Japan is the second largest market for publishing books in the world — a fact that probably comes as no surprise to people living in Japan who only need to throw a stone to hit a bookshop.
Foreign authors looking to publish in Japan may look at this and think they have a great chance of making their way into the literary scene. If they’re writing in English, they aren’t entirely wrong — 80% of translated books in Japan are translated from English.
That being said, the number of newly published books in Japan is decreasing every year, and the literary scene is extremely competitive. Publishers are prioritizing domestic literature rather than taking the risk of new, untested literature in translation. Only a sliver of newly published books in Japan are in translation — 5.7 percent.
According to the publishers at Kadokawa, one of the largest publishing houses in Japan, the best strategy for foreign aspiring authors is to try their hand at non-fiction.
Back in the day, foreign perspectives on Japanese culture were rare and the novelty rendered them near-certain bestsellers. These days, the captive audience isn’t what it used to be, but Japanese readers have yet to fully move on from the foreigner’s take on Japan. They’re just a bit more picky.
Satoshi Gunji, a former supervisor at Kadokawa, says that Japanese readers appreciate rediscovering their culture through foreign perspectives. Aspects of food culture have been particularly successful in recent years. Fermentation, for example, is a process that is both trending in the west and a staple process in many cuisines including Japan. Authors can come from many backgrounds and approach Japanese fermentation culture from many fresh perspectives. Onigiri is another unexpectedly popular topic in recent years for its simplicity and versatility.
Japanese-American author Roland Kelts noted that many of the aspiring authors, or “gaijin geeks” as he calls them (not without some wry affection) lack the crucial element that makes books in the “outside-looking-in” genre compelling—personal connection beyond consumption. To succeed, or to be picked up by a publisher in the first place, the best thing to do is to find a genuine niche to write in.
Author Robert Whiting is a clear example of this. On his 13th publishing bid, he was finally able to see his first book in print in 1977. The Chrysanthemum and The Bat is a book about baseball’s popularity in Japan and proved to be a hit in the United States — the Americans, it seems, were curious about its most famous export in Japan as well. Following its success, Japanese publishers took it on as a translation project, and the rest is a nearly 50 year long history of Whiting’s career in Japan.
Whiting was blessed with good timing, certainly, by being able to tap into the market at a time when there were relatively few foreign authors in Japan. But the success of the book in both America and Japan led to Whiting being able to pursue a career in writing not only books but also consistent paid work as a sports writer for newspapers and magazines. Through the connections and reputation developed through these columns and interviews, he was able to reach sources that other writers weren’t able to access—Japanese or foreign. Whiting became a foreign authority on baseball in Japan, and later, on foreign relations between the two countries.
It was after tens of books in both English and Japanese that he published his memoir Tokyo Junkie, as well as his arguably most well known book Tokyo Underworld, a biography and true crime reportage about an American gangster in Japan.
Whiting credits his success to sticking to nonfiction, echoing the remarks of the Kadokawa publishers, as well as the merits of writing in volume. “To be good at something, you gotta put in ten thousand hours — I put in my ten thousand hours,” he remarked.
Can foreign authors find success in Japan? It depends on the kind of success they’re looking for. If it’s being a one-off, Japan-only runaway hit, that might be difficult.
Miko Yamanouchi, also of Kadokawa, suggests having a clear strategy. If they want to write in Japan no matter what, a work of nonfiction with a clear and unique perspective on Japanese culture would be the most sensible. However, if being widely published globally is the goal, the author could try for any genre. Literature today is trending toward romantasy and feel-good novels: do with that information as you will.
Whiting’s advice is less business-informed and as such perhaps more appealing to aspiring authors. He suggests writing and publishing books without any expectation of making much money from it. Instead, he emphasized being open to the possibility of coming into work by virtue of being a published author with some authority on a topic. That might be the most practical shot at making a living through writing.
But who knows? Maybe you’ll beat the odds on your own terms—and just be that breakout hit.