Nikkei Inc., the Japanese publisher whose brands include business publications the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun and the Nikkei Weekly, has announced it will soon begin charging users to access certain content. And Nikkei President, Tsuneo Kita, says if it the new model works, he’ll happily share his experiences with other newspaper groups.

From March 23, Nikkei’s flagship web site, Nikkei.Net, will begin charging customers ¥4,000 (US$45) a monthfor users to access all its web content, including news flashes and some articles appearing in its morning and evening publications. The fee also includes access to the digital version of the Nikkei Shimbun.Print subscribers can also access all areas of the site by paying ¥1,000 a month on top of their standard subscription fee.

Meanwhile, registered users of the site will still have access to up to 20 restricted articles a month without having to pay.

Mr Kita said the move to start charging users will ensure its content is easily distinguished from the “flood of [online] information” whose “credibility has become more difficult to judge”.

“I think news media have an important role to provide good journalism to those who are more familiar with computers and cell phones than newspapers,” he said. “If our service becomes successful, we’ll share our know-how with other newspaper companies.”

Nikkei is not the first Japanese publisher to experiment with a pay-per-view model. In October 2009, another of Japan’s leading newspaper houses, The Sankei Shimbun started charging users to access its medical site, yomiDr. But Nikkei is attempting to go one better by charging users for non-specialist content.

If Mr Kita can pull it off, newspapers around the world will be queuing to hear how he did it: New York-based News Day’s attempt at introducing paid content led to just 35 people signing up in the first three months. 

You can read more about Nikkei In.’s vision for the future of news here.