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Message of the Group Chairman
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news and topics
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2009/12/28
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Season's Greetings from the Desk of Mitsuo Nitta
We are at the end of the turbulent year 2009. Although being a small country, due to geographic and racial factors, Japan has been comparatively immune from world events and Japanese have not taken these matters seriously so much for over 60 postwar years. However, while the world economy is suffering from a recessionary mood, the change of government in Japan heightened sense of uncertainty about the next year.
Our publishing and book distribution industry is also influenced by globalization, digitalization and new entrants from outside of the industry. The situation raise a tough question to us, "What is the way our corporations should be ?", and "How would Yushodo Group contribute to society ?".
Through the year 2008, we have been challenged by the deep budget cuts and the shift of budgetary allocations from printed books to online products. In this severe situation, we have kept challenging and achieved the group's total performance as same as the previous year, while some booksellers could not help dropping their sales figures by double-digit and got out of business.
It is also noteworthy that Library Fair and Forum 2009, which was organized by one of our group companies, Japan Cultural Corporation (JCC), was held successfully. Over 25,000 visitors and a significant number of exhibitors from both domestic and overseas gathered at the site and discussed about "future vision of books and book businesses". Many of visitors attended the approximate 50 seminar lectures under the theme of "relations between digitalization, publishers and copyright", "whether or not Google will be a culture ?", and so on. The event was highly successful. Dear all of our colleagues and friends in publishing and book trade businesses, we promise to do our best to live up to your expectations for our next year's activities !!
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Library Fair and Forum 2009
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Also, in the site of the Library Fair, we have opened the test version of our new website "Time with Books (test version)". The aim of this website is to set up an open forum for anyone involved with books. Our future target is to generate 1 million hits a day. Especially among the contents, the information page about coming events have received favorable receptions. We will welcome your posting an information concerning your new projects, publications and events from outside Japan. As an administrator of this website, I am confident that the website will grow as an "encyclopedia of books", in other words, world's leading source of information transmitted from Japan.
In early December, the 3rd Hong Kong International Antiquarian Book Fair, that I participated as the executive committee, took place and marked double score sales increase over the last time despite declining number of attendances. It was because we have learned what kind of books will attract Chinese market. We are going to prepare the next Asian antiquarian book fair to be a more enhanced one. I look forward to your participating in the next year's event.
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The 3rd Hong Kong International Antiquarian Book Fair
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Also, Yushodo had singed an agreement with National Library of China to produce high level facsimile edition of very rare books selected from their treasures as co-publishing bases. First one, The Jesuit Mission Press (Kirishitan-ban), will be published early March 2010.
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The Jesuit Mission Press (Kirishitan-ban)
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Nobody can predict how the world will be like in the forthcoming year 2010. But, I believe that it is important to make our best effort steadily and uniquely. Please expect for our business strategy of YUSHODO 2010 !!
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December 28, 2009
Mitsuo Nitta, CEO
Yushodo Group
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