History
The Fujisankei Communications Group was created in 1967 as part of an agreement between the radio stations Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc. and Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Inc., the television broadcaster Fuji Television Network, Inc. and the newspaper Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd.[5][6] This media conglomerate was founded by Nobutaka Shikanai.[7] "Fujisankei" is a portmanteau of Fuji Television and Sankei Shimbun.
In 1985, Haruo Shikanai became executive chairman and CEO of Fuji Television Network, Sankei Shimbun, and Nippon Broadcasting System, as well as executive chairman and CEO of the Fujisankei Communications Group. Haruo Shikanai dramatically improved Fuji Television's performance and made it the number one entertainment company in Japan. In 1988, Haruo Shikanai died of acute liver failure at the age of 42. That same year, Hisashi Hieda, who had led Fuji Television's growth in tandem with Haruo Shikanai, was appointed President and CEO of Fuji Television.
Haruo Shikanai and Hisashi Hieda have also left a shining legacy in the history of Japanese Film. The 1983 film Antarctica, for which Haruo Shikanai served as Executive in Charge of Production and Hisashi Hieda as Executive Producer, attracted 12 million viewers in Japan and became the highest-grossing Japanese film at the time. This record remained unbroken until 1997 with the release of the animated film Princess Mononoke (directed by Hayao Miyazaki), and as a live-action film, until 2003 with the release of Bayside Shakedown 2 (produced by Fuji Television). The 1986 film The Adventures of Milo and Otis, for which Haruo Shikanai served as Executive Producer and Hisashi Hieda and Masaru Kakutani as Executive in Charge of Production, attracted approximately 7.5 million viewers and became the top-grossing domestic film of the year in Japan. It was released in North America in 1989, where it grossed a cumulative total of approximately $13.29 million. This record stood for 34 years as the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film in the U.S. until it was surpassed by Godzilla Minus One in 2023, which earned approximately $14.36 million.[8]
In October 1989, Fujisankei paid former United States president Ronald Reagan $2 million to help the company with public relations. Reagan toured Japan for nine days and made two speeches.[4][9][10]
In 1991, Fujisankei Group invested $50 million to establish "Fujisankei California Entertainment, Inc." in North America, with Masaru Kakutani, who had been involved in Antarctica and The Adventures of Milo and Otis, serving as president.[11]
In July 2003, Hisashi Hieda assumed the position of Chairperson of Fujisankei Communications Group. In 2005, as part of restructuring the capital structure of the Fujisankei, Fuji Television launched a public tender offer for shares of Nippon Broadcasting System. During this process, Takafumi Horie's Livedoor attempted a hostile takeover of Nippon Broadcasting System, but ultimately gave up. Fuji Television, having achieved victory, made Nippon Broadcasting System a wholly owned subsidiary. In January 2006, Takafumi Horie was arrested on charges related to Livedoor's accounting fraud and was later sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
In 2008, Fuji Television, which had become the business holding company of the Fujisankei, transitioned to a pure holding company and changed its name to "Fuji Media Holdings, Inc.". The operational divisions of the former Fuji Television were succeeded by a newly established company also named "Fuji Television Network, Inc.". Hisashi Hieda became the Chairperson and CEO of both companies. Fuji Media Holdings, as Japan's first certified broadcasting holding company, became capable of having multiple broadcasting companies as its subsidiaries.
