Japan has a well-ordered book market and efficient book dealers. Problems regarding new publications concern the amount of publications, increasing prices, small press runs and the correspondingly short period of time during which new titles are easily available. These factors call for fast selection decisions and the acceleration the ordering process, never mind the access to the best information materials and sources.

From the extensive publications of fiction, preference is given to collected works, but also bestsellers; for art, primarily reference works, exhibition catalogues and works on art history are selected.

In the case of scholarly and scientific literature, an attempt is made to procure the entire range of relevant literature for the humanities and social sciences as well as for the field of economics. In addition to historically oriented works, contemporary Japan research is also taken into account. Scientific literature on Japan in Western languages is also acquired relatively complete.

The reference materials collection is intended to be complete; this holds especially for bibliographical, biographical reference works, biographical and terminological dictionaries, yearbooks, festschriften and commemorative publications for academic institutions, universities, publishing houses, scholars and academics (because of the bibliographies or bio-bibliographies often contained therein). Dictionaries collected include the otherwise not included areas of natural sciences and engineering.

Chinese and Korean literature on Japan will be considered, as well as Japanese literature on China research and sinology. Special attention is paid to literature from the Japanese colonial period and areas (Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria and occupied territories in China).