The Japanese e-book and digital manga industry has experienced a 13.2% increase in sales and garnered $22 million in 2016. Meanwhile the traditional publishing industry is currently worth $6.4 billion, even though it had a very small drop of 0.7%.
The publishing industry in Japan saw a number of notable events that transpired in 2016 that might have reverberating effects in 2017. Taiyo-Sya declared bankruptcy and they were the the fifth largest distributor of books and magazines and there was a progressive shift from print manga to digital manga. The digital magazine market has also experienced a large increase in sales.
Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.