President and Publisher: Kosei TAKAHIRA Headquaters: KINSAN BLDG. 3-18-3 KANDA NISHIKICHO, CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO, 101-0054 JAPAN PHONE:+81-3-5281-2550 FAX:+81-3-5281-2552 US Representative: Altair Literary Agency, LLC (NSmith@AltairLiteraryAgency.com) Aspect is actively acquiring Japanese-language rights in the following categories: History; Health Science(General and Specialist) Psychology, Self-help, Self-realization Business & Economics General Non-fiction General Fiction & Science Fiction Art; Photography Computer Software Aspect is one of Japan's leading publishers, and also one of the very few of the 4,000+ publishers in Japan that specializes in translating foreign titles. The company prides itself on acquiring quality titles from the international market to offer to discerning Japanese readers. Most of these titles are translations from English-language bestsellers, while a smaller number come from Europe, South America and Asia. Aspect is always interested in finding interesting new books to introduce to the world's most literate reading public. Japanese Market: An Insatiable Demand for International Titles Japan is a small country (the total land area is smaller than Montana) with a huge publishing market: almost $20 billion per year in sales (compared to $26 billion/year for the entire United States). To serve a public that is addicted to reading, there are over 66,000 retailers selling books and magazines. Moreover, the Japanese reading public is arguably the most highly educated in the world. While fiction is universally popular, Japanese readers are especially drawn to science, history, art, psychology and business themes. What does that mean for American and European publishers? Considering the serious challenges of translating English into Japanese, it would be natural to assume that Japanese readers prefer works originally written in their native language. But the statistics say otherwise. A recent Top Ten ranking of nationwide bestsellers found that 7 of the top 10 books for the year were foreign translations. In fact, about 5,000 translated works are published every year, the vast majority from English. In other words, Japan is a large publishing market with an equally large appetite for international titles. And no one knows this market better than Aspect. Translating Success: Aspect Leads the Way Translation is an important issue in any cross-cultural publishing effort, but turning the fine nuances of an English-language book into the most appropriate Japanese is a daunting task. The two languages are very different, both in terms of speaking and writing. Although translating an English-language book into French or German is no simple job, creating a faithful Japanese version is far more challenging. And trying to capture both the meaning and the spirit of a wildly inventive writer, a Philip K. Dick, for example, is a test for even the best translators. Aspect approaches this challenge strategically. First, our editors select only foreign titles that they are sure will appeal to Japanese readers. Then they search for the very best translators to produce local editions that will capture the full flavor of the originals. This alone is unusual. Because publishers are naturally eager to rush a best-selling foreign title into print, they often cut corners on the translations. Sometimes this works; sometimes it doesn't. All too often a truly wonderful book in English sounds as if it has been hacked up and crammed into a Japanese edition, losing meaning, flavor and character along the way. When the translated prose fails to capture any of the life or excitement of the original, readers quickly lose interest, sales stagnate, and the publisher's reputation suffers. This is why Aspect approaches translation as an art, not simply part of its business. We do not maintain a stable of in-house translators. Instead, we search for just the right translator for each book that will bear the Aspect imprint. Moreover, in its search for people with outstanding skills, Aspect sponsors an annual competition to encourage talented new translators to get into publishing. Just as one example of our approach to this art, some time ago we acquired the rights to a remarkable work of science fiction from the UK. Rather than rush it into print, we waited over six months to secure the services of one of the most respected SF translators in Japan. Needless to say, this costs more in time and resources, but the result is always worth it: Japanese readers trust Aspect books to come alive in their native language.