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About 60% of residents in Japan think that the situation in which about 30% of municipalities do not have a bookstore needs to be improved, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.
Of the respondents, 61% said the situation needs to be improved, while 35% said it does not.
When asked whether central and local governments should provide support for local bookstores, 50% said they should while 46% said no. Among the respondents who said the bookstore situation needs to be improved, 75% said governments should provide support.
According to the Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 456 municipalities, or 26.2%, did not have a single bookstore as of September 2022.
The poll also revealed that 72% of respondents felt that there were fewer bookstores in their neighborhoods.
The Yomiuri Shimbun survey, conducted in conjunction with autumn reading promotion month, was mailed to 3,000 randomly selected residents on Aug. 22. Of the 2,122 responses received by Sept. 27, 2,062 were valid.
