Sunmark Publishing Rights Highlights
and NEWS Mail--August 2014 Issue
Hello, I’m Kanako Kurokawa, an editor at Sunmark Publishing. I’m also working as a member of the Rights Department with special responsibility for selling translation rights to Taiwan and China. Recently, I edited a book from Taiwan for the first time. It’s titled Kimiko’s Body Exercise and has sold more than 150,000 copies in Taiwan. It’ll be released very soon in Japan, so I’m wondering how big the sales will be. To be most useful in a job like this, I’ve started learning Chinese this year. Last month, I challenged myself to take the pre-4th-grade Chinese proficiency test, and happily I was able to pass it. I’ll keep on making these efforts, so when you find any good information about Chinese or Taiwanese books, please let me know. Xie xie.
If you have any questions or inquiries about this NEWS Mail, please contact Mr. Ichiro Takeda, Rights Department (rights@sunmark.co.jp).
The Kyocera Philosophy, the latest book by Kazuo Inamori, is now becoming a sensational hit which has sold 180,000 copies within the first month of its release!
The new book by Kazuo Inamori, who created Kyocera and KDDI and is known as one of the greatest managers ever in Japan, was released this June. It contains his most important ideas which have never been opened to the public until now. It attracted people’s attention very early on, and we had so many orders that we decided to reprint twice before its release. Now the number of sales has already reached 180,000 copies in just a month. His previous book, A Compass to Fulfillment, is also a great hit which has become a million seller both in China and Japan, so there’s no reason we should hesitate to aim for another million seller. If you’re interested in this title, please contact Mr. Ichiro Takeda, Rights Department (rights@sunmark.co.jp).
ISBN978-4-7631-3371-7
608 pages / June 2014 / 2,400 yen (w/o tax)
Containing the origins of the million-selling book A Compass to Fulfillment, the core "unique and secret writings" of the Inamori Philosophy are finally available to the public!
The author, one of the greatest corporate executives of our era, who is responsible for Kyocera, the establishment of KDDI, the rebuilding of Japan Airlines’ infrastructure, and taking part in the development of many global enterprises, has decided to share the “Kyocera Philosophy” with the general public. Until now, this complete work of over 600 pages could be read only within the walls of Kyocera or at Seiwa Jyuku, a business school of which the author is the principal. It comes in a special vinyl cover that makes it hard to put away. This book is filled with thoughts and ideas regarding the work ethic and life principles useful to all walks of life, including those of housewives, students, educators, executives, and other businesspeople. Make this the book you take everywhere, and enjoy reading it over and over again.
– Chapter One: For a fulfilling life
Have heartfelt aspirations and desires / Live each day with earnestness, and more
– Chapter Two: Heart of Management
Manage with the heart and soul of a true manager / Seek success and profit in an honest and fair way, and more
– Chapter Three: At Kyocera, each person is a manager
Price setting as management / Maximizing sales, minimizing expenses, and more
– Chapter Four: Management to Enhance Progress
Have a hands-on approach / Make crisp, stellar products, and more
Aside from being in charge of editing this book, I was fully captivated and absorbed in Mr. Inamori’s words from the beginning of this amazing, 600-page volume to the very end. This is simply because the book contains a powerful message and is brimming with sharp insight. Even while in the process of working on this book, as a reader I was also able to learn and reflect and felt encouraged to take my work head-on. It feels as if you are taking inventory of your life as you read. From the 78 entries collected in this book, I hope you will find a philosophy that suits you.
ISBN978-4-7631-3362-5
223 pages / June 2014 / 1,400 yen (w/o tax)
Celebrities, businesspeople, and other successful individuals are all doing the same things.
The woman who supervised Japanese pop groups like Morning Musume and AKB48 presents in this book the work ethic and way of thinking necessary for success.
To those in the know, Mayumi Natsu was not only the dance director of pop groups like Morning Musume and AKB48, but also the dance coach for Yoshimoto-Jirushi Tennen Sozai, Johnny’s, Takarazuka Revue, and more than 300 other groups of artists. She was also stage director for the “NHK Red and White Singing Contest” for over 17 years and the choreographer and director behind the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics dance at the closing ceremony that involved tens of thousands of participants. She says there were countless experiences that got her thinking while working with so many talented people.
At the starting line, there isn’t a lot of difference between people, but at some point that difference becomes great. On the one hand are those who continue on to be the best, and on the other are those who do as they please and lose out.
The question is why this difference comes about.
After 30 years of experience working with celebrities, she finally realized what “correct habits” are practiced by those who are considered the best masters for successful growth.
These correct habits are the “must for growth” not only for artists but for everybody, whether they’re businesspeople, students, or parents. And this “must for growth” is “the qualification for the ace”. This book tells us what the “the qualification for the ace” is and how everyone can get it.
But the ace is not so difficult to obtain, because it doesn’t always mean the top. The ace means “those who have self-definition, self-confidence, and positiveness”. Having those correct habits and extracting the maximum goodness from oneself to attain growth is to become the ace.
The top idols Natsumi Abe or Atsuko Maeda were not special girls. If you learn how they got “the qualification for the ace” and how they became the ace, you can be the ace too.
In this book Mayumi Natsu reveals all her experiences and secrets to become the ace with all her strength and all her heart.
Everybody has a place to shine, and this book tells you how to get there. After reading the book you’ll be full of the bravery you need to move ahead.
– Why did I allow Atsuko Maeda to pass?
– Make “down time” away from others
– If something bad happens, start by asking “Why?”
– Good pride makes you beautiful, bad pride makes you ugly
– Go and find your latent potential
– Don’t eliminate your weaknesses, learn to use them
– The way successful people utilize down time is key
– It’s okay to be modest, but you can’t be reserved
– Say “thank you” even to the ones who give you trouble
– Life is not futile, and everyone has a place to shine
I was hoping for the chance to meet and talk with Mayumi Natsu, and when it became a reality, I found her to be very nice, passionate, and zealous — an impressive woman who was different from the “fierce coach” persona portrayed on TV. This book is filled with the wonderful energy and very essence of Mayumi. I was confident about her taking on the role of writing the draft for this book. She possesses a sincerity unlike that of any other author, as she paid careful attention to every fine detail and nuance, striving to send the right message to her readers and encourage them in the right way. I am really happy to have been able to work on Mayumi Natsu’s book with her. I recommend that you read her book, and I encourage you to be touched by her message and find your own place to shine.