Sunmark Publishing Rights Highlights
and NEWS Mail--February 2017 Issue

At the first meeting in the new year at Sunmark, all staff members announce their business goals for the coming year.

Here are mine.

 

(1) Surpass last year’s foreign rights business profit
(2) Produce a million-seller book by a foreign author
(3) Produce half-million-seller books by Japanese authors
(4) Have no misspelling on all documents and mail
(5) Lose 10 kg with exercise every day

 

Though these may seem to be from a “loudmouth,” almost everybody sets goals like these.
Of course, not all the goals come true, but at times some of them are fulfilled.
So we realize that making a wish itself is powerful and effective.

I hope at least one of the goals on my list will be met by the end of this year!

by Ichiro Takeda    

201702

If you have any questions or inquiries about this NEWS Mail, please contact Ms. Shino Kobayashi, Rights Manager (rights@sunmark.co.jp).

Topic of the Month

Because of your support we produced 7 books that sold over 100,000 copies last year.

How Even the Stiffest People Can Do the Splits With Ease by Eiko
Over 1 million copies sold!

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Over 350,000 copies sold!

 

Why Successful People Visit Shrines by Ryuhei Yagi
Over 220,000 copies sold!

Good Blood Flow Can Resolve Everything by Akiyoshi Horie
Over 175,000 copies sold!

 

Seeing, Knowing, Thinking by Bao Nakashima
Over 170,000 copies sold!

 

The World’s Best Way to Stretch by Nakano James Shuichi
Over 150,000 copies sold!

 

Use Thumb Stimulation to Rejuvenate Your Brain! by Yoshiya Hasegawa
Over 130,000 copies sold!

All Sunmark staff appreciate your continuous support this year, too!

Hot Titles

Why Successful People Visit Shrines

by Ryuhei Yagi

ISBN978-4-7631-3564-3 C0030

341 pages / July 2016 / 1,500 yen (w/o tax)

All businessmen, politicians and military commanders have known this ancient “system” for getting prayers answered!

Description

It turns out that shrines are an age-old “system” for getting prayers answered. All successful people and rulers of Japan have utilized this system to obtain support from the gods in achieving success.

 

Author Ryuhei Yagi is a popular blogger who, along with having a Ph.D. in science, is psychic. In this book, Dr. Yagi explains how gods residing at shrines can enter through any extra space in your heart and answer your prayers. He also explains about the “hidden workings” of shrines from both scientific and spiritual standpoints in an easy-to-grasp, interesting manner. The book also includes a map of shrines around Japan that famous politicians, businessmen and military leaders have visited, allowing you to view them all at a glance.

 

This secret that has been kept by the elite is finally out in the open. The gods are working hard to increase the number of successful people who make the world a better place. Why don’t you join the movement toward becoming successful and bettering the world around you?

From the table of contents

– Influential Japanese figures all visit shrines

– There’s a secret hidden in Japanese shrines!

– “Nobunaga’s failure and Ieyasu’s success” – the difference lay in their relationship with shrines

– “Business God” Konosuke Matsushita utilized the power of the dragon god

– People who are favored by the gods, and people who aren’t

– Cross over into a new dimension! Extreme “power spots”

– Why you should offer 500-yen coins at the shrine

– Is it bad to visit more than one god?

– The Toyota Way is the Shrine Way!  The inner workings of “kaizen”, the path to success

– The difference between businessmen who believe in the god and those who don’t

– The days of this secret being kept by the elite are over!

From the editor "Nekoka"

09hen_nenoka

Visiting shrines, power spots and collecting shrine seals has been popular for many years, and many people I know are joining the trend, particularly with regard to shrine visits. While I did enjoy shrines, I was never interested quite to that extent, but Dr. Yagi’s book really opened my eyes, was extremely cathartic, and turned me into a lover of shrines. I think anyone who reads this book will want to begin visiting shrines more often!

 

Author:

Ryuhei Yagi

Ryuhei Yagi is a Doctor of Philosophy born in Kyoto in 1975 and is also a spiritual medium. Late one night in November of 2006, while writing his doctoral dissertation, he was visited by an image of Buddha in his dormitory and received a message. That night, he gained the ability to perceive the unseen, and since then his psychic powers have blossomed. He has served as senior researcher at Fujitsu Laboratories and as guest lecturer at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and he currently teaches marketing at Aoyama Gakuin University. He has gained popularity with his blog written under the name “Dr. Ryu” and for his seminars about the “unseen world” given from psychological and statistical points of view, as well as from his perspective as a spiritual medium.

How to Highlight a Book Like One of the Elite

by Eiji Doi

ISBN978-4-7631-3586-5 C0036

240 pages / October 2016 / 1,500 yen (w/o tax)

Move your life forward with “one line.” Practical reading skills introduced by one of Japan’s top book reviewers.

Description

Reading is about finding the “one line” out of thousands that shapes your future. In this book, the editor of the popular business book review mail magazine Business Book Marathon and charismatic producer who introduces bestselling books to the rest of the world fully discloses a slew of recommended books along with useful reading tips.
 

Included in the appendix are the author’s “44 parts I underlined.”

From the table of contents

Preface: One line can change your life

– Just one line is enough

– Novels are for consumption, business books are for investment

– Assessment is about understanding

and more… 

 

Chapter One: How not to read

– It doesn’t matter whether it’s entertaining or not

– Book reviews are unnecessary

– “Read the whole book” is just a bias

– Narcissistic acts that confirm your own beliefs are pointless

– Suckers who underline surprising and likable words

– 11 strategies for gaining insight through browsing “must-read” books

and more…
 
Chapter Two: Don’t read fast; take your time

– Speed reading is unnecessary. Take your time with new information

– Unsuccessful people set goals to read a certain number of books per year

– Is it an easy read, or is it hard work?

– Wise people never ridicule hard workers

and more…
 

Chapter Three: Focus on one area at a time

– Why Boris Becker coached Novac Djokovic

– Reading tactics to improve your forte and reduce your weaknesses

– Eight areas to “practice” to reach the top

  1. Accounting and finance
  2. Strategy
  3. Marketing
  4. Operations
  5. Management and leadership
  6. Product development
  7. Statistics
  8. Economics

and more…
 

Chapter Four: Don’t look at results, look at causes
– The cause is the “center bowling pin”

– Unicharm will cross national borders

– Seijo Ishii likes the C-ranking?!

– The “ABC process” that KADOKAWA prefers

– What is USJ’s “center pin?”
 and more…

Chapter Five: Make something different, not the same

– Why TSUTAYA BOOKS Daikanyama expanded their parking lot

– “Differences” come from “combinations”

– The best businesspeople talk about tax reductions

– What is the upper reach of your business?

– Is it true that “the sauce is more important than the pork cutlet”? 

and more…

 

Chapter Six: Don’t look inside, read the background

– What you learn from the bestsellers

Gakumon no susume is Keio University’s brochure!?

– What you can learn from “My Italian”, a famous Italian restaurant in Japan

– You have to go there to experience the circumstances

and more… 

 

Chapter Seven: Challenge yourself to be cultured!

– Whether “intellectual curiosity” wins over “fear” 

– Money can be snatched away, but wisdom cannot

– If you strive for incompetence, take more time
– How to tackle thick books

– The more you underline, the better you will get at choosing what to underline

and more…
 
Final Chapter: Blue

Appendix: “44 parts I underlined.”

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

 

“Underlining areas that make you think, ‘Right, that’s exactly what I thought!’ is nothing more than narcissism. Simply reassuring yourself that you’re ‘right’ about something doesn’t promote real growth. Even when you don’t feel comfortable with what you’re reading, there can be a line that grabs your attention. These are the lines I want to underline. Underlining highlights new information, useful passages and passages that challenge our way of thinking – things that do promote real growth.” 

From the editor "Seiichi"

seiichi

Which of the many business books do successful people choose to read, and how do they incorporate the acquired information into their careers? The best person to ask is none other than Eiji Doi, a publishing producer who is an expert on business books. We hope using red lines, like the one on the front of this book, to underline important words will change the rest of your life.

 

 

Author:

Eiji Doi

Born in 1974, Eiji Doi is the representative director of Elies Book Consulting Co., Ltd. and editor-in-chief of the daily book review mail magazine Business Book Marathon. He graduated from the General Policy Studies Department at Keio University. While with Nikkei Home Publishing (currently Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.) he took part in the launching of Amazon.co.jp, where his novel approach to sales and his quick eye for promising books and authors made him responsible for numerous bestsellers, including The Millionaire’s Philosophy For A Happy Life (over 500,000 copies sold), and Moetan – Methodology Of English, The Academic Necessity (over 170,000 copies sold). Because of his success, he is referred to as “Amazon’s charismatic buyer.” Furthermore, he won the Company Award in 2001.

 

He continued to be successful in the branding and producing of numerous authors, and in 2011 produced The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, which became a bestseller, selling 1,580,000 copies. The same book has since been released in 41 other countries including the USA and Italy. The US release was featured in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In March of 2015, the book reached number one on Amazon in both Italy and the USA. The book is continuing to create a stir worldwide, with sales estimated to reach 6,250,000 copies.

 

Business books have proven to be Eiji Doi’s speciality, with the bestselling series Saving From An Annual Income of 2,000,000 yen, selling 700,000 copies. He is also responsible for many books that have hit the top 10 lists for best-selling business books, including Extreme Training: The Essence of Failure – 23 Systematic Dilemmas the Japanese Army and Modern Japan Have in Common and Think 100,000,000 Yen in Annual Income.

 

Other bestselling business books and practical guides Eiji Doi has been responsible for include The Management Textbook, Guide to Funds, The Corporate Professionalism, Focus Reading, The Secrets: Even an Idiot Can Earn 10,000,000 yen Per Year!, Be More Persuasive! Speak in Public Like an Executive, World’s No. 1 Cash Rich but Dumb Japanese and An Effective Learning Method: Achieving a High Percentage of Success.