The number one article in the Hirosaki Keizai Shimbun's annual PV (page view) ranking for 2024 was about the closure of the Ito-Yokado Hirosaki store.

The ranking was made by tallying up the number of pageviews of "Headline News" that were distributed between January 1 and December 12 of this year. The top 10 rankings are as follows (the dates in parentheses are the publication dates):

1. "Ito-Yokado Hirosaki Store" to be taken over by OIC Group (2/9)

2. Hirosaki's first "Bamiyan" reopens in Aomori Prefecture after 15 years (April 15)

3. "Nakamura Hirosaki store" suddenly closes; some residents say they wish they had been allowed to say goodbye (8/30)

4. Hokkaido-based "Penguin Bakery" opens its first store in Aomori, offering 80 types of bread, including apple pie (3/4)

5. The second branch of the ramen shop "Xie" in Hirosaki will serve pork bone-based ramen (April 25)

6. Potato specialty store "RC★SHOP" opens in Tsuruta, Aomori, driven by a love of potatoes (5/16)

7. "Lopia" at "Elm" in Goshogawara, Aomori, achieves highest sales on opening day ever (8/27)

8. Aomori Noroya, a ramen restaurant based in Hirosaki, opens at the former site of Hirosaki Daishoken (1/15)

9. "Ringocho Donut Shop" in Hirosaki, a sister store of "Fuwamochitei" in Sapporo (3/26)

10. Hirosaki Sakura Festival will have 133 stalls this year, including craft beer and s'mores (4/10)

As Ito-Yokado stores are closing across the country, the OIC Group announced that the Hirosaki store will be taken over by the OIC Group. Currently, some stores are open, and a food specialty supermarket called "Shoku Seikatsu♥♥ (Love Love) Lopia" is scheduled to open from February next year.

The second place was the opening of Bamiyan, which attracted attention as it was reopening in Aomori Prefecture for the first time in 15 years. The third place was the sudden closure of Nakasan Hirosaki on August 29th, which shocked not only the stores that had been there, but also local residents and surrounding stores.

Ranking 4th and below were articles about new restaurant openings, such as ramen shops and bakeries, with articles about new establishments in the Tsugaru area outside of Hirosaki also ranking highly.

The year 2024 has seen a series of closures of large commercial facilities and long-established stores. The Hirosaki Keizai Shimbun will continue to keep up with new developments in the city and provide positive news.