Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts
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    Japanese people spend over 4 hours per week reading[UPDATED: 5-31-2017]

    Japanese people spend over 4 hours per week reading.  This is only about half the time of Indians who are the world’s biggest bookworms, according to international surveys. The typical Japanese book buyer purchases 5.7 book per year and Japan has one of the world’s… Read more »
    Japanese people spend over 4 hours per week reading Posted by Richard Nathan
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    Japanese boys outscore girls on international literary benchmark tests[UPDATED: 5-31-2017]

    Japanese students score extremely highly on international literacy benchmark tests (540 compared with an average 497 amongst OECD nations) and unusually boys in Japan outscore girls by one percentage point on these tests, while in other countries girls generally outscore boys.
    Japanese boys outscore girls on international literary benchmark tests Posted by Richard Nathan
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    Japanese newspaper publishers support creative writing and award literary prizes[UPDATED: 5-31-2017]

    Japanese newspaper publishers award literary prizes, the most prestigious of which is the Yomiuri Prize for Literature. Other notable prizes include the Mainichi Publishing Prize and the Osaragi Jiro Prize awarded by the Asahi Newspaper. Most major Japanese newspapers also regularly publish serialized fiction.
    Japanese newspaper publishers support creative writing and award literary prizes Posted by Richard Nathan
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    Most Japanese folk stories don’t have ‘Happily Ever Afters’[UPDATED: 5-31-2017]

    The narrative tradition of Mukashibanashi, Japanese folk tales, include accounts of epic journeys, secret rooms and unusual treasure; as is the case in story telling and literature of many countries. But Japanese tales differ significantly from Western fairy and folk stories as most don’t end… Read more »
    Most Japanese folk stories don’t have ‘Happily Ever Afters’ Posted by Richard Nathan
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    7-Eleven competes with Amazon in Japan for online book sales[UPDATED: 5-7-2017]

    The major online book retailers in Japan include Amazon, as in most countries, but Seven & I (which runs and owns the famous international convenience store chain 7-Eleven) is also a major online book retailer as are Kinokuniya, Bunkyodo, Junkodo and Rakuten Books, the owner… Read more »
    7-Eleven competes with Amazon in Japan for online book sales Posted by Richard Nathan