The Asahi Shimbun is a centrist-liberal newspaper in Japan which was founded in January 1879. Headquartered in Osaka, it is one of the top three newspapers in Japan, along with the Yomiuri Shimbun in Tokyo and the Chunichi Shimbun in Nagoya. Before World War II, it was counted as one of the country's two major newspapers, along with the Mainichi Shimbun. The paper's political position is center-left, but it historically had a close relationship with the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan's liberal-conservative faction, the Kochikai. Former Vice President Taketora Ogata served as Vice President of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and President of the Liberal Party of Japan, and later belonged to the Liberal Democratic Party. He was also a CIA collaborator, as was Matsutaro Shoriki of the Yomiuri Shimbun. Since it advocates liberalism, the paper is in the middle position between the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun and the socialist Chunichi Shimbun. While being considered liberal, it is a newspaper that actively supported Koizumi's reform. Asahi also supported the Trans Pacific Partnership, while the leftist Chunichi SHimbun was against both. The conservative Yoichi Funabashi once served as the paper's the chief editor.