A group of 51 newspaper publishers in Japan including The Japan Times said Thursday it will establish a new company this month that will create a Web site containing news and regional information.
Press Net Japan Co. will be headquartered in Tokyo. The Web site is scheduled to be up and running by the end of the year.
The site will carry domestic and overseas news, information on tourism and local cuisine, as well as advertisements, the group said.
Fukuoka-based Nishinippon Newspaper Co. President Akishige Tada, who heads the group, said at a ceremony before the launch of the new firm: "We will try to make this project a success and present a new business model for the newspaper industry."
The new company will be headed by Kenichiro Hayashi, a former senior official at Kyodo News, and be capitalized at 70.5 million yen.