A Study On The Importance Of Copyright Of Japan's Naoki Award(1978-2016)

The Naoki Prize was created in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi,a famous author in his time.The prize is the highest award of popular literature in Japan,and has then become an important indicator of popular literature.Since the Chinese economic reform,a lot of foreign publications,including Naoki award-winning titles,were introduced to the public.These Naoki related books are financially successful while gained popularity in the Chinese book market.However,the popularity of award-winning authors appears to be polarized.Some authors such as Keigo Higashino and Junichi Watanabe became well-known to general Chinese readers.On contrary,other authors like Miyuki Miyabe are only popular within SNS such as Douban.com.Their books were neither attractive to the general readers nor financially successful.This article focuses on investigating publishing agencies that involved in importing Naoki award-winning literature into China,followed by a case study of books by Keigo Higashino and Miyuki Miyabe.By analyzing problems in importing copyright publications,we are able to propose potential solutions accordingly.This article firstly introduces background,goal,and method of this research,as well as novelties in the thesis and a summary of shortcomings.The second part overviews the history of importing Naoki award-winning literature and its characteristics.The history is divided into 3 stages: Embryo Period(1978-2000),Development Period(2001-2008),and Booming Period(2009-now).The third part analyzes publishers that imported Naoki award-winning literature.Publishing agencies that played a main role are identified in the first place,and their behavior are analyzed in terms of branding and paperback strategies.The fourth part is a case study of two “social school” detective fictions:The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino and Reason by Miyuki Miyabe.An analysis will compare their import background and acceptance in market.The fifth part is about problems in importing Naoki award-winning literature,such as redundant publication,improper selection of titles,illegal use of copyright,and quality of translation.Potential solutions are careful selection of titles,strengthen copyright protection,improve translation,and increasing distribution channels.We hope these suggestions can support publishing agencies in handling import of Japanese literature.