The fading interest in reading among younger Japanese first caused alarm several years ago in Japan, but I was recently startled to see a full page devoted to the topic in The New York Times' Book Review section (Dec. 10).

In the article "The Rising Sun Sets on Japanese Publishing," Howard French details the decline of Japanese publishing through its golden age in the 1950s and 1960s, the manga boom of the 1970s and 1980s, the loss of general interest in serious literature, and, most importantly, the rise of consumer electronics. People are reading less each year and increasingly more commuters spend their time on the train with electronic games or cell phones rather than a book or magazine. He cites a publishing executive who says that the only thing really selling in Japan now is sensationalism or sentimental tales of triumph over adversity.

Certainly the Japanese book scene in 2000 -- as seen both in overall sales and in the year's best sellers -- is a depressing one. As reported in Shuppan News (third issue in December), combined book and magazine sales were down for the fourth consecutive year: minus 0.7 percent in 1997, 2.3 percent in 1998, 2.3 percent in 1999 and 3.1 percent in 2000 (as of October). Not surprisingly, publishers and retailers are groping for new partnerships and ways of doing business, as seen in several new ventures for bookselling via the Internet, including Amazon.com Japan. In addition, eight publishers have established a Web site to sell electronic versions of out-of-print bunko titles.