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A week after the Hawaii Herald announced it would be closing Dec. 1, its owner said Tuesday that the company’s second publication — Hawaii Hochi — will also be shutting down.
Hawaii Hochi Ltd. President Taro Yoshida said in a news release that Hawaii Hochi will close Dec. 7 — a date that falls on the publication’s 111th anniversary.
Yoshida attributed the closure to a dramatically changed environment that began during the pandemic, with cancellations from large subscribers including airlines and hotels.
“The Hawaii Hochi held up a mirror to the Japanese American community when it was first published in 1912, and has been providing the community with information of the times for 110 years,” said Yoshida in a written statement. “We have attempted to continue the newspaper operations through management efforts, but we have decided to close that portion because we believe that continuing to publish the newspapers would have a significant impact on the viability of our company.”
The Hawaii Hochi is a daily Japanese language newspaper, while the Hawaii Herald publishes its issues in English, bimonthly.
Yoshida expressed his apologies for any inconveniences caused by the upcoming closures and asked for continued support of the company.
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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.