[HIGHLIGHTS] ``We will not eliminate bookstores from Asagaya'' - the desire to take over a closed bookstore

Last November, a bookstore that had been open for 43 years in front of JR Asagaya Station in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, announced that it would be closing. On social media, people from all over the country expressed their condolences.

After conducting a series of interviews, I learned that the major bookstore Yaesu Book Center had taken over the site after it had closed and would begin operations there. The new store will open on February 10th. According to the Japan Publishing Center, the number of bookstores increased from 20,880 in 2003 to 11,495 last year. Last year alone, 477 stores closed.