The daily Sankei Shimbun said Tuesday it will launch a new electronic newspaper service on Oct. 1.
The newspaper hopes to attract 30,000 new subscribers in the first year, especially young people not in the habit of reading newspapers, the firm said, adding that existing readers aren't expected to switch to the electronic edition.
The daily first began the electronic newspaper service via the Internet in 2001, delivering the same layout as the paper edition in morning, evening and local editions for a monthly subscription fee of 1,995 yen. But it was forced to shutter the operation in March after failing to lure enough subscribers.
This time, however, the company said it expects the new service to be a success, thanks to the spread of broadband Internet service and a drastically reduced fee of 315 yen, which will allow subscribers to view only the morning edition.