Discover 21 Japan Asian Publishing Fellowship in Seoul

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1 Discover 21 Japan Asian Publishing Fellowship in Seoul

2 About Me • 2011-2012 Bookstore sales
• 2012 – 2013 Transferred to an affiliate company and worked as the chairman’s assistant • 2014 – 2015 PR, Advertising • 2015 – Present Book editing（chiefly business and society）as the lead editor in my section   Hello, everyone. My name is Shimpei Inoue and I’m 28 years old. I entered our company in2011 and started my career in bookstore sales. Up until now I have worked in PR and advertising, and 2 years ago I became an editor. I’ve even been lucky enough to make a smash hit in that short time.

3 About Us -Founded in 1985 -Contracted stores Approximately 4,000
stores with regular transactions -No. of contents 1700books published so far Let me share the information about our company, too. We were founded in 1985 in Tokyo. We’ve published more than 1700 books in education, Lifestyle, Health, Beauty, Fitness, Current Events etc. Discover 21 is highly regarded across Japan as one of the most innovative publishers in the field. We have a large and dedicated reader base, and are known for our high percentage of books that become instant hits.

4 About Us -Our mission Discover your resource -Our strengths
・Direct-sales strategy ・Reader loyalty of the Discover 21 brand ・ We are constantly creating new kinds of publications ・Early adoption of e-books Our mission is “Discover your resource”. We aim to change people’s perspectives through our books. We directly sell books to bookshops without wholesalers. It’s our strong point in terms of marketing and relationships with bookshop staff.

5 Education, Lifestyle, Health, Beauty, Fitness, Current Events etc.
What We Publish Personal Growth Business Here are the representative books we have published. We pride ourselves on great design. We often hear from customers that they picked up a nicely designed at a bookstore that ended up being from Discover. We often win domestic design awards as well. 私たちはデザインの面でも秀でています。「良いデザインの本を手にとって見たらディスカヴァーの本だった」という感想をよくもらいます。よく、国内のデザイン賞も受賞しています。 Lifestyle Popular Science Education, Lifestyle, Health, Beauty, Fitness, Current Events etc.

6 Japanese Market Trends
Magazine(100 hundred billion yen) Books(100 hundred billion yen) Number of the new books(ten thousand) We’d like to share what is going in Japanese market. Here is how it is. The green sections are magazines, and the red sections are books. The blue line represents the number of new books. As you can see in this graph, magazines are now being destroyed. Books are relatively not so bad, the serious problem is that the market continues to shrink while the number of new books remains high. The market continues to shrink while the number of new books remains high

7 Book and Magazine Sales in Bookstores
The good news is sales of books were more robust than predicted. The bad news is that magazine sales fell short of predictions. We don’t publish magazines, but for most bookshops, their revenue is mainly generated by magazines, so the number of our business partners is decreasing. 2010 Predictions Actual 2015 sales By the hundred miillion Books Magazines Sales of books were more robust than predicted while magazine sales fell short of predictions

8 The market continues to grow, but comics make up 75% of sales
E-Books Market trends 2013 E-books by genre Comic Literature Practical books Market trends about E-books. The market continues to grow, but comics make up 75% of sales. Photo books Others By the hundred miillion 単位：億円 Impress Resarch Institute インプレス総合研究所より The market continues to grow, but comics make up 75% of sales

9 Distribution Channels
E-books Convenience stores (co-ops and stationary shops excluded) Distribution Channels have been changed dynamically. Brick and mortar shops are no longer the dominant channel. Convenience stores in particular are expanding. Online shopping is also expanding, but maybe far behind that of China. The decline of Brick and mortar shops is obviously a trend all over the world, but there are some factors that are peculiar to Japan. This is not the main theme, so I will not go into in depth here. Feel free to ask me about it if you are interested. Online shop Brick and mortar shop Bookstore sales weaken as sales in convenience stores and online are on the rise

10 Number of the books by genres
Distribution Channels have been changed dynamically. Brick and mortar shops are no longer the dominant channel. Convenience stores in particular are expanding. Online shopping is also expanding, but maybe far behind that of China. The decline of Brick and mortar shops is obviously a trend all over the world, but there are some factors that are peculiar to Japan. This is not the main theme, so I will not go into in depth here. Feel free to ask me about it if you are interested. Convenience stores (co-ops and stationary shops excluded) Online shop Social popular Others E-books art finction children

11 Our Strategy

12 １ We will not simply focus on paper books.
First,” We will not simply focus on paper books.” Let me introduce what this means.

13 E-Book Sales on Our Site
本のサナギ賞 E-Book Sales on Our Site Our e-book site was up and running much earlier than our competitors. 私たちは他社より早く、自社の電子書籍サイトを立ち上げました。

14 E-Book Sales on Our Site
本のサナギ賞 E-Book Sales on Our Site We also rolled out Novelabo, a site where people can post their novels last year. This was quite bold considering the relatively conservative publishing industry in Japan. また、昨年新しくノベラボという自社で運営する小説投稿サイトを立ち上げました。保守的な日本の出版業界のなかでは比較的先進的な試みです。

15 2 We will not simply focus on Japanese.
Second,”We will not simply focus on Japanese.”

16 Expanding Abroad Discover has been actively buying and selling foreign rights. This photo is of one of our booths at the Frankfurt Book Fair. We have also had custom displays at book fairs in Taipei, London, and Beijing, just to name a few. ディスカヴァーは海外との版権売買に積極的に取り組んでいます。 この写真は、フランクフルトブックフェアに出展したときのものです。 ほかにも、台湾や北京などのブックフェアにもオリジナルのブースを出展してアピールしています。

17 Here is our booth in Beijing.
これは北京ブックフェアの写真です。

18 And here is our booth in London
And here is our booth in London. There were very few custom booths without any anime or comics in the Japan area, but we’re willing to make the investment. これはロンドンブックフェアの写真です。日本のほかの出版社では、アニメやコミックを除くとここまで自前ブースでやっているところは少ないのですが、私たちは積極的に投資しています。

19 454 works published abroad （266 books in 17 countries）
We’ve published a total of 454 works abroad（266 books in 17 countries）

20 Here are some of the overseas versions of our books.

21 Overseas Collaboration: NOVELiDOL
We are moving forward with overseas collaborations. This is NOVELiDOL. Allow me to explain NOVELiDOL a bit. NOVELiDOL is a system of publishing wherein Hajime Humino, a fictional character, is the producer. NOVELiDOL is modeled after Japanese “light novels,” which are light reads that span several genres. In August we officially announced our collaboration with Shanghai Seiki at the Beijing book fair. We’re looking for partners in every country, so let us know if you’re interested! 私達は海外とのコラボも具体的にすすめています。こちらはNOVELiDOL. Let me explain about this system for a bit first. NOVELiDOLは、「文野はじめ」という架空のキャラクターをつくり、彼女がプロデュースしたという設定で出版するシステムです。 本の内容ですが、日本でライトノベルと呼ばれる軽めの作品が中心です。 8月、中国の上海世紀（しゃんはいせいき）という出版社と正式にコラボすることを北京ブックフェアにて発表いたしました。 一つの国につき一つの出版社でコラボ先を探しているのでご興味あればPlease let me know. Japan　 China　 Shanghai Seiki joint project　

22 海外とのコラボ:NOVELiDOL This project has two main objectives. Firstly, we want each country to be able to share its contents through the unified channel of Humino Hajime. Secondly, we want to uncover new and promising authors. Already two young Chinese authors have gotten a break through the NOVELiDOL label. In addition to this, a series of novels is in the works, through a joint venture with Matetsu (?), which will eventually be made into motion pictures. このプロジェクトには、大きく2つ目的があります。ひとつは、それぞれの国のコンテンツを「文野はじめ」というキャラクターを軸に世界各国で流通させること。もうひとつは、新人著者の発掘です。すでに中国では二人の若手を発掘し執筆が進んでいます。 他にも、NOVELiDOLとは別で、映画化を前提にした小説シリーズの共同制作が北京のマテツ社と進んでいます。

23 3 We will not simply focus on words.
Third,”We will not simply focus on words.”

24 Products Beyond the Printed Word 本のサナギ賞
We sell products other than books at bookstores. We endeavor to sell new kinds of products in existing markets such as book shops, while selling our books in newer markets such as convenience stores and other shops. 私達は本以外のものも書店に販売しています。 このように書店という既存のマーケットで新規の商品を売る一方、 コンビニや雑貨店のように新規のマーケットで、既存の本という商品を売る試みにも挑戦しています。

25 New Trends in Non-Fiction
Now I would like to discuss non-fiction trends in Japan. ここからは日本のノンフィクションのトレンドについて紹介していきます。

26 But before explaining, we have to think…
But before I get to that… ですが、その前に

27 Why don’t the same books sell well in every country?
Question 本のサナギ賞 Why don’t the same books sell well in every country? Why don’t the same books sell as well in every country?

28 Because there is a “cultural difference”.
Answer 本のサナギ賞 Because there is a “cultural difference”.

29 What is Japanese culture?
本のサナギ賞 What is Japanese culture? Japan is a very strange country. Simply looking at the numbers doesn’t tell us what kind of books are selling in Japan. In order to sell and buy content in Japan, you must first understand Japan’s uniqueness. So how exactly is Japan different from other countries? Well as you see here, Japan is a very strange country. Of course I say this in a loving way. 日本の市場を数字だけで見ても、どんな本が売れるのかはわかりません。 日本とコンテンツビジネスをするためには、まず日本のオリジナリティを知ることからはじめてください。 さて、では日本のcultural differenceとは何でしょうか？ ここに書いたように、日本は、実はとても変な国なのです。もちろん私は日本が大好きですが。

30 What is strange? 本のサナギ賞 1: We don’t like to compete with others
2: We assume we’re all same 3: We are ultimately optimistic There is no simple way to explain what kind of country Japan is. But for today lets just take a look at three points. These three things separate us from much of the rest of the world. 日本がどんな国をシンプルに説明するのはとても難しいことです。 しかし、今日はあえてみっつにポイントを絞って説明してみたいと思います。 私たちは、次の三つの点で変わっています。

31 １ We don’t like to compete with others
First of all, we don’t like competing with others. まず、私たちは人との競争を好みません。

32 本のサナギ賞 American value results. Japanese value attitude.
Lets contrast that with America, for example. Americans tend to be results-driven while we Japanese are process-driven. 例として一番対照的なアメリカ人と比べてみましょう。アメリカ人は結果を何より重視しますが、日本人はどのように問題と向き合ったか、という態度が重視されます。

33 本のサナギ賞 Americans think of the goal as “maximum results with minimal effort”. Americans are looking for optimal results with the least possible effort. アメリカ人は、最小の結果で最大の成果を出すことがゴールです。

34 本のサナギ賞 Japanese think the goal is “Do it in proper way”.
The Japanese, on the other hand, obsess over the “correct” way to do something. If you stick to the correct method and work earnestly, you will look okay in your boss’s eyes even if you don’t achieve good results. But since attitude is highly prized, you will likely be scolded and seen as lazy if you leave the office before your boss does. しかし、日本人は、正しいやり方でやることにこだわります。 もし正しいやり方や努力をしていれば、結果が出なくてもあまり責められることはありません。 でも、姿勢は常に重視されるので、もしあなたが日本の会社で働いて上司より先に帰ろうとすると、「君はやる気があるのか！」と言って怒られます。

35 本のサナギ賞 Americans think about how to win, while Japanese people think about how to coexist For us Japanese, true victory is not in winning, but in not fighting. 日本人にとって、勝利とは他人に勝つのではなく、戦わないことなのです。

36 本のサナギ賞 Perhaps this is because we Japanese have historically not had to compete. The Japanese character has something to do with the fact that we are an island nation. For us Japanese, where people have historically not moved around much, and where are descendants lived in a closed-off world for generations, the goal has always been to avoid competition and foster good relationships with those around us. この日本人の性格は、日本が島国であるという事実と関係しています。人の移動が少なく、先祖と同じ閉じられた世界で何世代も暮らす日本人にとっては、 競争はもっとも避けるべきものであり、大事なのは、周囲の人間といい関係を築くことでした。

37 本のサナギ賞 Although we like books about strengthening ourselves as well, ours are more often related to getting along with others. Books with brazen titles about winning and beating the competition don’t sell in Japan. Instead, books about making chit-chat and effective communication sell quite well. In fact, a book about how to make small-talk,超一流の雑談力, was the bestselling business book of For us, it’s not about “how do I rise above the competition,” it’s about “how do I do my best where I am currently.” In fact, two of the top books last year were a book on not reacting emotionally, and another on how not to lose your composure. 日本では、「どうやって勝つか」のような勇ましいタイトルのビジネス書は売れません。そのかわり、雑談力のような、コミュニケーションに関する本がとてもよく売れます。この超一流の雑談力という本は、2015年最も売れたビジネス書です。 「いかに自分のレベルを高めて競争に勝てるようにするか」ではなく、「いかに今の自分のレベルを変えずにいい結果をえるか」を考えます。 他にも、『感情的にならない本』『平常心のコツ』の二冊が総合ランキングトップ30に入りました。 超一流の雑談力

38 2 We assume we’re all same

39 本のサナギ賞 For example, if there had not been enough lifeboats on the Titanic… We have a joke in Japan: A luxury liner is sinking, and the guests from various countries are rushing to the life rafts. But the rafts are full, and if some of the men don’t get out they will all sink. First they turn to the American man and say, “if you jump you’ll be considered a hero!” He gives his manliest pose and jumps into the water. Then they turn to the Englishman and say, “if you jump you’ll be considered a true gentleman!” He nods nobly and jumps into the water. Then they turn to the German man and say, “you must jump into the water. It’s a rule.” He looks satisfied with this and jumps into the water. Finally they come to the Japanese man and say, “you’re not gonna jump in? All the other men already did.” He looks to his left and right frantically, then jumps into the water in a panic. ひとつエスニックジョークを話させてください。 豪華客船が沈没して、多国籍の人々が、救命ボートに乗りました しかし定員オーバーで、男の人たちに降りてもらわないと沈んでしまいます。 そこで、人々は アメリカ人に対してこう言いました。 「あなたはここでヒーローになれる」 と言いました。 アメリカ人は、ガッツポーズをして海に飛び込みました。 次にイギリス人に対してこう言いました。 「ここで飛び込む人が一番の紳士だ」 と言いました。 イギリス人は、うなずいて海に飛び込みました。 次にドイツ人に対してこう言いました。 「あなたは、飛び込まなくてはならない、それがルールだ」 と言いました。 ドイツ人は納得して海に飛び込みました。 最後に、日本人がいたのでこう言いました。 「あなた、飛び込まなくていいんですか？ ほかの男の人は、みんな飛び込みましたよ」 すると日本人は、左右を見渡すと 慌てて海に飛び込みました。

40 本のサナギ賞 We have a concept of ichioku sochuryu, or “everyone is middle class” We like to be the same as everyone around us. The truth is that there is no small number of foreigners in Japan, and we really all different. But we like to believe that we are all the same. 私たちは、同じであることをとても重視します。実際には少なくない数の外国人がいるし、日本人のなかでもそれぞれ個性が違いますから、同じではありません。 でも、あたかもみんな同じであるかのように信じています。

41 本のサナギ賞 What is the best slogan ever in Japan?
The most famous copyrighter in Japan became disillusioned and quit his job once he realized that no other phrase could compete with this single word. 日本で一番有名なコピーライターは、「あるコピーにだけはどうしても勝てない」と気づき、引退しました。

42 本のサナギ賞 Uretemasu! “It is selling well!”
We Japanese want to do what everyone else around us is doing. There are very few people who are out there looking for brand new things that no one has experienced. In Japan, we put a premium not on bringing about change, but on not disturbing peace. The people who are currently building society as we know it all grew up in a time of steady growth. As a result, they are all of the mindset that we should just keep doing what we’re been doing. The youth of today follow the rules of past generations. The result is that they do not appeal about their uniquness. They appeal their conformity. 日本人は、人と同じことをしたいのです。他の人がまだしていない新しいことにとびつく人はほとんどいません。日本では、変化を起こすことよりも、和を乱さない（協調する）ことが重視されます。今社会をつくっている人たちは経済が右肩上がりの時代に育ったので、昨日と同じことをし続けるのがいいことだと思いこんでいるのです。若い人も、年上がつくったルールに従います。だから、結果的に昨日と同じ事を個性をアピールするのではなく、人と同じことをアピールします。

43 本のサナギ賞 This is a group of students looking for jobs. They hardly say, “I’m unique, and skillful so I can contribute to the company!” Instead they say, “I’m the same as everyone else, and so I can contribute to the company just like they can!” これが日本の学生の就職活動です。 彼らは、「私はここが人と違うので、会社に貢献できます！」 とは言いません。 「私はみんなと同じなので同じように会社に貢献できます！」 と彼らは言います。

44 3 We are ultimately optimistic

45 本のサナギ賞 Japan: an advanced country with advanced problems
We have been called an advanced country with advanced problems. With a sluggish economy, low birthrate, and a growing elderly population, we are a country of people who refuse to change what must be changed. 日本は課題先進国と言われています。低迷する経済、少子高齢化社会、変わらなければならないのに変わるのを拒む人々…

46 本のサナギ賞 So why don’t they do something about it?
But the people of Japan have barely budged. If you asked anyone on the street if Japan is in trouble, they would most likely say, “yeah, we are.” But what they are really saying is that they the are hoping that someone else will fix the problem for them. しかし日本人はとくに何も行動を起こしません。 もし日本人に問題はないのですか？と聞いたら 「問題はあります」と答えるでしょう。 でも、みんな 「私以外の誰かが変えてくれるのを楽しみにしています」 というのが本音なのです。

47 本のサナギ賞 Because everyone is too comfortable at present
And so people keep living under the delusion that this comfortable lifestyle will continue indefinitely. We continue to rack up debt and spend the money of future generations. So do books about Japan’s future sell well in Japan? Nope. People are only interested in the now, not the future, and themselves, not the society they live in. だから私たちはいつまでもこの居心地の良さが続くという錯覚を持ち続けています。借金をどんどん増やし続け、未来の子どもの貯金を使ってしまっています。 じゃあ、未来の日本について考える本が売れるかというと、そうでもありません。みんな、未来ではなく今、社会ではなく自分にしか興味が無いのです。

48 New Trends in Non-Fiction
Now to the true matter at hand. ようやく、本題に入ります。

49 １ Business and Self-Improvement slump
First, the ”Business and Self-Improvement slump”.

50 No work has broken a million or even 500,000 sales since “Courage to be hated”.
Even breaking 100,000 has become rare. １ No work has broken a million or even 500,000 sales since “Courage to be hated”.Even breaking 100,000 has become rare. Sales of business books took a big hit in the 2008 financial collapse, but they eventually picked back up. However, sales once again plummeted after the Fukushima disaster in When the economic outlook starts to look grim, sales of business books tend to fizzle. ビジネス書の売上は2008年のリーマンショックで一度大きく売上が落ち込みましたが、その後持ち直してきていました。しかし、2011年の東日本大震災の後、また売上が大きく落ち込みました。社会全体の経済への期待値が落ち込むと、ビジネス書も売れなくなる傾向にあります。 Courage to be hated Korean edition

51 2 Books for women are going strong
And in their place we see a rise in the sale of women’s non-fiction. 代わりに売れるようになったのが、女性向けの実用書です。

52 2 Stylist books In particular Choose clothes easily K.K Closet
Books with advice from stylists have done especially well. But that said, themes that are too individualistic do not sell well. The most important thing is looking stylish without standing out or looking strange, The fall of business books and the rise of books for women. It seems that these two contrasting trends have something in common with one another. What sells these days are not books on broad topics discussing society as a whole, but narrower, more familiar topics. Though in the past we saw people buying books on business and how to invest in their futures when the economic outlook was grim, what we see today is completely the opposite. 特に、スタイリストが教えるファッション本が伸びてきています。ただし、個性的すぎるものは好まれません。「人に変だと思われない範囲で、少しおしゃれ」というのが大事なようです。 ビジネス書の不調と、対照的な女性実用書の好調。このふたつの現象には、共通点があります。 社会全体のことなどのような広いテーマではなく、「半径5メートル」のことに関わる身近なテーマが売れています。本来なら将来の経済に対する期待値が低ければビジネス書のように自己の将来に投資するコンテンツが売れそうなものですが、実際に起きているのはその逆です。 Choose clothes easily K.K Closet

53 3 Conservative and unmotivated Japanese millenials
Third,”Japanese millenials”

54 3 The youth of Japan, and perhaps in the whole of The West as well, seem to lack desire. They may already be losing their interest in love as well. This is Loveless Youth, one of my company’s books that made a big splash when it was released. The youth of Japan today tend to be conservative and unmotivated. Becoming a public employee is far and away the most popular job for new graduates. As far as corporate jobs go, working at a bank is quite popular. No one wants to take risks. People are seeking stability as the whole market shrinks. Rather than looking to maximize their returns, young people today are looking to minimize their risk. This strategy may seem irrational, but in a market that is continually shrinking, it is actual pretty understandable although it makes Japanese market more worse. Also, the number of young people in Japan is decreasing, and they are not interested in buying books, so books aimed at older generations are what sells. Five of the top thirty books last year (?) were books of essays, as well as books on health, for older audiences. これは自社の” Loveless Youth”という本で、発売後大きな反響を呼びました。今の日本の若者は、消極的で、保守的です。 学生の就職ランキングでは、公務員がダントツで一位です。企業でいえば銀行が人気で、リスクをとりたがりません。全体の市場が縮小していくなかで、より安定している職業を求めているようです。 彼らは希望を最大化するのではなく、失望を最小化しようとします。その戦略は非合理的に見えますが、実は、全体のマーケットが縮小しているなかでは合理的なのです。 もうひとつ、日本では若者の数が縮小し、彼らはあまり本を買わないため、老人向けの本がよく売れます。老人向けのエッセイと健康本は、年間総合ランキングトップ30のうち5作も入りました。 Loveless Youth

55

56 Thank you for Listening
本のサナギ賞 Many thanks to my colleagues at Discover21 for their valuable information, insights and feedback during preparation for this presentation. For inquiries please contact