Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

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Book rental and lending schemes have a very long history in Japan[UPDATED: 1-24-2018]

Historically, book production and consumption in Japan was focused on the country’s aristocrats, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and society’s upper classes not the mass market. However, in the early 1800s book lending shops started to appear. According to historians, their number grew from around 650… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Culture
- Industry
- Retail
Book rental and lending schemes have a very long history in Japan Posted March 23rd, 2017 by Richard Nathan
90% of Japanese people under the age of 30 still read books[UPDATED: 12-27-2017]

According to consumer surveys, despite what many might believe, the vast majority of Japanese people still read books, including people under the age of 30. However, 10 percent of Japanese people under the age of 30 say that currently they never read books. The most… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- Retail
90% of Japanese people under the age of 30 still read books Posted November 22nd, 2017 by Richard Nathan
The most famous Japanese folk tales are: Princess Kaguya, The Grateful Crane and Urashima Taro[UPDATED: 12-20-2017]

Three famous Japanese folk tales are: Princess Kaguya (extra-terrestrial supernatural creature); The Grateful Crane (shape-shifting bird); and Urashima Taro (time travel). Perhaps, Princess Kaguya a story from the 10th Century, which is now very well-known outside Japan after the release of the Studio Ghibli animated… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Culture
- Folk Tales
The most famous Japanese folk tales are: Princess Kaguya, The Grateful Crane and Urashima Taro Posted March 23rd, 2017 by Koji Chikatani
Japan’s seven largest publishers collectively are 80% the size of the world’s largest[UPDATED: 12-10-2017]

According to the 2017 Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry, produced by BookMap, Japan’s seven largest publishers collectively are 80% the size of the world’s largest, Pearson. Japan’s seven largest publishers, measured by revenue, included in the 2017 Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry, produced by… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- IPA
- Market Data
- Retail
Japan’s seven largest publishers collectively are 80% the size of the world’s largest Posted December 10th, 2017 by Richard Nathan
Japan is ranked 20th worldwide in terms of output per person of new books and new editions[UPDATED: 12-4-2017]

In terms of new title publication per capita, the United Kingdom, which is a major international exporter of books and publications, leads the world with the highest ratio of 2,875 new titles published per million inhabitants. Japan, which has a larger domestic market than the… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Book production
- Industry
- IPA
- Market Data
Japan is ranked 20th worldwide in terms of output per person of new books and new editions Posted December 4th, 2017 by Richard Nathan
Books and publications worth US$5.4 billion are sold every year in Japan[UPDATED: 10-23-2017]

According to the International Publishers Association (IPA), the Japanese market for books and publications, the fourth-largest in the world, has annual sales of US$5.4 billion. Despite the overall size and hundreds of millions of books being bought every year in print and digital formats,… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- IPA
- Market Data
Books and publications worth US$5.4 billion are sold every year in Japan Posted October 23rd, 2017 by Richard Nathan
Two Japanese authors have won the Nobel Prize in Literature[UPDATED: 10-10-2017]

Two Japanese authors have won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Yasunari Kawabata in 1968 “for his narrative mastery, which with great sensibility expresses the essence of the Japanese mind” and Kenzaburo Oe in 1994 “who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Nobel
- Prizes
Two Japanese authors have won the Nobel Prize in Literature Posted March 22nd, 2017 by Richard Nathan
Over a billion books are distributed in Japan every year[UPDATED: 9-23-2017]

Over a billion copies of books are distributed in Japan every year, according to the Shuppan Nenkan (Publishing Yearbook). However, only 60% (around 640 million copies) of them are actually bought. The overall Japanese book market, the world’s fourth-largest, peaked over 20 years ago in 1996,… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Retail
Over a billion books are distributed in Japan every year Posted September 23rd, 2017 by Richard Nathan

Factbook

Book rental and lending schemes have a very long history in Japan[UPDATED: 1-24-2018]

90% of Japanese people under the age of 30 still read books[UPDATED: 12-27-2017]

The most famous Japanese folk tales are: Princess Kaguya, The Grateful Crane and Urashima Taro[UPDATED: 12-20-2017]

Japan’s seven largest publishers collectively are 80% the size of the world’s largest[UPDATED: 12-10-2017]

Japan is ranked 20th worldwide in terms of output per person of new books and new editions[UPDATED: 12-4-2017]

Books and publications worth US$5.4 billion are sold every year in Japan[UPDATED: 10-23-2017]

Two Japanese authors have won the Nobel Prize in Literature[UPDATED: 10-10-2017]

Over a billion books are distributed in Japan every year[UPDATED: 9-23-2017]

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