While bookstores are increasingly closing in Japan due to the prevalence of online shopping, some have started to work with libraries for survival.
The government plans to support such collaborations by starting a survey in fiscal 2025 from April in response to concerns over the current situation in which libraries own multiple copies of the same book, a factor behind sluggish book sales. Based on the survey results, an expert panel of the education ministry will discuss measures to address the situation.
According to the Japan Publishing Organization for Information Infrastructure Development, the number of bookstores nationwide fell from 15,602 in fiscal 2013 to 10,918 in fiscal 2023. A survey by the Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture found that 493 municipalities, or 28% of the total, had no bookstores as of November 2024.
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