Last August's demise of Shinchosha's weekly photo newsmagazine Focus marked a major publishing milestone in Japan.
When it was launched in 1981, Focus flaunted a bold new style, rejecting the B5 format and cheap newsprint used by most weekly magazines in favor of the larger A4 format on glossy paper. Its appearance was timely, just before the economic bubble began to swell. Magazine readers hungered for an upscale publication that matched their newly, affluent lifestyles. Yet, at the same time, it was eminently practical for urbanites; its short articles placed minimal demands on the reader, allowing it to be perused from cover to cover during a single morning's commute.
At its peak -- soon after its launch, and before competitors emerged -- readers snatched up 2 million copies of Focus a week.