Nietzsche’s Words from Discover 21, adapted by Haruhiko Shiratori, has sold more than 1.1 million copies for the Tokyo-based publisher founded in 1985.

Started Discover 21 in 1985 and since then she has been involved in overall management as a director and president and has grown into a leading publisher in the industry through direct transactions with bookstores.

In 2011, “Translation Nietzsche's Word” topped its first million copies.

In addition to overseeing the editorial department in general, as an editor, he has launched various series, actively engaged in global expansion, exhibited at international book fairs in countries such as Frankfurt and Beijing, etc. 

Most recently, he has embarked on the production of concrete global content, such as the creation project of Japan-China joint entertainment novels with a focus on Chinese movies, and also promotes the development of digital content and learning platforms such as video content and e-learning. 

Hoshiba says that the import-export gap isn’t due only to a need for translation but also, by tradition, to the fact that the Japanese industry has been thought to have “all the readers it needed.”

Now that globlization has made export more attractive and accessible, she says, larger publishing houses based in Tokyo are working to reach readers beyond their usual audience. Discover 21 is joining that trend, and looking to capitalize on its success at home with a much wider reach abroad.