The Kinokuniya Bookstore chain, known as the Barnes & Noble of Japan, has suffered profound damage and business disruptions in the wake of last week’s earthquake and tsunami in the region, particularly at the Sendai location. Kinokuniya has 65 stores in Japan and eight in the U.S.
Although a dozen locations around Kanto and Kokuriku were closed for between one and five days due to power outages in the area, the situation at the Sendai store, which is the third most profitable in the chain, remains most critical. Kyoichi Ishikawa, general manager of Kinokuniya Bookstores in the U.S., explained that the chain’s corporate office has been largely unsuccessful in reaching the employees in Sendai because of telephone service that is intermittent at best. The mall that this store is in is a significant distance from the coast and suffered severe earthquake damage but was unaffected by the ensuing tsunami.
The chain has been able to continue receiving shipments of books and magazines from its suppliers, although some weekly and monthly magazines cannot be published on schedule. Ishikawa reports that the port in Japan might soon be closed due to radiation leaks from the nuclear reactors, in which case sea shipments will be cancelled. However, most of the airports in Japan are open and book orders can be delivered by air. Japanese book publishers, most of which are headquartered in Tokyo, seem to have been spared any direct damage.
“As of today we haven’t any sad information about the lives of Kinokuniya staff and their families,” Ishikawa says. “But the situation, especially around the Sendai store, is still not entirely clear.” He emphasizes that the situation at the store is critical, and it will remain closed for an undetermined period of time. “Please give encouragement,” Ishikawa says, “to Mr. Goto, the store manager, and his staff. We are the same as all booksellers around the world.”
