Shūkanshi (週刊誌) is a Japanese term for any weekly magazine, including controversial weekly tabloid newspapers.
As noted by Watanabe and Gamble in the Japan Media Review, the genre is "often described as bizarre blends of various types of U.S. magazines, such as Newsweek, The New Yorker, People, Penthouse, and The National Enquirer."
Shūkanshi have published such accounts as an allegation of murder by a Sōka Gakkai member (which was the subject of a successful libel action against Shūkan Shinchō), a disputed Paleolithic settlement site in Japan, and the sexual exploits of baseball star Ichiro Suzuki.
Allegations have been made to the effect that Shukanshi's content is widely controlled by the interests of the LDP of Japan, and their business interests (1). This practice is alleged, in A Public Betrayed to be widespread.
A Public Betrayed, Adam Gamble and Takesato Watanabe. 2004. Regnery Publishing