Sales of domestic publications, including books and magazines, are estimated to be down about 1% from last year, falling below the previous year for the 17th consecutive year.
On the other hand, looking at books alone, it is expected to increase by about 2% from the previous year and turn positive for the first time in 15 years.
According to a summary of the Institute of Publishing Science, which conducts research and research on the publishing industry, sales of books and magazines published in Japan are estimated based on sales results from January to November, from last year. It is expected to be lower than the previous year for 17 consecutive years, at the 1.21 trillion yen level, which is about 1% less.
Of this, sales of books are expected to increase, centering on children's books and study reference books, to about 670 billion yen, which is about 2% higher than the previous year, and is expected to turn positive for the first time in 15 years.
The Institute of Publishing Science believes that this is partly due to the increased number of people spending their time at home due to the effects of the new coronavirus.
On the other hand, magazine sales are expected to be about 530 billion yen, which is about 4% lower than the previous year due to a series of regular magazine suspensions.
The Institute of Publishing Science said, "The result supports a solid demand for publications, but it is difficult to predict what kind of impact it will have depending on the situation of Corona next year, and how the publishing world will respond to social changes. Will be asked. "