1. Japanese Publishing at
a crossroads
Robin Birtle,
Sakkam Press Ltd

2. Sakkam Press - Digital Publisher
• Incorporated in 2011
• Based in Japan
• Cross
border licensing, translation,
production and sales
• Significant IT leverage
• 60 eBooks in production
sakkam press

3. Big Publishing - Japan
• Revenues in decline
*
• Mandate to protect the print value chain
• Belief in high, fixed prices
• Amazon a convenient scapegoat
• No new markets, no innovation
•A Galapagos Industry
* sacrosanct
sakkam press

4. but most importantly...
sakkam press

5. Manga changes everything
漫
画
sakkam press

6. eBooks: still pre-mainstream
• De facto fixed prices
• Sales tax: same as print; offshore distribution
may yield 0% rate
• Tall Poppy syndrome (no domestic
experimentation)
• Amazon likened to a Commodore Perry's
black ships
• Kobo will be the first "foreign" entrant
sakkam press

7. The Mikitani Touch
Rakuten Kobo
sakkam press

8. eBooks: Shuppan Digital Kikou
• Mainly government funded
• 20% revenue share not viable for many
publishers
• SDK attempts to fix production
is broken, not production (like
• Submission
most countries)
sakkam press

9. The Crossroads
An integrated print Innovation happens
and digital publishing outside of the print
industry business
Plan A Plan B
sakkam press

10. Plan A
Blueprint for an integrated industry
Interoperability,
• DRM-free, ePub3 eBooks production
• Bundledigital voucher with printed Amazon, physical
stores
books in physical stores
• Publisher led jisui alternative Stimulate demand
• Make the Tosho card digital New markets
• Fix the submission process Innovation
• API the industry Amazon, innovation
sakkam press

11. Plan B
Publishing Startups
• Compete on price & price models, new
content
• Bypass submission hurdles with D2C
• Let the tall poppies experiment overseas
• Develop new markets
• Recycle translations
• Recruit direct to digital authors
sakkam press