If you thought that the iPad kicked over an anthill of American publishers with its introduction, its effect on Japan may take things to an entirely different level.
BusinessWeek has an article about the possible impact of the iPad on the Japanese publishing industry. Unlike in America, Japanese publishers wield total control over the pricing of their books in bookstores, setting pricing and preventing discounting—like agency pricing for e-books, but extending to print as well.
In Japan, the keitai denwa, or cell phone, has historically been the reading device of choice. Japanese phones have considerably more features than their American counterparts, and Japanese consumers do many more things with them.
Since the written Japanese language is much more compact than English, cell phone screens are well-suited to display novels. In fact the keitai shosetsu, or cell phone novel, has become a very popular literary form over there.
But dedicated e-book readers have by and large flopped, because consumers used to reading books on a device that can do multiple things are reluctant to shell out for one that only reads e-books. Even flagship Japanese company Sony has stopped trying to sell its e-book readers in its own native land, and Amazon hasn’t yet tried to make inroads with its Kindle.
Now, as book sales in Japan have reached a 21-year low, publishers are getting distinctly nervous about the possible new rules the iPad may bring with it. It may allow authors to bypass publishers altogether, for instance, offering their books directly to Japanese consumers.
Thus in the iPad, Japanese publishers see the possible equivalent of the “black ships” with which Commodore Matthew Perry intimidated Japan into opening trade with the outside world in 1853.
If the success of the iPhone in Japan is any indicator, the iPad will find a ready market in Japanese consumers (especially since its bigger screen will be perfect for viewing manga). In some ways, it is a bit surprising that e-book devices have not taken off more than they have. One of the biggest advantages of e-books is that they do not take up space, and in tiny overcrowded Japan space is at even more of a premium than in America.
It remains to be seen if the iPad will change that—and how much it will affect the Japanese publishing industry.
(Found via The Digital Reader.)
Digital “Books” are already huge in Japan, pardon the cliche. An example of a quick Google search, from 2007:
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/01/72329
I am positive that every additional electronic screen that consumers buys will continue to modify how we experience great stories, which is great in itself. Lets just hope that everyone keeps some perspective in the process.
David
The main issue with Japanese publishers is finance. 90% of Japanese publishers are currently plagued by hidden deficits thanks to bad economy and their corrupt distribution system. Sadly e-book sales aren’t going to help them soon, thus the pessimism.
My prediction, for what it’s worth: the iPad will not take off in Japan. Oh, you’ll see a few of them on empty afternoon commuter trains, but most Japanese won’t pick it up. The reason: it’s too bulky.
The main reason, in my estimation, that the the cellphone novels have taken off among urbanites in Japan is because you can whip out your cellphone anywhere, even on the unbelievably crowded morning subway. (This is the same reason why Japanese print books are so tiny: easy to carry, easy to break out anywhere.) Try pulling out your iPad on the Tokyo subway on a Tuesday morning. Ain’t gonna happen. And you certainly can’t be seen using it at most workspaces in Japan, whereas a cellphone is far more discreet.
The iPhone has been popular in Japan largely because of its size. You won’t see iPads in large numbers for the same reason you don’t see lots of laptops out in public: they’re too bulky.
It is sort of mystifying why the Japanese have not taken more to e-books. So, maybe, the iPad is the answer, and I could be totally wrong.
I wonder why books sales are at a 21-year low there …?
@Court said: “I wonder why books sales are at a 21-year low there …?”
May I suggest a step back and look at the whole of japanese society?
Start with basic demographics: Japan has an aging, declining population base and a distinctive language and culture.
Add in that the younger japanese are among the most gadget-crazy folks on the planet which means they have ready access to all kinds of digital entertainment.
Compound this by the high popularity of video gaming which is skewing towards mobile/handheld gaming more than any other market.
Finally, add-in the (relatively) high price of books compared to other forms of entertainment.
With broad availability of ebook-capable hardware and competition for “eyeball-time” from other media, is it really surprising that local publishers are in tight straits?
Japan is something of a special case but most of those same trends will be impacting other smaller national publishing markets, probably soon, and the larger markets shortly afterwards if they don’t properly manage the transition to electronic distribution.
Hardly news, here, but it’s worth remembering that when ecosystems/industries are stressed, it is the weakest that fall first, not necessarily the smallest.
Felix, these are good points all. And a grim foreboding for the future. Taken as a whole (and I don’t have stats to back this up, just my own observation), the Japanese are inveterate readers. Everyone always had a book in their hand … and then came the cellphone revolution, which happened before my very eyes on the subways and trains. I was actually heartened when I first learned of the cellphone novels, because I was glad that they were still reading, and not just fiddling with their doodads.
But maybe it is as you say, and the kids aren’t alright. It would be very unfortunate if one of the world’s foremost literary cultures were to give it all up for video games … here’s hoping the iPad or whatever other device rides to the rescue. Because I think you’re right that’s it going to take some whiz-bank gadgetry to get attention of the kids.
Also for what it’s worth, I agree with Court. If it’s not small and light enough to hold and operate in one hand, it won’t fly in Japan. I don’t see why anyone there would switch from the iPhone to an iPad, since the former (and other phones) already does exactly what’s desired.
May I add that support for common Japanese text features (vertical writing and phonetic guides) are pretty much non-existent,
That’s an excellent point, one I hadn’t thought of. The kanji in Japanese commonly features furigana, the little characters that give the reading and meaning of the particular kanji, usually to the side in a vertical reading. I believe this is one reason the cellphone novels took off, because they featured simple kanji that required no explanation, or just the same words written out phonetically. Thus no further formatting is necessary. E-books absolutely must have this feature in Japan, though … and if such support is missing, that’s a huge reason right there why they haven’t taken off.
Well, common Japanese written works nowadays read left to right just like English and furigana is mostly limited to childrens’ books, instructional material for foreigners, rarely used kanji, and for names. In electronic text the kana pronunciation is displayed in parenthesis after the kanji. Example from something I’m reading right now: “千堂瑛里華（せんどう・えりか）”
One thing not mentioned yet is that the iBook reader would have to change its two-page “book-like” display to read the opposite direction. From what English readers would consider the back cover to the front cover. It’s not an issue for a one-page display.
But isn’t fiction still mostly published in vertical form, right to left? And most newspapers? And these still feature plenty of furigana, as do manga, I think. Or perhaps that much has changed that quickly … those explanatory hiragana after the kanji are very unwieldy. Surely there is a way to format the kanji to include furigana as they normally read in print. I can’t imagine that without that without that feature e-books are likely to have even a chance of taking off in Japan.
Hmm, wouldn’t running the hiragana as pop-up balloons or audio be more efficient on a multimedia device with smallish screens?
That’s one form of ebook enhancement (essentially on-demand TTS) that would fit local conditions if only the publishers stopped thinking of ebooks as pretend-paper.
I don’t know, Felix. Pop-up balloons would annoy the hell out of me. The weird thing about furigana is, some of the kanji you know, and don’t need the furigana for. In which case you can ignore. The furigana usually only appear in cases where multiple readings are possible, or the kanji are themselves particularly obscure, or use an uncommon reading. But even so, you often know them anyway (or at least most literate Japanese would), and a pop-up balloon would be really irritating, I think. Audio would probably be even worse – and the Japanese would do a lot of reading in public remember, so unless you are strapped with an earphone as you’re reading, it would also be considered impolite to have a talking book.
But your overall point is well-taken: surely there’s an innovative, e-way to get this formatting done.
@Court: Of course, there’s still quite a bit of vertical text, particularly in fixed-format print. I have no idea what the relative percentages are. My point, however, was that the Japanese don’t have any problem with flowing left-to-right text with non-traditional methods of providing the reading of kanji when it’s necessary, such as with names (especially given names when the parents were, um, creative in their choice of readings — or the author of the fictional character was).
Beyond this, well, I’m in no position to opine one way or another about how the Japanese people prefer things. I’m neither Japanese nor an expert.
Good points, Ted. I, also, am at the end of my “expertise.” Anyway, we, and Felix, all agree on the overall point, I think: that, really, there should be a good way to sort this out. If / when that happens, maybe e-books will really take off in Japan.
I don’t see how vertical text ebooks would be a problem to put on iPads or any other eReader. The book would simply start from the other side and you would flip the pages from left to right. That functionality could be included in the eBook file formatting.
I don’t see how vertical text ebooks would be a problem to put on iPads or any other eReader. The book would simply start from the other side and you would flip the pages from left to right. That functionality could be included in the eBook file formatting.