Shuppan News

Shuppan News Co., Ltd. (株式会社出版ニュース社, Shuppan News-sha) was a Japanese publishing house that served the domestic book industry as a specialized trade information provider. It was established in October 1949, in the wake of the dissolution of the wartime distribution monopoly Nippon Shuppan Haikyu (Nippatsu), and was founded largely by former Nippatsu executives. The company's core business was the publication of three well-known reference works: the semi-monthly trade journal Shuppan News (『出版ニュース』), the annual yearbook Shuppan Nenkan (『出版年鑑』), and the biennial national publisher directory Nihon no Shuppansha (『日本の出版社』). Shuppan News was not a general trade publisher but a B2B information service for the Japanese publishing and bookselling world. Its journal carried news and communications from the publishing industry, while the yearbook and directory became standard reference tools for professionals, libraries, and researchers. At its peak, the company also handled legal deposit (nōhon) administrative work for the National Diet Library under contract from the Japan Publishers' Distribution Association, a role it held from 1950 to 1985. The company's fortunes declined along with the print publishing market in Japan. In 2018 it announced that Shuppan News would cease publication with the late-March 2019 issue, and on April 30, 2019, the company suspended all business operations. Its corporate legal personality was extinguished in 2020. The Shuppan Nenkan ended with the 2018 edition, a massive 3,500-page volume, and Nihon no Shuppansha concluded with the 2018–2019 edition. Shuppan News thus represents a distinct segment of the Japanese publishing ecosystem: the specialized trade press and reference publishing sector that supported the industry behind the scenes.

The origins of Shuppan News Co., Ltd. lie in the wartime restructuring of the Japanese publishing distribution system. In 1941, under government-mandated consolidation, Nippon Shuppan Haikyu Kabushiki Kaisha (Nippatsu) was established as a monopoly distributor. After World War II, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ) designated Nippatsu as a closed institution, and it was dissolved in 1948. In September 1949, in the wake of that dissolution, major book distributors such as Tokyo Shuppan Hanbai (now Tohan), Nippon Shuppan Hanbai, and Osakaya were founded. On October 13, 1949, former Nippatsu executives established Shuppan News Co., Ltd., which began publishing Shuppan News and Shuppan Nenkan. The advertising agency Hakuhodo also assisted in the company's establishment. The journal Shuppan News itself had predecessors dating back to the wartime Nippatsu organ Shinkan Koho (『新刊弘報』), first issued on June 21, 1943, and renamed Shuppan Koho (『出版弘報』) from May 1, 1944, continuing until issue No. 75 in 1946. The first issue of Shuppan News under that title appeared on November 11, 1946, and from October 13, 1949, Shuppan News Co., Ltd. took over its editing and publication. It was published three times a month (on the 1st, 11th, and 21st) as a semi-monthly (旬刊) journal, with a claimed circulation of 4,300 copies. The yearbook Shuppan Nenkan also had pre-war and immediate post-war antecedents: Kokusai Shichosha had published a Shuppan Nenkan in 1929, and in 1948 Nippon Shuppan Kyodo published the Shuppan Nenkan 1947–1948 edition, which the newly founded Shuppan News Co. inherited. The company continued the annual until the Shuppan Nenkan 2018 edition, a large 3,500-page volume issued on August 9, 2018, edited by the Shuppan Nenkan Editorial Department and priced at 32,400 yen. In 1950, under the National Diet Library Law, the company began performing legal deposit (nōhon) administrative work on behalf of the Japan Publishers' Distribution Association, a role it held until 1985. In 1954, it launched Nihon no Shuppansha (『日本の出版社』), a national publisher directory that was initially annual. The 2006 edition, published in November 2005 as Zenkoku Shuppansha Meibo: Nihon no Shuppansha 2006, was the last annual issue; from the 2008–2009 edition (published October 2007), the directory became biennial. The latest edition was Nihon no Shuppansha: Shoten 2018–2019, 696 pages, published October 30, 2017, edited by the Shuppan Nenkan Editorial Department and priced at 5,400 yen. In 2000, the company published its corporate history, Shuppan News-sha no Gojunen (『出版ニュース社の五十年』). In 2018, it announced that Shuppan News would cease publication with the late-March 2019 issue. On April 30, 2019, the company suspended business operations, and its corporate legal personality was extinguished in 2020. The Shuppan Nenkan ended with the 2018 edition, and Nihon no Shuppansha concluded with the 2018–2019 edition.

• 2020

  Corporate legal personality extinguished.

• 2019

  Suspends business operations on April 30.

• 2018

  Announces that Shuppan News will cease publication with the late-March 2019 issue; Shuppan Nenkan 2018 edition is the final one.

• 2007

  Nihon no Shuppansha becomes biennial.

• 2000

  Publishes corporate history Shuppan News-sha no Gojunen.

• 1985

  Ends its contracted legal deposit work.

• 1954

  Launches Nihon no Shuppansha, a national publisher directory.

• 1950

  Begins legal deposit (nōhon) administrative work for the National Diet Library under contract from the Japan Publishers' Distribution Association.

• 1949

  On October 13, Shuppan News Co., Ltd. is founded by former Nippatsu executives; it begins publishing Shuppan News and Shuppan Nenkan.

• 1948

  GHQ designates Nippatsu as a closed institution; the company is dissolved.

• 1941

  Nippon Shuppan Haikyu (Nippatsu) established under wartime consolidation.

Specialized B2B trade publisher and reference information provider for the Japanese publishing and bookselling industry.

• Shuppan News (旬刊)

  A semi-monthly trade journal covering publishing industry news, published three times a month; circulation 4,300; ceased with the late-March 2019 issue.

• Shuppan Nenkan (年鑑)

  Annual yearbook on the publishing world; the 2018 edition was a 3,500-page volume priced at 32,400 yen, issued August 9, 2018.

• Nihon no Shuppansha (全国出版社名簿)

  National publisher directory launched in 1954; became biennial from 2008–2009; latest edition Nihon no Shuppansha: Shoten 2018–2019, 696 pages, priced at 5,400 yen.

1. 1Shuppan News - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2出版ニュース社 - Wikipedia (Japanese)ja.wikipedia.org