Asian Publishers Week
Participant
Omura Takashi
Country : Japan
Company : Poplar Publishing Co., Ltd.
Job Title : Overseas Business Division, Global Strategy Team
E-mail : t_ohmura@poplar.co.jp
Work Experience in Publishing
I have worked at Poplar Publishing for four and a half years, starting as a children’s books editor. I am now in charge of foreign business, including licensing, finding new business and managing our subsidiary in China (Poplar Beijing). As an editor, I have experiences in editing board books, picture books, fictions, and translation books. In terms of foreign business, I attended the Frankfurt Book Fair, Bologna Book Fair, Beijing International Book Fair and Sharjah Book Fair. I have worked and cooperated with publishers from all over the world including Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK, US, India and more. In 2023 we hosted an author event in Germany with Mizuki Tsujimura, a Naoki award-winning author. We also held a meeting in Frankfurt where more than ten publishers from around the world (all of which published our best-selling title Lonely Castle in The Mirror) attended. I planned and ran these events, and thanks to the support of my team and local partners, we were able to make success. My strength is in having experienced both editing and foreign business, and my next goal is to cultivate new markets.
Current Projects
I have two main projects at the moment. One is managing our subsidiary in China, Poplar Beijing. Another is starting new businesses in the English market.
Poplar Beijing was founded in 2005, when children’s books were not yet popular in China. From then, our business in China has expanded rapidly, mostly selling picture books. Now, Poplar Beijing is trying to expand its range of books to older age group, and I oversee their IP business and marketing strategies. This includes suggesting promotional events, merchandising and utilizing social media. One challenge we are facing is a stagnating economy. I am trying to promote The Zorori series, one of our bestselling series in Japan, by making short videos of the author and planning his visit to China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair.
Another project I am working on is expanding our business to English-speaking markets. Our cozy fiction and upmarket fiction are doing very well in European countries. We are aiming to expand this trend to the English markets and to a younger age group. I am meeting sellers, distributors, and printers across the globe to see how we can maximize our IP business by exporting directly to the English market (especially US).
Main Interest
My main interest is in exporting Japanese literature and children’s books abroad. There are many ways to sell contents, such as licensing, exporting, merchandising, holding events, and making animations/movies. It is my job to seek both conventional and unconventional ways to maximize the power of IP and explore new possibilities for the publishing industry.
I am also a booklover with dual cultural backgrounds (a Japanese born in US) and always had an interest in foreign titles and markets. I believe there is always something to learn from a different market, whether it is the way of making content or selling them.
Experience Related to This Year’s Topic
I have felt the full impact of the rise in popularity of Asian literature in the past few years, especially in Europe. We are also experiencing a new wave of writers in Japanese literature, with more diverse backgrounds. Although many publishers outside Asia know about Japanese literature, their main interest is in cozy fiction or high literary works. As a Japanese who works in a publisher and sell rights, I would like more people to know that we have a very rich variety of literature and entertainment. I imagine other Asian countries have similar problems, and I would like to discuss how we could introduce these works among and beyond our region.
What would you like to discuss related to this year’s topic?
From my point of view, Asian literatures/authors are standing at a forked road. On one hand, Asian literature is blooming at a global level. Especially cozy fiction and feminism literature from Korea and Japan is selling at a phenomenal way. On the other hand, this trend may end as a mere trend if we do not endeavor to maintain it. One thing we can do is to sell by authors, not by titles. Trends would go away, but fans of specific authors would stay. Another thing is not relying too much on cozy fiction. Of course, it may be the trend now, but we all know Asian literature has much more diverse and rich lists of titles that we can offer to the world. At Poplar, we have well-themed fiction that are literalistic but entertaining at the same time. Such stories not only have the power to reinvigorate people who are tired of their lives, but also give philosophical hints and in-depth thought on how we can live as better human beings.
Please name any Korean writers, books and publishing companies that you are familiar with.
My favorite Korean author is Suzy Lee. I have enjoyed many of her picture books, including Wave, Shadow, and Lines. I am also familiar with Korean authors such as Sohn Won-pyung, Cho Nam-Joo and Kim Hoyoung, whose books are popular in Japan.
As a company, we have worked with several Korean publishers, including RH Korea, Mirae N, Moonji Publishing, Dahli Children’s Books, Woongjin Think Big, Gimm-Young Publishers, Golden-bell Publishing, Munhakdongne, Totobook Publishing, BOOK21 Publishing Group, FORESTBOOKS, and many more. We have experiences in both buying and selling rights with Korean publishers.
Your reasons for applying to the Asian Publishers Week 2025.
I have three main reasons for applying to the Asian Publishers Week.
Firstly, this is an opportunity for us to expand relationships with Korean publishers. Although we already have strong connections and business with some children’s books publishers, our sales for adult fiction titles in Korea are relatively small compared to that of Europe. We would also like to consider buying rights of Korean adult fiction which would fit well into our list.
Secondly, I would like to exchange views on promoting Asian literature outside Asia, especially in Europe and the English-speaking countries. As my personal mission within the company is to find new markets and expand our licensing territory, I would like to share my experience and knowledge with other Asian publishers, and at the same time would like to learn from their strategy as well. There may be even room for cooperation between Asian publishers when venturing into new territories.
Finally, I consider networking an essential part of business in the publishing field. Especially in an era when AI can replace most of our jobs, and when we could meet virtually anywhere and anytime, the importance of meeting face-to-face and exchanging opinions in person has become our last irreplaceable job. Meeting foreign publishers and talking about books have become one of my most valuable moments as a professional working in this industry. I am hoping to meet motivated and talented professionals in the Asian Publishers Week 2025.
Your Company Profile Poplar Publishing Co., Ltd.
Company Address: JR Meguro MARC Bldg., 3-5-8 Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8210, Japan
Number of Employees: 200
Specialty: Children’s books, adult fiction
Poplar Publishing Co., Ltd., one of the leading independent publishers of children’s books in Japan, has been in business for more than 75 years. Starting as a children’s books publisher in 1947, Poplar has published many best-selling children’s series, including Butt Detective series, Zorori series and Tyrannosaurus series, which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Furthermore, Poplar expanded its range of books by publishing books for adults, including fiction, non-fiction, essays, and business books. We have several award-winning books such as The Lonely Castle in the Mirror and What You Are Looking for is in the Library. Poplar publishes around 400 titles annually and has licensed titles to more than 40 languages. Every year we participate in various book fairs—Frankfurt, Bologna, London, Seoul, and Beijing. We are always looking for new partners and further cooperation around the globe.
Our books (and the company itself) have received many awards in the past—in 2018, Lonely Castle in The Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura won the Bookseller’s Award. What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama ranked second for the Bookseller’s Award in 2021, and has been translated into more than 30 languages, showing strong sales especially in the European market. In 2024, Poplar won the BOP (Best of Publishers) for Asia in Bologna Book Fair. In 2025, N no Itsudatsu (The Deviation of N) by Shiho Natsuki was nominated for the Naoki Prize. We are a publisher with momentum, both in children’s books and adult books, and looking forward to sharing ideas with the Asian publishing society, as well as looking into and learning from other Asian publishers. Our interest in foreign business includes licensing, acquisition, co-production, IP production and subsidiary management.
For more information, please check our website: https://www.poplar.co.jp/foreignRights/