PLR in Japan

japan

Public libraries in Japan are booming. Book loans have doubled since the public library system got off the ground in the 1970s. According to Newsweek this has prompted demands from Japanese publishers for the government to set up a public lending right system that would compensate them and authors for this explosion in the use of their works. The increase in loans has coincided with a downturn in the Japanese economy and a fall in book sales. Publishers see a connection between the two developments. Librarians on the other hand are concerned that the imposition of a lending fee could adversely affect the growth of the country’s (relatively new) library system. Especially popular in libraries are thrillers and other fiction bestsellers. If they can’t have a PLR system, publishers are considering enforcing a six-month ‘window’ between publication and first lending out by libraries to stop loans affecting sales.