Asahi Shimbun vs El País
Japanese paper-of-record vs Spanish paper-of-record — two non-Anglo-sphere quality dailies often paired in research.
Asahi Shimbun
Japan's tier-1 daily since 1879; English edition asahi.com/ajw partial open access.
El País
Spain's tier-1 daily since 1976, with strong Latin American reach via elpais.com Americas editions.
Head-to-head — all four dimensions
| Dimension | Asahi Shimbun | El País | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
SourceScore Index Composite | B·71 | B·74 | El+3 |
Citation Discipline How rigorously cited | B·80 | B·80 | tie |
Modern Reference AI-era fitness | C·65 | C·68 | El+3 |
Citation Velocity Cited per week | C·68 | B·72 | El+4 |
Why these scores
Citation Discipline
Long editorial tradition; named bylines; corrections public; fact-check department.
Strong fact-check tradition, named bylines, public corrections, in-house Defensor del Lector ombuds.
Modern Reference
Hard paywall on Japanese content; English edition open but smaller scope.
Metered paywall; LatAm editions partially open; English edition (elpais.com/english) open.
Citation Velocity
Tier-1 in Japanese-language retrieval; lower in English LLM-engine citations.
Default Spanish-language tier-1; regular cross-citation in international press.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Asahi Shimbun or El País?
El País scores higher on the SourceScore Index (B 74) vs Asahi Shimbun (B 71) — a 3-point composite lead across Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity. "Better" depends on use case; the per-dimension breakdown below shows where each wins.
Which is more reliable to cite, Asahi Shimbun or El País?
For citation, El País is the stronger choice — it scores B (74/100) on the SourceScore Index versus Asahi Shimbun at B (71/100), a 3-point lead in composite citation quality (Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, Citation Velocity). Both can be cited; for higher-stakes references, prefer El País.
How does Asahi Shimbun compare to El País on citation discipline?
Asahi Shimbun scores B 80 on Citation Discipline; El País scores B 80. Citation Discipline measures how rigorously each source cites primary references — see the per-dimension rationale below for the breakdown.
What's the SourceScore difference between Asahi Shimbun and El País?
Asahi Shimbun B 71 vs El País B 74 on the composite Index. Japanese paper-of-record vs Spanish paper-of-record — two non-Anglo-sphere quality dailies often paired in research.
Why does El País score higher than Asahi Shimbun?
El País leads by 3 composite points on the SourceScore Index. The rationale section below breaks down where the lead comes from — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness), and Citation Velocity. Each dimension is scored from primary methodology criteria.