notice

Release date: February 28, 2026

The photo above shows some of the books that Mr. Y was in charge of in 2025. As can be seen in the answer, there is a wide range of fields covered by each person in charge

■Name:
Y

■Faculty and major at the University of Tokyo:
Graduated from the Faculty of Letters in 2021

of the publishing company I currently work for,
Seidosha Co., Ltd
Websitehttps://www.seidosha.co.jp

■How I spent my time
at university During my first two years at Komaba, I was involved in activities such as a newspaper-making club and an independent seminar that conducted fieldwork, where I went around interviewing various people. After deciding to major in literature, I remember spending a lot of time in the university library, poring over dictionaries and reading original works related to philosophy.

■My relationship with books and the university bookstore during my university years
During high school, I was so preoccupied with studying for entrance exams that I hardly read any books. Perhaps as a reaction to that, after entering university, I spent most of my time reading humanities books, especially those related to philosophy and thought. Looking back, I regret not having had the chance to do so sooner, but on weekdays I was so busy with classes and preparing for them that I didn't have much time to casually visit the university bookstore. I relied on them for purchasing textbooks and ordering books.

■ How I chose the publishing industry:
I've been interested in print media like newspapers since I was in elementary school, but I was particularly influenced by the paperback books for junior and senior high school students that I read in junior high school (such as Chikuma Primer Shinsho and Iwanami Junior Shinsho). I was attracted to the idea of ​​delivering what leading researchers are thinking in a way that general readers can understand.

■What kind of work do we do?
Seidosha publishes two monthly magazines, "Gendai Shiso" and "Eureka," as well as books (mainly humanities). The editorial department is divided into three sections accordingly, and I belong to the book editorial department. In editing, I am involved in every stage, from planning to the actual creation of the book. Through meetings with authors and translators and proofreading of galleys (test prints of the actual typeset text), I fill in the content of the book, and at the same time, I work in cooperation with book designers, printing companies, and paper suppliers to ensure that the book becomes a physical object.

■Characteristics and appeal of the publishing company I work for
Based on what I've heard from people at other publishing companies, a distinctive feature of this company is the high proportion of employees in their 20s and 30s. There is a great deal of discretion left to each individual in choosing themes and authors to commission, and I feel that it is an environment where you can generally create books and magazines based on your own interests.

■What I feel about working in the publishing industry
It goes without saying that books exist because of the writers, but publishing is more of a "craftsmanship" process than I had imagined. In addition to "writing," books go through various processes such as "editing," "assembling," "wrapping," "printing," "transporting," and "selling" before they take shape and reach the reader's hands. Even though these tasks are handled by the production department in larger companies, at Seidosha, they are handled by the editorial staff. This does increase the workload, but I think one of the advantages is being able to work with the feeling that you are "making" a book.

■ Job satisfaction and enjoyment
Each book I'm in charge of is in a completely different field, such as film, history, or psychology, so I learn something new every time. When I was a student, I only read books related to my major, so when I first joined the company, I felt like I was stretching muscles I don't normally use. Now, I think that has become one of the joys of the job, and I sometimes encounter themes that I want to delve deeper into. After the book is actually published, when reviews come out or I talk to readers, I sometimes realize that it is being read in ways I hadn't expected, and I think that is also what makes this job interesting.

■Our Recommended Products and Why
We've picked out books edited by other employees working in the same book publishing department.

Hiroki Hyodo, "On Narrative Tradition," Seidosha, 2025. When you
hear the term "biwa minstrel," many people probably think of historical figures. In fact, until around the end of the 20th century, the tradition of blind monks' narratives remained in the Kyushu region, and Mr. Hyodo was one of the people who energetically conducted field research and documented this final period. This book is a monumental work that builds a grand literary history of "voice" based on that experience. From the moment I first saw the proposal in a meeting, it was a book that I eagerly awaited the publication of.

Aaron Parzanowski, "The Right to Repair: Towards the Freedom to Continue Using," translated by Nobuyasu Nishimura, Seidosha, 2025.
Have you ever had the experience of your smartphone breaking down, and being unable to fix it yourself, forcing you to pay a lot of money to buy a new one? Reading this book reveals the reality that corporations are cleverly depriving people of their "right to repair," from individual devices to equipment used in medical and agricultural fields. This book connects your personal frustrations with the distortions of society as a whole.

Nobuyuki Kakigi, "Benjamin: Thought that Survives After Catastrophe," Seidosha, 2025.
Benjamin was a German philosopher who lived through an era of war and fascism. This book is written by Kakigi as if he were continuing to walk the path that Benjamin walked. In his notes for the publication of this book, Kakigi recalled Derrida's words, "To live is to survive," and the meaning of living with the dead is shown through Kakigi's journey of reading Benjamin.

■The recent trend in the publishing industry
can be summed up in one word: "first-person perspective." Not only in literary fiction but also in humanities books, I get the impression that books that allow readers to connect their own "selves" with the "I" who researches and writes about them are gaining widespread support. On the other hand, the number of people who read books with the motivation of "learning" something for general knowledge may have decreased compared to before. I've heard from acquaintances at other companies that the main readership for paperback books is now in their 70s, and they are struggling to attract younger readers.

■A book I'd like University of Tokyo students to read:
Yoko Tawada's "Practicantin," Chuokoron-Shinsha, 2025.
I've selected this book from those I read in 2025, not just for University of Tokyo students, but for students in general. The book recounts the daily life of "I," who works as an intern at a German book distribution company after graduating from university, and is likely based on Tawada's own experiences.
The following passage, casually placed throughout the book, is particularly striking: "Is there anything that happened this year that I want to forget? I feel like I want to preserve everything, including the unpleasant things."
There are many things that happen during university life, but this book makes you realize that even small thoughts and events that you can't quite understand have their own place.

■Message to University of Tokyo Students
The publishing industry, or at least the humanities industry, is not in a good state, and this is manifesting itself in various ways in the field. However, I can confidently say that it is a privileged job in which you can constantly encounter new people and society through books. If I have the opportunity to work in the same industry with any of you who have read this article in the future, I think that would be wonderful.

<end>

A list of articlesthis pagecan be found on

○Planning and Management: University of Tokyo Co-op Komaba Bookstore.
any inquiries or comments regarding this projectthis formWe would appreciate it if you could send us