2channel
2channel (Japanese: 2ちゃんねる, Hepburn: ni channeru), also known as 2ch, Channel 2, and sometimes retrospectively as 2ch.net, was an anonymous Japanese textboard founded in 1999 by Hiroyuki Nishimura. Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community", the site had a level of influence comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines. At the time, the site drew an annual revenue of around ¥100 million (about US$1 million), and was the largest of its kind in the world, with around ten million visitors and 2.5 million posts made per day.
Type of site | Textboard |
|---|---|
| Available in | Japanese |
| Owner | Disputed |
| Created by | Hiroyuki Nishimura |
| URL | 2ch |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Users | 10 million monthly (2010) |
| Launched | 30 May 1999 |
| Current status | Disputed (since 19 February 2014) |
| Available in | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 April 2014 |
| Owner | Hiroyuki Nishimura |
| Parent | Packet Monster Inc. |
| URL | 2ch |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Current status | Active |
| Available in | Japanese, with a small minority of boards in English |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 October 2017 |
| Owner | Jim Watkins |
| Parent | Loki Technology Inc. via Race Queen Inc. |
| URL | 5ch |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Current status | Active |
The site was hosted and had its domain registration provided by Jim Watkins, based in San Francisco, California. In 2009, ownership of the site was transferred to Singapore-based Packet Monster Inc., under which Nishimura remained in control. In February 2014, Watkins seized the 2ch.net domain, taking full control over the website and assuming the role of site administrator. This has resulted in two textboards claiming to be the legitimate 2channel: 2ch.sc, owned by Nishimura through Packet Monster Inc., and 5channel (5ちゃんねる, go channeru, domain 5ch.net), established in 2017 by redirect from the original domain and owned by Watkins through Philippines-based Loki Technology Inc.
2channel and its successors are more controversial than other social media in Japan; they are extremely popular among Japan's extreme right-wing, known as the netto-uyoku, who post xenophobic comments, often targeting Koreans. Defamation is of particular concern; by August 2008, Nishimura had received more than one hundred lawsuits for defamatory comments left on the website. Announcements of crimes also have drawn scrutiny towards 2channel and its successors. In 2012, 2channel was accused by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police of allowing its platform to be used by amphetamine dealers, although no charges were filed.
In September 2007, 2channel averaged over 2.4 million posts per day. As of July 2020, 5channel had 1,031 boards receiving around 2.7 million posts per day on weekends, with no growth since March 2016. Meanwhile, 2ch.sc then had 826 boards receiving around 5,700 posts daily.