Linguistic specifics of headlines as a tool for forming a reader's position

the article is devoted to the analysis of the linguistic features of the headlines of the Japanese news media as a tool for shaping the reader's position. The object of the analysis is the coverage of events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Russia by the Japanese media in the period from May 4 to May 9, 2025. The purpose of the study is to identify the linguistic strategies and tactics through which the largest national publications NHK, Asahi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun form the interpretative framework of the event and encourage the reader to accept the transmitted ideological attitudes. Empirical material was provided by more than thirty online publications of these media outlets, using methods of critical discourse analysis, pragmalinguistic and semantic analysis. The study revealed that Japanese headlines combine informative, cataphorical, and perceptual functions; their manipulative potential is realized through elliptical syntax, implication, presupposition, and culturally marked lexical choice. NHK, during its coverage of the events, focused on the threat of drone attacks, forming an alarming emotional background; Asahi combined diplomatic news with the topic of security, enhancing the drama with quantitative hyperbole; Sankei focused on the geo-political dimension, noting the confrontation between Russia and the United States with the simultaneous rapprochement of Russia and the DPRK. Thus, all three editions shift the focus from the commemorative nature of the event to the political context and form the reader's image of Victory Day as a political event used by various actors in their interests. The scientific novelty of the work consists in a comprehensive description of the mechanisms of hidden ideological influence using headlines in Japanese media discourse and a comparison of microlinguistic techniques used by three national media of Japan for this purpose.

headline, Japanese media, media linguistics, manipulation, critical discourse analysis, 80th anniversary of Victory, Great Patriotic War, Russia