As newspapers and magazines continue to shift from a primarily paper-based medium to a digital medium, Bungeishunju’s internet media site Bunshun Online has stood out as a major success-story. With its timely and substantial articles, its page views for November 2019 have hit a new record of 300 million. While Toyo Keizai Online has led other major publishers in online popularity so far, Bunshun Online’s staggering page view count suggest it may soon overtake Toyo Keizai.

Bunshun Online was first established on January 2017, publishing original articles from the online editing department as well as articles from Bungeishunju’s magazines. April 2019 saw Bunshun Online further tied together with Shūkan Bunshun as well as a prioritization on quick reporting, which led to a boom in readership. When the spotlight was turned on issues in the entertainment industry ranging from illegal drugs to relationships with criminal organizations, previous Shūkan Bunshun articles were published on Bunshun Online to allow for a deeper insight into current topics. These republished articles, as well as original interviews, have been praised by many readers.

In December 2019, Bunshun Online won the 5th SmartNews Award for the best innovative medium in providing information. Chief Editor Takeda Naohiro stated that “We want to consider how we can use the resources our company has accumulated to enrich our readers’ experience with Bunshun Online, in addition to increasing revenue.”