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December 20, 2005: Japan: "Old-fashioned Pop-Up Books are Flying off Bookstore Shelves"
" When Jip Jip, a bookstore in Fukui, held a pop-up book fair in the spring of 2004, young couples and 30-somethings flocked to the store. Today, Jip Jip stocks about 60 examples of pop-up books. President Shozo Shimizu says he finds it interesting that although society has become very digitalized, these "utterly analog mechanical books" are catching on."
"Ism, a store in Kita Ward, Osaka, specializing in picture books, held a fair featuring pop-up and other mechanical books this summer. "We saw sales comparable to those at Christmas season," says owner Reiko Tsujinaka. Although mechanical books are rather expensive, customers don't mind paying for books that give them pleasure, she said."
