Since its inception, JEN has used many different media to pursue a single goal. Through radio, television, print and the Internet, JEN has informed and entertained the Japanese community in the Pacific Northwest for the past two-plus decades.

JEN started out as a weekly radio show in 1982 called Japan Entertainment Northwest. It was the first Japanese radio program in the Puget Sound area. The staff would assemble at a local radio station at the crack of dawn every Sunday to broadcast “Ohayo Sunday” to the expat community. Eventually, the program had its own studio next to JEN’s current office in Seattle’s International District.

JEN Inc. was established in 1990, and soon the company shifted focus from radio to TV. The JEN staff placed ads on Japanese shows and supported TV crews visiting from Japan.

As the Japanese community grew in Seattle and Portland and its needs diversified, JEN has been there to provide the necessary information and services. In 1994, after a year of research and information-gathering, JEN launched the area’s first Japanese-language telephone book. Today, the phone book has more than 7,000 entries.

In 1998, JEN launched YOUmaga, a free Japanese newspaper that contained information on life and leisure in the Northwest. Today, YOUmaga continues as a glossy monthly magazine.

In 2001, JEN launched youmaga.com, an Internet site that expands on the magazine’s information and updates more frequently. It was the company’s first foray into the Internet world, a world that is now central to its business model. Today, YOUmaga.com draws more than 30,000 visitors and about 600,000 page views each month (as of April 2006.)

JEN has come full-circle in the media world, starting with radio and TV, then moving to print and finally, the Internet. Today, we look back on the experience we have garnered in our first two decades and realize it taught us exactly the sort of skills needed to succeed as a 21st century media company. As the digital age dawns and medias converge, JEN is well positioned to handle the needs of corporations and communities, smoothly sending their messages across platforms and oceans.