Nikkei Business Publications

In 1969, two giants of the media world, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) and the American powerhouse McGraw-Hill, saw an opportunity. They decided to form a joint venture, creating a new entity called Nikkei McGraw-Hill, Inc. The mission was to publish specialized business and technology magazines for a rapidly growing Japanese economy. Their first offering was Nikkei Business, a weekly magazine modeled after the American publication Business Week. The playbook was clear: leverage Nikkei's deep roots in Japanese business news with McGraw-Hill's expertise in specialized trade publications. They quickly expanded, launching magazines focused on niche sectors like electronics. This strategy of targeting specific, high-value professional audiences with a direct-sales system proved successful. A pivotal moment arrived in 1988 when Nikkei acquired McGraw-Hill's stake, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary and renaming it Nikkei Business Publications, or Nikkei BP. This move solidified its identity as a core part of the Nikkei group, one of Japan's most influential media conglomerates. Under full Nikkei ownership, the company continued its growth, launching new titles and expanding into digital media, events, and research services. Today, Nikkei BP stands as a major publisher in specialized fields, demonstrating the power of a focused, cross-border partnership that evolved into a domestic publishing force.