The thesis is focused on Japanese media and especially on their role in the Japanese society. Their impact is noticeable in the way of shaping the national collective memory. One of the unsolved issues of Japan's past, which still resonates in the Japanese society, is the issue of the former comfort women. From the beginning of the 1990s the thus far neglected issue has been given more media attention, which makes it an ideal study case for the influence of media on shaping the collective memory of a nation. With the help of one media that has been following the plight of the former comfort women incessantly till now, the Asahi Shinbun, the thesis documents the method, by which the issue has been dealt with, and the response of the public to the articles of this daily newspaper, which it has created. As the topic has been being discussed for over thirty years, the analysis of the articles is concentrated on two key periods: 1991-1997 and 2010-2014. Using Susan Pharr's model of the types of roles of mass media, the thesis seeks to learn what role the Asahi Shinbun plays in this issue and whether anything has changed in the last thirty years. Key words: role of mass media, comfort women, collective memory, public opinion, Asahi Shinbun