Libraries Urged to Buy Books at Full List Price; Move Aimed at Buoying Independent Bookstores

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, April 25, 2025

Four publishing industry groups have decided to urge public libraries and government agencies to purchase books at list prices in principle instead of through contract bidding, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Wednesday.

The request is aimed at encouraging the public entities to buy books from independent bookstores to help sustain their operations.

The industry’s current system allows publishers to mandate fixed-price sales for books and magazines and requires retailers to maintain the price set by publishers. But the industry has long made an exception to this obligation for books and magazines “delivered through government bidding.

This exemption spurred public libraries to purchase books through such bidding, effectively creating a price-cutting competition. The situation is unfavorable for independent bookstores as bidders often have to give discounts of 5% to 10% or offer to laminate books to win bids.

The existing template of a contract created by the four organizations — the Japan Book Publishers Association, the Japan Magazine Publishers Association, the Japan Publication Wholesalers Association and the Japan Booksellers Federation — includes a provision under which the obligation to maintain fixed prices does not apply when books are sold to such clients as government agencies. A revised template, with this provision will be removed, will be published in May. The industry groups will make the revision widely known to related parties and encourage libraries to make deals with fixed prices.

The declining number of local bookstores has led to a rising number of municipalities with no bookstores at all. In an effort to stabilize their management, some public libraries already purchase books from local bookstores, coexisting as cultural hubs in the community.

“If libraries buy books at the listed price from the bookstores, it will greatly help support their operations,” said Japan Publication Wholesalers Association board member Mikihiro Tanaka, who also is vice president of Tohan Corp.