Appeal of Books: Serendipitous Encounters Broaden Readers’ Worlds

Editorial

17:38 JST, April 27, 2026

A major bookstore has recently reopened after renovations amid stagnant sales of print books and magazines. After 15 years, one magazine has made a comeback. Hopefully, these developments can serve as an opportunity to rediscover the appeal of books.

Sales of print books and magazines are estimated to have totaled ¥964.7 billion last year, falling below ¥1 trillion for the first time in 50 years. Driven mainly by the widespread use of the internet, sales have been on a downward trend since 1996, when they peaked at ¥2.6564 trillion.

Magazines, in particular, saw a significant decline, falling 10% year-on-year to ¥370.8 billion. The impact is severe, as people who come to bookstores to buy magazines often also pick up books during their visit.

Today, one-quarter of all municipalities in Japan have no bookstores at all.

Against this backdrop, there have been a series of events where physical books and magazines are once again drawing attention.

Long-established Sanseido Bookstore Ltd. replaced its aging former head store with a new building and reopened in Jimbocho, Tokyo, in March. The new store stocks about 500,000 titles across its 1,980-square-meter sales floor. The shelves are carefully arranged in a way that draws shoppers’ attention to a variety of books as they walk through the store.

Bookstores offer the joy of visitors discovering books that intrigue them in fields they previously had no interest in. A single book can even change a person’s life. “We hope to deliver serendipitous encounters with books,” said Takao Kamei, president of Sanseido Bookstore.

Ticket sales company PIA Corp. brought back a print information magazine this month, which it suspended in 2011 due to declining circulation.

The company had provided information mainly online since the magazine’s suspension, but decided to revive the print edition because it believed browsing through a large volume of information in print format makes it easier for users to serendipitously discover movies and stage productions.

Spending hours on smartphones is said to have accelerated a decline in reading habits. However, nowadays more people, especially among younger generations, are said to be experiencing social media fatigue because they are tired of interacting via text message and other formats.

With paper books, readers can turn the pages at their own pace, which is ideal for deep reflection. Now and then, it might be worth putting down smartphones and picking up a physical book.

It will be ideal if the younger generations, who are so familiar with digital media, also come to appreciate the merits of physical books. To that end, enhancing school libraries is essential. Factors like outdated books, insufficient collections and libraries being closed for many hours must be addressed.

It is also crucial to improve the working conditions of school librarians, whose role is to introduce students to compelling books. Currently, only about 10% of librarians work full-time as regular staff, and many librarians are said to be working at multiple schools.

It is also an urgent task to improve libraries at special needs schools, which have fewer books compared to elementary, junior high and high schools.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 27, 2026)