Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

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Japan’s oldest surviving cookbook was published in 1643[UPDATED: 2-4-2019]

According to historians, Japan’s first modern cookbook Ryori Monogatari, Accounts of Cooking, was published just as the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616), came to power in 1603, and Japan’s Edo Period began (1603-1863). Tokugawa was a supporter of publishing and in particular books that provided… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Cookbooks
- Food
Japan’s oldest surviving cookbook was published in 1643 Posted February 4th, 2019 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s most expensive book was published in 1984 with a retail price of US$17,000[UPDATED: 1-5-2019]

Japan’s most expensive book, an edited collection of manuscripts by Claudius Ptolemaeus (100-168), was published in two-volumes by the Japanese publisher Iwanami Shoten in 1984, just before Japan’s infamous economic bubble (1986-1991), with a retail price of 1,930,000 yen. Ptolemaeus’ astronomical treatise, an astronomy textbook… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- Retail
- Science
Japan’s most expensive book was published in 1984 with a retail price of US$17,000 Posted July 20th, 2017 by Richard Nathan
More than 50 Japanese authors have killed themselves since 1900[UPDATED: 12-27-2018]

Research shows that at least 54 Japanese authors have committed suicide since 1900. This includes some of Japan’s most famous and highly regarded authors and one of its two Nobel prize winners, Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972), as well as Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) after whom one of… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Culture
- History
- Industry
- OECD
More than 50 Japanese authors have killed themselves since 1900 Posted January 3rd, 2018 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s most prolific male and female authors have written 1,000 books[UPDATED: 12-27-2018]

Jiro Akagawa and Kaoru Kurimoto are Japan’s most prolific authors and have written around 1,000 titles between them. Akagawa has written more than 530 books and sold millions of copies. His first published short story in 1976 Yūrei Ressha, Ghost Train, which was awarded the All Yomimono… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Industry
- Prizes
- Retail
Japan’s most prolific male and female authors have written 1,000 books Posted January 3rd, 2018 by Richard Nathan
Japan runs a major trade deficit in books and publications[UPDATED: 12-25-2018]

Despite the growing interest in Japanese culture, Japan’s exports of publications, including books, is under half of the value of its imports, according to Ministry of Finance data. The top three nations Japan buys books and publications from, according to figures based on publications shipped… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Exports
- Industry
- JETRO
Japan runs a major trade deficit in books and publications Posted March 25th, 2017 by Richard Nathan
Digital developments forced Japan to update its copyright legislation in 2014 and then again in 2018[UPDATED: 12-9-2018]

Japanese copyright law was updated in 2014 under the Revised Copyright Act and then revised again in 2018.Publishing rights, which have traditionally been limited in Japan to print or paper medium publications, were extended to cover e-books and the Internet for the first time under the… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Copyright
- Industry
- Rights
Digital developments forced Japan to update its copyright legislation in 2014 and then again in 2018 Posted December 4th, 2017 by Richard Nathan
Honnomushi is Japanese for bookworm and there are hundreds of thousands of them in Japan[UPDATED: 11-8-2018]

The Japanese for an avid and devoted reader, honnomushi (本の虫), is similar to the word used in English and many other languages, bookworm. The direct translation of honnomushi is book insect or bug. Bookworm and honnomushi, as well as being the common informal term for bibliophiles, is used in both languages to describe any insect that is thought to bore… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Culture
- Industry
Honnomushi is Japanese for bookworm and there are hundreds of thousands of them in Japan Posted January 1st, 2018 by Richard Nathan
The first Japanese book produced using movable type was printed in 1593[UPDATED: 11-2-2018]

The first Japanese book printed using movable type was the Kobun Kokyo, Classic of Filial Piety. The book, was chosen by the Japanese Emperor to be the first printed using the new technology. It was printed in 1593, after the Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-98) by… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Book production
- Industry
The first Japanese book produced using movable type was printed in 1593 Posted January 1st, 2018 by Richard Nathan

Factbook

Japan’s oldest surviving cookbook was published in 1643[UPDATED: 2-4-2019]

Japan’s most expensive book was published in 1984 with a retail price of US$17,000[UPDATED: 1-5-2019]

More than 50 Japanese authors have killed themselves since 1900[UPDATED: 12-27-2018]

Japan’s most prolific male and female authors have written 1,000 books[UPDATED: 12-27-2018]

Japan runs a major trade deficit in books and publications[UPDATED: 12-25-2018]

Digital developments forced Japan to update its copyright legislation in 2014 and then again in 2018[UPDATED: 12-9-2018]

Honnomushi is Japanese for bookworm and there are hundreds of thousands of them in Japan[UPDATED: 11-8-2018]

The first Japanese book produced using movable type was printed in 1593[UPDATED: 11-2-2018]

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