The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2026
mina's circulation fell from 60,000 to 13,000 in five years — then the monthly stopped
Japanese title mina ended 25 years of monthly publication Jan 20, 2026, after circulation fell 80% since 2020, shifting to irregular issues instead of closing.
Yusei-sha · 2026-01-20
What happened
On January 20, 2026, Japanese fashion magazine mina released its February/March combined issue, its last on a monthly schedule, and told readers it was moving to irregular publication after nearly 25 years since its March 2001 launch.
Publisher Yusei-sha, which had taken over mina from Shufunotomo-sha in 2019, said it wanted to keep 'sending messages true to mina' through formats suited to the era rather than staying bound to print alone. Circulation had fallen from roughly 60,000 copies in 2020 to about 13,000 in 2025 — a drop of nearly 80% in five years — even as the brand's combined web and social-media audience reached about 227,000.
The final regular issue put Sakurazaka46 member Asuka Saito on the cover, closing a run that had featured models including Miho Tanaka, Mikiko Yano, Ai Takahashi and Ryoma Takeuchi across two and a half decades of Japan's 'girly' fashion category.
Why it happened
- A niche fashion print magazine that lost 80% of its paid readers in five years could not keep a fixed monthly production cost against shrinking revenue.
- The 227,000-strong web and social audience shows readers moved to free digital formats faster than print could follow, leaving the monthly schedule serving a shrinking core.
- A change of publisher in 2019 did not reverse the decline — new ownership bought time, not a new business model for a print-subscription magazine losing readers to social media.
The lesson
When a magazine's paid circulation falls faster than its digital audience can monetize, going irregular is often the last step before a print title disappears — not a stable new format.
Aftermath
mina moved to irregular, non-monthly issues rather than shutting down, continuing across print and digital formats. WWD Japan reported the publisher change context and continued sales; Fashionsnap covered the announcement and circulation figures on Jan 20, 2026.
Sources
- ファッション誌「ミーナ」が月刊終了、不定期刊行化 歴代モデルに田中美保ら — FASHIONSNAP (Jan 20, 2026)
- 主婦の友社のガーリー誌「ミーナ」が発行元を変更 販売は継続 — WWDJAPAN
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