S1E34: Japan fights to save its beloved bookshops

The Straits Times Podcasts

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry wants to take action to get people to return to brick-and-mortar stores.

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.

The Japanese are sentimental about bookstores, viewing them as precious communal spaces that do more than just sell books.

And yet, fewer and fewer are going to these stores, in line with global trends.

What is more surprising is how the Japanese government has decided to seize the problem by its horns, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry setting up a taskforce to look into the matter, even as the bookshops themselves are striving to find fresh ways to appeal to customers.

In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with Japan Correspondent Walter Sim on why the Japanese government has decided to be so interventionist.

Highlights (click/tap above):
1:59 One in two Japanese read “less than one book” every six months

3:26 Why the Japanese are sentimental about bookshops

6:15 A “psychic” bookseller in Osaka

10:06 Laments at shuttered shops but it’s too late

12:15 Taking action

17:12 Walter’s favourite bookshops in Japan

Read Walter Sim’s article here: https://str.sg/AWsW

Produced by: Li Xueying ([e-mail]) and Fa’izah Sani

Edited by: Fa’izah Sani

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فصول

1. Japan fights to save its beloved bookshops (00:00:00)

2. 1 in 2 read less than a book every 6 months (00:01:59)

3. Why Japanese are sentimental about bookshops (00:03:26)

4. A “psychic” bookseller in Osaka (00:06:15)

5. Lamenting over shuttered shops: Too late? (00:10:06)

6. Intervention? (00:12:15)

7. Walter’s favourite bookshops in Japan (00:17:12)