© 2018 selection and editorial matter, Fabienne Darling-Wolf; individual chapters, the contributors. There is little analysis of why Japanese newspapers have grown to sell millions of copies in an advanced liberal country where the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. This chapter explores the economic/cultural/historical foundations upon which newspapers in Japan have flourished. Noting a recent decline in print newspapers, it also considers the consequences of such rapid changes for Japanese newspapers and society at large - which has traditionally been highly dependent on print media.