It is also important that readers read the decline. Sanada Futsuya looked solemn.

"Reading rate? Isn't it good now, and it's going to continue to rise? ”

Shingo Harano was a little puzzled, he saw that those reports were slowly climbing curves, how could they go down.

Sanada Futsuya shook his head slowly and smiled.

Originally, Kadokawa light brands such as Dengeki Bunko, MF Bunko J, Fujimi Bunko, and Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko have always been aimed at young people around 15 years old.

And with the dominance of the Kadokawa system over the light market, this is the target group for almost all light products. However, from 2000 to 2006, the young market began to develop rapidly, and around 2016, 10 years have passed.

The readership of that year has grown into college students in their 20s, and many of them have even gone out into society, and the primary school students of that year have also grown into middle school students.

There is a visible loss of light target readership in this alternation.

We can clearly see the change in this trend through the "School Reading Survey (School Reading Survey)" [1], which is conducted every year by the "Mainichi Shimbun" of the island nation:

Thanks to the "Children's Reading Promotion Program" (子どもの読書活動の推進に関する基本的な計画) enacted by the island country in 2001, the reading rate of elementary and junior high school students has increased significantly.

Since 2000, there has been a marked decline in the non-reading rate of elementary and junior high school students, and the reading rate of high school students has also increased significantly after three years as the reading habit of junior high school students moves on to high school.

But after 2012, the change became flat, and the non-reading rate of high school students began to rise.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the main reason for the decrease in reading among high school students is the increase in time for other activities, or a change in interest.

Among these two groups of people, more than half of the readers who liked to read in junior high school accounted for more than half.

Hearing this, Shingo Harano seemed to understand something.

Isn't this like the domestic online literature market, there are more and more small white texts, mainly for young people, but this is also a normal phenomenon.

It can be seen that the reading rate of the main reading group of light has decreased significantly in recent years, which is undoubtedly the reason for the direct impact on light sales.

In the 2017 Survey on the Environment of Youth Internet Use (Heisei 29 Annual Youth Use of the Environment), which was conducted by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2018, we can see the changes in Internet use among elementary and junior high school students from 2014 to 2017.

In the four years from 2014 to 2017, Internet usage among elementary, middle, and high school students increased, and the Internet usage rate among high school students was high at the beginning, and by 2017, 95% of high school students were using the Internet. It can be said that almost all high school students are using the Internet.

In terms of Internet devices, mobile devices account for more than 90 percent, and among mobile devices, 7 percent are smartphones, and feature phones and laptops each account for about 15 percent.

Internet access through smartphones is quite common among high school students in island countries, and it is becoming more and more popular among middle school students.

In the same report, the survey agency also counted what students do with their smartphones to surf the Internet.

Chatting, playing games, and watching videos are the three main scenarios in which students use their mobile phones. It is also worth noting that about 20% of high school students read e-books through mobile devices such as smartphones.

Since 1996, the island nation's publishing industry has been declining, with magazines experiencing the largest and most obvious decline.

There are many reasons why magazines can't sell, such as population decline, bursting economic bubbles, diversification of entertainment methods, and diversification of information channels, all of which will directly affect the survival of magazines.

If population and economy are still only the background, then the transformation of people's entertainment and access to information is undoubtedly the fundamental problem that will affect the survival of magazines.

Information on the Internet is more timely, abundant, and cheaper than magazines, and with the development of the Internet, it is only natural that magazine sales have plummeted. The inability of magazines to sell has led to a significant reduction in the advertising revenue obtained by publishers from magazines, and at the same time, it has become difficult for small bookstores with magazines as their main product to continue, and the reduction of small bookstores has led to the shrinking of magazine sales channels, forming a vicious circle.

According to the Media Book 2018, the overall publishing market in island countries has shrunk for 20 consecutive years, and has now almost fallen back to the level of 1980.

Naturally, the comic market, which relies on the magazine market, is also declining.

As a result, the profit structure of large publishing houses such as Shueisha, Kodansha, and Shogakukan has also changed, and while their publishing revenues have been declining, these publishers have begun to increase their investment in the Internet and e-books, and it is clear that since 2015, the income of e-books has been increasing.

Undoubtedly, the change in the general environment has caused large publishing houses to turn away from magazine publishing and turn to the Internet and e-books.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the comic market, which is heavily reliant on magazines. Although the comic book publishing market is still declining, the proportion of e-books is increasing year by year, and even stopping the overall decline. There is no doubt that for fast-consuming publications like magazines, there is a general trend to shift from paper to electronic publishing.

The island nation's "Bunkuben" folio is roughly equivalent to our paperback and pocket books. At the beginning of its birth, the purpose was to provide the masses with an inexpensive and convenient way to read. Low price and pocket-size portability are the biggest features of the library book, and it is also the advantage. Even students who are strapped for money and have no access to hardcover books can read a variety of classics through the library book.

But before e-writing, both of these advantages were clearly lost. E-books also have the advantage of being easy to purchase and require no storage space. For fast-moving reading products, they are much better than paper books.

Especially in commuting scenarios such as using transportation, e-books that can be read on devices such as smartphones are much more convenient than paper library books.

The shift in the way readers read has accelerated the decline of the form of the library.

The migration of readership and changes in the market environment have prompted publishers to reduce their investment in light and instead promote new categories aimed at readers over 20 years old. Whether it is the more general "light literature" or the "new literature (new literature)" promoted by Kadokawa, it is a market that has grown rapidly in recent years.

For 20 or even 30-year-old readers, the biggest difference between this category and light is to use a larger single book format, which is almost twice the price of lighter, usually more than 1,000 yen. Kadokawa is clearly more radical than other publishing houses in this regard.

Shigo Harano listened to Sanada Erya vomit bitterness and nodded repeatedly.

Seeming to be a little tired, Sanada Futsuya slowed down for a while, looked at him and said, "Does Harano-san know the strategy of the Kadokawa system?" ”

Shigo Harano nodded, how could Kadokawa not know that it was an absolute giant in the light industry.