Publisher Shogakukan announced on Monday that the monthly gravure magazine Sabra is being discontinued after the March 2010 issue, which goes on sale in January. Like all magazines in general, Sabra has been affected by the weak economy and the necessity for the publishing industry to shift towards digital.

Sabra was launched in May 2000 and became very popular among readers, but its circulation has fallen in recent years. According to data from the Japan Magazine Publishers Association, Sabra's average circulation between October 2007 and September 2008 was around 100,000 copies. The JMPA website indicates that the number has fallen to about 84,000 for the second quarter of 2009.