PIA Ceases Print

PIA magazine, Japan’s premier event listings periodical since it was launched in 1972, announced in late April that it would be suspending publication of its Tokyo metropolitan print edition at the end of July.

The central Japan and Osaka area editions were discontinued in June and October 2010, respectively.

PIA is often credited with having promoted the rise of youth culture in Japan in the ’70s by providing a needed promotional outlet for popular culture that was still considered marginal at the time.

During the magazine’s heyday in the 1980s, when it was published weekly, it sold on average 530,000 copies in Tokyo alone.

Eventually, the company launched a ticket service that has become the biggest in Japan. As the influence of the Internet grew, the print edition of PIA became less relevant, and the magazine went biweekly in 2008.

Currently, circulation is down to about 60,000.

PIA will continue to offer limited movie, stage production and concert listings on its various websites, but it will mainly be in connection to its ticket sales business, which is ongoing.