In the huge sandbox called The Earth

 In the huge sandbox called The Earth

Qualia Journal

I must have published 100 or 200 books in Japanese. I have long stopped counting.

Even in a cozy market like Japan, it is difficult to grasp what is going on. I have been involved in book launches and publicity stunts here, but these do not necessarily correlate with sales. On the other hand, books that I barely paid attention to have been bestsellers.

When it comes to books I have written in English, those on ikigai, nagomi, and stoicism, and their translations into various languages, things become even more elusive.  

My ikigai book has become a bestseller in Germany, being the non.1 in nonfiction in 2024 and 2025. Ikigai is staying at no.2 position even this week. 

I was made aware of the German phenomenon by an e-mail from my editor Tanja Rauch. Otherwise I would not have had a clue. I heard rumors that my book is doing well in Switzerland, latin America, and southwest and central Asia, but I do not know the situations in detail.

I feel that the best I can do is to focus on what I write on my computer for the book projects. In the tiny corner in the huge sandbox called The Earth, I play on, doing my humble best.