The Nichi Bei Times, the oldest Japanese American paper in Northern California, announced last week that it will shut down after the final edition on September 10, 2009, SF Ethnic Communities Examiner reported.

The paper, since 1990, has suffered a continuous decline in both circulation and advertising revenue, just like any other players. According to the Nichi Bei Times, the closedown is due to the growth of online news, changing audiences and the economic downturn, and so it would consider new business models. "We felt the traditional bilingual daily did not serve today's Japanese American community," said Board of Directors of the publication on its website. "Japanese media have been hit harder than many other ethnic media."

Founded in 1946, the Nichi Bei Times has served the Japanese American community of Northern California for over 60 years, SF Ethnic Communities Examiner reported.