Nikkei workers overcharged advertisers tens of millions of yen

Newspaper publisher Nikkei said its sales employees had overcharged two companies for advertising fees by inflating circulation numbers for an advertising booklet and fraudulently received several tens of millions of yen from each firm.

The advertising booklet in question is The Nikkei Magazine, a morning newspaper insert, with the misconduct involving 29 issues distributed in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region between 2022 and 2026, the publisher said Tuesday.

For each issue, the employees overstated circulation figures to the advertisers by about 15,000 to 250,000 copies and charged advertising fees accordingly. The overstated circulation was reported to have reached around 2.5 million copies over four years.

The employees presented outdated circulation data or other incorrect figures to the advertisers and distributed the booklet outside the areas designated by them.

The matter came to light after it was pointed out by the advertisers. An external attorney was commissioned by Nikkei to determine the motive and whether there had been any organizational involvement.

“We are taking the case seriously as it undermines the trust of our advertisers and readers. We will develop measures to prevent any recurrence and make every effort to regain their trust,” Nikkei said.