cover art for Shukan Bunshun for nearly half a century since May 1977. The issue released on August 20, 2025, will be the last to feature Wada’s illustration on the cover. We’ve reprinted the original cover illustration from 48 years ago. The issue released on August 28 also features an unusually blank cover with a message to Wada. And this issue, along with the magazine’s revamp and renewal, including the new series, marks a new start with a cover featuring an illustration by a new illustrator.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/43732/760/43732-760-60f0b850371282a6b4178caf737ec145-1912×2700.jpg The unusual “blank cover” has become a hot topic ◆ About “Weekly Bunshun” A general-purpose weekly magazine launched in April 1959 (Showa 34). Packed with a wide range of current topics, from scoops to columns and photo spreads, it continues to meet readers’ demands for “more in-depth knowledge” and “more interesting reading,” and has been ranked number one in actual sales for 21 consecutive years (general weekly magazine/ABC public audit). ◆ Magazine information Magazine Name: “Weekly Bunshun,” September 11, 2025 Issue Release Date: September 4, 2025 Price: ¥550 (tax included) Table of Contents URL: https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/81785
