Dibs

Cody’s Books, whose Telegraph Avenue store closed earlier this summer, has just been acquired by Yohan, Inc., a major Japanese bookseller. I had heard rumors these past few weeks that “some Japanese company” had bought the business from Andy Ross. Apparently this is the company. The press release sent to Dibs! moments ago says: “Hiroshi Kagawa, CEO of Yohan, says, ‘I’ve loved Cody’s ever since I first visited the store in 1983.’ Founded in 1953, Yohan is the largest distributor of English-language books and magazines in Japan. It owns 18 bookstores in Japan, including the art and design-focused Aoyama Book Center, as well as the publisher IBC Publishing. ‘It is our ultimate mission to promote culture and communications worldwide,’ says Kagawa. Yohan also owns Berkeley’s Stone Bridge Press, run by Kagawa’s longtime friend and colleague Peter Goodman. ‘Hiroshi loves books,’ says Goodman. ‘Yohan and Cody’s share a sensibility that venerates the written word.’ Hiroshi Kagawa has long been active as a journalist and a specialist in international publishing. Born in 1955, Kagawa’s early career in the media was as representative for the New York office of Kodansha International. In 1988, he established his own publishing business in New York; in 1999, that company, ICG-Muse, Inc., acquired Tuttle Shokai Inc., the long-established foreign book distributor in Japan. In June 2004, Tuttle Shokai Inc. merged with Yohan (Western Publications Distribution Agency). Kagawa divides his time between New York and Tokyo.” Inquiring minds want to know: How much?!