The Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞^?, IPA: [aꜜsaçi ɕimbɯɴ], literally Morning Sun Newspaper) is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun. The company has its registered headquarters in Osaka, Osaka.

The newspaper has alliances with the International Herald Tribune, which is owned by the New York Times. Together, they publish International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun as their English edition, which has replaced Asahi's previous Asahi Evening News. The Tribune also co-operates with Asahi on AERA English, a glossy magazine for English learners.

One of Japan's oldest and largest national daily newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun began publication in Osaka on January 25, 1879 as a small-print, four-page illustrated paper that sold for one sen (a hundredth of a yen) a copy, and had a circulation of approximately 3,000 copies. The three founding officers of a staff of twenty were Noboru Kimura (owner), Ryōhei Murayama (company president and publisher), and Tei Tsuda (managing editor). The company's first premises were at Minami-dori, Edobori in Osaka. On September 13 of the same year, Asahi printed its first editorial.

Akira Toriyama (鳥山 明, Toriyama Akira^?, born April 5, 1955) is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dr. Slump in 1980 and Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art. Jackie Chan's early movies had a noticeable influence on Toriyama's stories.

He debuted in 1979 with the story Wonder Island, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, and first gained popularity for the manga and anime series Dr. Slump, originally serialized weekly in Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984. In 1982, he won the Shogakukan Manga Award for Dr. Slump for best shōnen or shōjo manga series of the year.

In 1984, Toriyama was responsible for developing Dragon Ball which was initially serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump. It became an instant accomplishment—primarily selling over 35,000,000 copies in Japan, Dragon Ball eventually became a record-breaking best seller with over 120,000,000 copies sold. Aside from the Japanese fame, the series was equally successful internationally as well, including in Europe (1988), Canada (1996) and North America.

Bo Xilai (born 3 July 1949) is a Chinese politician. He came to prominence through his tenures as the mayor of the coastal economic hub of Dalian and then governor of Liaoning province. From 2004 to November 2007, he served as Minister of Commerce. Between 2007 and 2012 he served as a member of the Politburo and head of the Communist Party's Chongqing branch.

The son of Bo Yibo, one of the Eight Elders of the Communist Party of China, Bo Xilai is identified as one of the "princelings" of Chinese politics. He cultivated a casual and charismatic image in the media that marked a departure from the normally staid nature of Chinese politics.

In Chongqing, Bo became known for heavy-handed populism. He initiated a campaign against organized crime, increased spending on welfare programs, maintained consistent double-digit percentage GDP growth, and campaigned to revive Cultural Revolution-era "red culture." Bo's promotion of egalitarian values and the achievements of his "Chongqing model" made him the champion of the Chinese New Left, composed of both Maoists and social democrats disillusioned with the country's market-based economic reforms and increasing economic inequality. However, the perceived lawlessness of Bo's anti-corruption campaigns, coupled with concerns about his outsized personality, made him a controversial figure.