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Japanese used bookstores
Trends
- 1AI firms are buying Japanese used books by the ton●Japanese used bookstores see 5x sales surge as books are being bought by the ton
Used bookstores across Japan are reporting a fivefold surge in sales, driven by bulk buyers purchasing entire inventories by the ton. One order reportedly saw 50 tons of books shipped to the United States, where they are believed to be scanned for AI training data and then destroyed. A multitude of similar suspicious bulk purchases are thought to end up in foreign scan-and-shred facilities, raising concern among book lovers about where Japan's secondhand books are going.
- 2Japan's Used Bookstores See Bulk Orders Surge, 50 Tons Shipped to U.S.●Bulk Orders Surge at Used Bookstores in Japan; 50 Tons Sent to U.S.
Used bookstores in Japan are reporting a sharp rise in bulk purchase orders, with roughly 50 tons of books shipped to buyers in the United States, according to Nippon TV. The report highlights growing overseas demand for Japanese-language books, particularly from collectors and readers abroad.