At first glance, the stylish magazine featuring glossy images of pretty models gives readers the feeling they are holding a fashion publication showcasing the latest trends from Tokyo.
Some might search their pockets for change, or meekly look around before plucking a copy from the rack.
But the new magazine titled Fukuoka Bishojo Zukan (Fukuoka beautiful girl pictorial), which made its debut late last month, is free. In fact, the images of urban chic were all created here using local, amateur models. The publisher is based in Fukuoka.
The magazine is one of a string of regional-oriented, fashionable "free papers" which have mushroomed across the nation recently. First conceived by a Niigata-based ad design company, the format has been transplanted to cities in 18 prefectures. Each has a distinct local flavor.
In each location, local businesses have helped cover publishing costs and provided material support for the actual photo shoots--all in the name of trying to revitalize the local economy.
The magazines have been well received. Many disappear soon after hitting the shelves. Some have even become collector's items.
An air of professionalism filled a studio in Fukuoka's Hakata Ward where a photo shoot was held for the Aug. 23 inaugural edition of Fukuoka Bishojo Zukan.
"Let's try placing those hands on the table," the photographer suggested to the young models between poses, the camera flash popping furiously. "Relax a bit. Picture yourself in a restaurant."
The models trying their best poses were all senior high school and vocational school students in their teens and 20s from Fukuoka Prefecture. More than 200 women applied, of whom 10 were selected for this shoot.
"With my hair done differently, I feel like I got to see a different side of me today," said a 19-year-old Fukuoka vocational school student, appearing to enjoy every moment of the shoot.
The format of doing everything locally, and using local talent, is the brainchild of Niigata-based ad design office Texfarm Inc. In 2002, the company came up with the idea to publish a "medium that provided something that broke away from Tokyo-centered fads and that would imbue a sense of confidence and pride in local youth"
Last year, Texfarm began exporting know-how across the nation. The magazines are set up using a franchise-style arrangement with a single business in each of 46 prefectures across Japan, excluding Tokyo.
As of early September, Bishojo Zukan magazines have been published in 18 prefectures, while contracts have already been arranged for future publications in the remaining prefectures.
Most of the publications are released twice a year. Each print run comes to about 20,000 copies. The magazines are distributed at shopping centers, restaurants and cafes.
In June, the first issue of Kagoshima Bishojo Zukan, an 84-page magazine, was distributed in Kagoshima. One 22-year-old female university student who happened to pick up a copy was surprised by the quality of the free publication, as well as how fashionable the local model appeared.
"I think I know where this was taken," the student exclaimed, before adding, "But it's so pretty, and cute."
All copies of the inaugural issue, which included information on where readers could purchase the same clothes worn by the models, or have their hair done in the same way, were snatched up in just four days.
"We really didn't expect a response of this size," said Suguru Maruno, president of Brest, the Kagoshima event planning company which published the magazine.
In July, Maruno's company organized a fashion show featuring models appearing in the magazine.
"There are various approaches to revitalizing local communities. Through synergy with advertisers, we hope to liven things up," Maruno added.
According to the Japan Free Newspapers Association, there were about 1,200 free publications in the country as of 2006, with an estimated 300 million copies in circulation. But due largely to the recession, and shrinking advertisement expenses, there were only about 100 new startup publications last year, around half of the count in 2007.
"The idea of creating a local-oriented publication in which girls from the region appear, while adding a touch of sophistication found in a photo book, would seem like a simple one, but nobody ever came up with something like this," association secretary-general Mariko Kubo said.
She said the magazine's success, despite uncertainty in the publishing industry, lay in appealing to both sexes.
"The magazine provides women readers a vision or goal that would seem attainable even for them. At the same time it brandishes an irresistible title that tickles the men and makes them want to pick up a copy," Kubo said.
