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I know Viz's _Shonen Jump_ has an ISSN (1545-7818), but that's from North
America.

Do any Japanese manga magazines (e.g. _Weekly Shonen Jump_ , _Monthly Shonen
Gangan_ , _Dengeki Daioh_ , _Comic Yuri Hime_ , etc.) have ISSNs?


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manga-production
Do Japanese manga magazines have ISSNs?


By all indications, no.

There are a few places I checked. First, while Wikipedia gives the ISSN for
magazines such as [Shonen
Jump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shonen_Jump_\(magazine\)) but doesn't give
it for magazines such as [Weekly Shonen
Jump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_Sh%C5%8Dnen_Jump) or
[LaLa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaLa).

Second, I looked at OCLC WorldCat, which similarly gives the ISSN for [Shonen
Jump](https://www.worldcat.org/title/shonen-
jump/oclc/747819188&referer=brief_results) but not [Weekly Shonen
Jump](https://www.worldcat.org/title/shonen-
janpu/oclc/38103769&referer=brief_results) or
[LaLa](https://www.worldcat.org/title/rara-
lala/oclc/44949349&referer=brief_results). (Those are just some random popular
magazines I picked, I checked for others as well, I just don't want to list
them all.)

Lastly, I checked the ISSN International Centre, which has [Shonen
Jump](https://issn.org/resource/issn/1545-7818) but can't find Weekly Shonen
Jump or LaLa. The reason I didn't mention this first is that a lack of search
results is not always the best indicator of something not existing,
particularly when there are issues across languages, but I did search in both
English and Japanese, so I'm fairly certain this means there just aren't ISSNs
for them.

Extrapolating out, it can be assumed that Japanese manga magazines don't have
ISSNs. However, they do have
[雑誌コード](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89)
(magazine codes) that are used as identification codes for magazines/journals
in Japan. The Wikipedia article is in Japanese but if you translate it, it
provides a decent explanation. You can also see the magazine code (09206-06)
to the left of the barcode in the magazine below.

[![Magazine with Magazine
Code](https://i.stack.imgur.com/36r6z.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/36r6z.jpg)


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answer


[kuwaly's answer](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/46511/2516) is correct; in
Japan, ISSN is not generally used. They instead use either 雑誌コード ( _zasshi
CODE_ , magazine/journal code), JAN (Japanese Article Number) code, or
定期刊行物コード ( _teikikan koubutsu CODE_ , periodical publication code).

* * *

**Magazine code** is located on the back cover on the bottom left with the
format "雑誌 ABBBC-MM/YY" or "雑誌 ABBBC-I":

  * A: Issuing form code 
    * 0, 1: monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly
    * 2, 3: weekly, bi-weekly
    * (4-9 is omitted skipped since it seems unrelated to Japanese manga magazine)
  * BBB: Magazine name code
  * C: Extra info 
    * If A is 0, 1 (monthly): 
      * odd number: regular
      * even number: extra/special
    * If A is 2, 3 (weekly): 
      * 1-5: issuing week
      * 6-9: extra/special
  * MM/YY: Month & year, or
  * I: Issue number

Taking kuwaly's example of 09206-06, it means:

  * 0: Monthly
  * 920: _LaLa Special_
  * 6: Special
  * 06: Issue number #6

* * *

**[JAN (Japanese Article Number)
code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Article_Number#Japanese_Article_Number)**
is an exclusive code for Japanese publication which is compatible with EAN
code. It's always started with 49/45 and is in a format of 13-digit or the
shortened 8-digit code.

For the 13-digit code:

  * Country code (2 digits)
  * Maker code (5/7 digits)
  * Product code (5/3 digits)
  * [Check digit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_digit) (1 digit)

For the shortened 8-digit code:

  * Country code (2 digits)
  * Maker code (4 digits)
  * Product code (1 digit)
  * [Check digit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_digit) (1 digit)

Taking kuwaly's example of 4910092060607 (13-digit), it means:

  * 49: Japan
  * 10 **09206** : _LaLa Special_ (note the **magazine code** )
  * 060: Issue number #6
  * 7: Check digit

* * *

**Periodical publication code** is an extension of JAN code, consisted of 18
digits with 5 add-on digits. The format is AAABCCCCCDDEF-GHHHH:

  * AAA: Periodical publication flag (fixed to 491 for Japanese magazine)
  * B: Reserved code 1 (for the time being, fixed to 0)
  * CCCCC: Magazine code
  * DD: Month/issue number
  * E: Year (the last digit of the year)
  * F: [Check digit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_digit)
  * G: Reserved code 2 (for the time being, fixed to 0)
  * H: Price (in 1 Yen)

Again, taking kuwaly's example of 4910092060607-00590, it means:

  * 491: Japanese magazine
  * 0: Reserved code 1
  * 09206: _LaLa Special_
  * 06: Issue number #6
  * 0: Year 2010
  * 7: Check digit
  * 0: Reserved code 2
  * 0590: 590 Yen (before tax)

* * *

Regarding ISSN in Japan,

>
> 日本では、諸外国と違い逐次刊行物の流通にISSNが用いられることがないため（「雑誌コード」が一般的）、ISSNの付与は出版者の申請があって初めて行われる。
>
> Unlike other countries, ISSN is not used in the distribution of serial
> publications in Japan ("magazine code" is the common one), granting of ISSN
> will take place only after the publisher apply for it.

* * *

Sources: Japanese Wikipedia

  * [ISSN](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISSN)
  * [Magazine Code](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89)
  * [EAN Code](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAN%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89)


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