It is a great pity that there should be
so many distinct enemies at work forthe destruction of literature,and that they should so often be
allowed to work out their sad end.
William Blades,
The Enemies of Books(London: Elliot Stock, 1888)
Internet Archive/Open Library
URL: http://openlibrary.org/

Digital Publishing Belongs to EveryoneVoyager Japan, Inc.



Masaaki Hagino, President

People have been suspicious of digital publishing for a longtime now. I think that suspicion is reasonable. After all,digital publishing remains complicated and fraught with all
kinds of hurdles, so readers have difficulty trying tocomprehend just what it actually is. And yet, a world wheremost people are familiar with eBooks and digital publishinghas clearly dawned. In the U.S., market penetration for
eBooks grows at a steady pace; some are published in runs of
one million copies. The population of eBook readers grewfrom 20% at the end of 2011 to 25% in only a few shortmonths (according to BISG research). In fact, tablets havenow supplanted dedicated eReaders, such as the Kindle, as
the reading device of preference.

there’s a looming problem with all this. Potential creates
opportunity. Once digital publishing becomes widespread, it
truly will belong to everyone. Sadly, we’re not thinking in
those terms. We’re locked into old modes of perception.
Twenty years ago, Voyager Japan entered the digital publishingbusiness, releasing an eBook authoring tool—Expanded Book.
We were not alone. Many Japanese companies were thinking
about the same thing at that time. The idea was that any
individual could have a means of self-publishing and be able toproduce new content. This would then create new vistas.
At the same time, computer technology was advancing at a
rapid pace. New levels of power were added at every step,and functionality was increasingly enhanced. In the world ofdigital publishing, with books as the stage, anyone could now
strive to take the lead. By producing dazzling new functions,digital publishers could achieve more sales and attempt todominate the market. This became the forerunner of what is
now known as a “format war.”

Although Japan has yet to reach this level, a public andprivate consortium has come together to promote a movetowards electronic books. Combining public funds andinvestments from major publishing and printing companies,
Digital Publishing Initiatives Japan Co., Ltd. has announced
concrete plans to produce one million eBook titles within thenext five years, generating a market with a proposed scale of
200 billion yen. The brave new world of digital publishingwill soon arrive in Japan—and not at all too soon. Still,
despite the promise, the growth and the hype, the future ofeBooks and digital publishing is clouded. I strongly assertthat digital publishing belongs to everyone. If so, how do we
get there?

❖ eBooks: Brave New World or Survival of theFittest?

For device manufacturers, intensified competition generated
a demand for higher performance at lower prices. As a result,they could no longer afford to supply content. To resolve thisissue, many manufacturers formed partnerships withpublishers and bookstores. Challenges and questions about
how to produce new content quickly drew device makers andbooksellers into struggles about the nature of reading itself
and how to distribute eBooks. These questions and battles
have persisted ever since, for over two decades.

In principle, digital publishing provides an individual withthe power to take control of the entire publishing processfrom production to sales. This potential opens up a whole
new world for both readers and future authors, who until
now had no means available to carry out publishing. Yet

By 2010, in the Japanese domestic market, companies weresearching for methods to help them compete against the huge
American firms that had pioneered eBooks and hence were in
the lead. Many worried that foreign capital might enter
Japanese publishing and buy everything up, siphoning off the2hard-won fruits of the market’s growth. Only a partnership
between the public and private sectors would provide thestrength to compete. I believe these people had a good point.
But what is this partnership for? Who does it serve? Is there
any way this approach can be balanced with the idea that
digital publishing belongs to everyone? And a larger question
arises: are not those involved in a huge operation like thissimply out to save their own skins?

an electronic version of the traditional reading
environment—that common asset of humankind left to us by
our ancestors, the book—and establishing conditions to allow
one to easily read an eBook any time one wants. But insteadof working together to tackle this problem, we chip away ateach other’s strengths in an empty competition. So what can
we do? A business owner with an eye to profit—much like a
gunfighter bursting through the doors of a saloon in Dodge
City—enters with a swagger. The world of digital publishing“is an area of lawlessness, so much so you could call it theWild West.” So says Dan Simon, publisher of Seven Stories
Press, in an interview published in American Editors (http://
tt2.me/13261). How can we make sure that electronic books
will transform into something that belongs to everyone? Isuggest we look to our past, reflect on where we’ve been andfind a new way to proceed.

❖ The “Wild West” of Digital Publishing
Brilliant, high-resolution screens, superior color, quick
response time—digital publishing elevates the hopes andquickens the desire of all who participate. But these hopes
are easily dashed by hard reality.
You can pick up a paper book and read it anytime you want.
eBooks are far more complicated. Digital publishers have toadhere to strict rules in making a book for a particularreading system. These rules are exclusive and create barriers.
An eBook made according to specified rules cannot be readon a different reading system. The world of electronic books
is thus burdened by complexities and constraints.

❖ Conundrum for Digital Publishers: How Do
You Do What’s Never Been Done Before?
Seeking out new means of expression, as well as accepting thechallenge of doing something that has never been done
before are both feelings I can understand. It’s creative. But
the means should always be as simple as possible. If it’s
simple, anyone can use it. Rather than running off in searchof “possibility,” we need to embrace practical reality, theobvious things we often take for granted.

With conventional books, once ink has been printed on
paper, it remains there almost permanently. A paper bookdoes not vanish so easily. For eBooks, this is not the case.
The durability of a creative work is not guaranteed. The
ongoing pressure of technological progress creates a situationin which material contained in a digital book may quickly
disappear from the world as formats continue to change.
From a traditional point of view, the very nature of a bookoffers this dual promise: if you want to read a particular title,
you can easily obtain it and do so at any time you wish. Inorder for a book to be a book at all, it has to meet at least
those two conditions. Unfortunately, digital publishing has
fallen short in both areas.

Simplicity means voluntarily placing a limit on
expressiveness. If the expression is too complicated, or relies
too much on the newness of the technology, the eBook is notguaranteed to endure for very long. Products relying on newtechnology alone are highly susceptible to progress andchange, so in the end nothing remains. To counter thetyranny of the “new,” digital publishers need to foster anattitude that places priority on leaving a lasting record. By
providing a rich and varied environment, we can allow
anyone to easily create content in a way that preserves theircreative work for future generations. For all of us in theindustry, it’s important to build on a firm foundation—to
adopt an awareness that rather than eBooks being at thevanguard of technology, they should bring up the rear andbecome an instrument saturating every aspect ofcontemporary society.

Traditional publishers would laugh if they read this. If this is
all eBooks amount to, no author should care how many arein circulation. Even if eBooks offer some fleeting, superficial
convenience, the foundation of publishing will always be
paper books. This point of view will not change guickly.
Idealistically speaking, before racing into market competition,
digital publishers would have benefited from initially creating
3

Digital publishers must achieve these three important goals
in the near future:

For a long time now, dissemination of standards has been athorny problem in the digital publishing industry. To ensurethat an eBook can be read by as many people as possible,
content suppliers need to publish each book in multiple
formats. To promote sales and reach the widest possible
audience, online bookstores have to offer software packages
that include multiple readers for a myriad of formats. As aresult, methods of viewing eBooks are in a state of confusion.
Users are inconvenienced, uncertain of where to turn forhelp.

1. Guarantee of readability: eBooks should be readable on
any device.
2. Standardization of format: digital publishing should bebased on a common format.
3. Elimination of censorship: digital publishers should
support the freedom to write and read any kind ofbook one wants.
New devices enter the market seemingly every month. But
they disappear just as quickly. For those that survive,
software upgrades are offered on a constant basis. One thingis eminently clear: reading applications and associatedeBooks developed individually for particular devices haveshort life spans.

Meanwhile, the issue of censorship persists. Influential
companies sometimes use their reputation to bring pressure
on publishers. For instance, Apple has refused to sell an
eBook about Steve Jobs they decided had “problems.” To go
along and stay afloat, digital distributors often participate ina kind of self-censorship. Without readers ever knowing,
powerful parties with clout in the market exercise tightcontrol over this well-ordered system.
Voyager Japan developed BinB based on its ideas for an
independent “bookstore without a bookstore.” BinB’s eBooks
live on the Internet, not in online bookstores. Readers canaccess and browse them at any time. If the reader likes aparticular eBook, he may purchase it by clicking on a buy
button. That’s all it takes. There’s no censorship. By using
BinB, you can read eBooks not approved or condoned byApple—even if you’re using an iPhone or iPad. Readers havethe freedom to enjoy books any way they want. For Voyager
Japan, protecting this consumer right is of paramountimportance.

With support from digital bookstores, indie authors have begun
to successfully archive their works. This photo was taken at Book
Expo America 2012.

特長：マルチフォーマット

The guarantee of readability should be taken for granted.
When one buys a print book at a bookstore, there are no
conditions placed on the ability to read it, no concerns about
which OS supports it and so on. Readers must be given thefreedom to read whatever books they want to read. At
Voyager Japan, we firmly believe in this principle. To deliver
readability, Voyager Japan has developed and released“Books in Browsers” (BinB), a platform that allows you toread a book on a PC, tablet or smartphone using a Web
browser. BinB is a reading system based on global standards
such as HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and Canvas, all routinely
supported by Web browsers. A BinB reader is available at:
http://binb-store.com/.

EPUB 3 / ドットブック（.book）/ PDFincludingなどさまざまなフォーマットに対応
BinB supports
various fileformats,
EPUB 3, dotBook and PDF.

ServerSide

PDF

ClientSide<JavaScript><Canvas>.book

XMDF※１※１：XMDF は、総務省が呼びかけ日本電子書籍出版社協会が主催した「電子書籍交換フォーマット標準化
プロジェクト」の成果を利用。

XMDF utilizes results from the “Digital Book Exchange Format
Standardizing Project” hosted by the Electronic Book Publishers
Association of Japan (EBPAJ) in association with the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications.

4We insist on our independence as a publisher, and we believe
it’s critical to oppose any tendencies in the industry that
inhibit the independence of all publishers.

downloaded digitally, it won’t do anything for you unless you
read it. And even if you do that, it won’t necessarily fulfill
your needs.

❖ E PUB: Tearing Down Barriers throughCommonality

In his book Hon to iu fushigi (The mystery of books),
Hiroshi Osada writes, “It’s not as if you could have someone
read a book in your place when you don’t have enough time.
And you can’t read a book while working, or while driving or
watching TV. You won’t fall asleep and then wake up later tofind that you’ve finished reading. You have to give your timeand attention to it or nothing happens.”

The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), an
organization similar to W3C, has developed a global standard
for digital publishing called EPUB. The standards and rules
established by EPUB ensure that eBooks created in thismanner can be produced and read by readers around theworld—just as Web pages can be read on Web browsers
anywhere. Web browsers based on global standards make itpossible for the user to access information at high speeds in
disparate locations. We have become so used to thiscapability that we simply take it for granted, but the benefits
cannot be overstated. We have the responsibility to achieve
the same goal for digital publishing.

Put a little distance between yourself and the world, comeface to face with a book, and try understanding things on
your own. The process of inquiry we call “reading” can leave
us awestruck at how deeply it provides an opening into thisliving and breathing world. That’s the magic of books. Books
are written, read, and then left behind, where they lie waiting
for the day when the next reader arrives on a new quest. A
book is a simple thing—small, economical, yet infused with
passion, heart and soul. A book is a very solid and tenacious
medium. This is how I feel—and have always felt.

Japanese digital publishers need to tear down the barriers
created by the outmoded formats we have developed, andintegrate with a global standard such as EPUB. Since there
are unique challenges in the digital rendering of Japanese,
those with the most knowledge and experience in thesematters should act as a bridge to the rest of the world.
Bridge-building and problem-solving will have greatsignificance as social capital and in turn will create something
everyone can use, including future developers, authors,
readers, even the pioneers of the industry in the U.S., and ofcourse those who protect rights and interests.

Yet I also believe that we’re beginning to forget what books
are all about. We need to do more than merely study theglorious history of books and publishing and marvel at how
admirable it is. Over the past ten years, as we entered a new
century, the world of books experienced maddening changes,
and we have not fully grasped the difficulty of the roadahead. Books are likely to fall into a state of decline.
Publishers will be engaged in a desperate struggle to maintainsales. Instances of confusion and panic will reign in theindustry.

The corporations, organizations and associations of the worldthat gather at the IDPF have spent years tackling the difficult
problem of providing an eBook format anyone can use. The
common format they have most recently developed is called
EPUB 3. The IDPF is currently developing a reference
implementation for digital publishers. The Readium project
offers a concrete example of these efforts (http://readium.
org/).

As publishers, how can we overcome these challenges, leap
over these obstacles and return to our essence? The key isboth new technology and a new philosophy. Though we arerecent arrivals to the publishing world, Voyager Japan has
envisioned this synergy for many years. Our appeals havebeen loud and persistent.

❖ L et’s Play Monopoly❖ It Really Hurts—But It Doesn’t Have toJust what is a book, really?

Everyone feels the pain.

Think about it. Whether a book is made of paper or

That’s why I am sending out this missive.
5

To exercise control of the means of publication is to own themeans of creating media. For authors and readers of the
future alike, control of this new frontier can be gripped bytheir own hands. You could call this a kind of “land reform”
for digital media. I hear this comparison often. First you havethe soil from which works are created—the foundation foreverything else. Let’s say you’re fully dedicated to a particularidea and made a wager on yourself to create and produce a
book. Now there’s a medium which can embrace that book.
This is what’s really important, and its significance cannot be
overstated. One of the invaluable merits of publishing is toprovide both authors and readers with great opportunities. If
we can provide an environment that overcomes the need forexperts and institutionalization, is lean and economical,
places its bets on possibility over sales projections and is easy
to use, newer and broader horizons will open up for the
publishing world. Our goal for the future is self-evident:
providing everyone with the capability to create—and toleave a lasting record of that effort.

You should send one of your own, not just a tale ofsuffering…but a ray of hope.
The solitary voice of the minority can bear witness to any
era, no matter how disruptive. In all likelihood, for digitalpublishing, the day will come when those once-lonely voices
will be raised in concert, to be more clearly heard. If you’rethe kind of person who points fingers, who’s tired of thewhole sorry mess, or who is overly self-deprecating andinclined to stasis, then you should probably stay away fromthe world of eBooks and digital publishing. There arecertainly more attractive options for you.
A book that’s not currently selling may take off at some later
point in time. An author who has only received middlingpraise from certain critics may attract greater and morepositive attention down the road. Sales should never be thefinal arbiter of our decisions. Publishers truly have scant clues
about what books readers will love and what titles will fall by
the wayside. How books are rated and assessed has little to
do with the caliber of their authors. Even a professional critic
may not necessarily evaluate an author with any degree of
accuracy. No one can see all the way through to a book’s
essence.

Digital publishing belongs to everyone and is made by
everyone. We must begin with the individual who stands
alone and who goes off alone in search of everyone.

❖W ho Is Everyone?
We in the publishing industry had great hopes for eBooks.
We had no idea there would be something about them thatwould become a hindrance, that would build obstacles tosuccess. In some ways, this probably couldn’t be avoided.
When you are stuck in a fog, you have to find a path to go
forward. It’s no different for digital publishers. Where is ourpath?
I will state it again: digital publishing is for everyone.
In this case, “everyone” means the readers. I believe the ideal
readers are the yet unknown authors of the future.
Arguments surrounding businesses attempting to dominate
the market will not provide you with the whole story ofdigital publishing. That’s only part of it, a diversion.

As digital publishing expands and becomes commonplace,
many indie authors are taking advantage of this development.
An attendee at Book Expo America 2012 peruses a stack ofindie books.

6

Digital Publishing and the Web: A Pathway to the FutureVoyager Japan, Inc.



Toshiaki Koike, Project Manager❖V oyager Japan and Digital Publishing
In 1993, Voyager Japan released a tool called the “Expanded
Book,” thereby making our first foray into the digitalpublishing market. At that time, the term “electronic book”
was barely known. Two years later, a new version of
Expanded Book allowed publishers to digitally render
Japanese, with vertical text layout capability, as well asfunctions for special Japanese characters and Japanese word
wrapping. Not long after this release, Shinchosha Press
marketed its CD-ROM Shincho bunko no 100 satsu (100books selected from Shincho bunko), created using our tool.
At that time, monitors were small compared to today’s
standards, with poor resolution and fixed layouts. Still,
publishers considered this early title a piece of perfection.

Digital Book 2012, sponsored by IDPF and held in June 2012 in New York.
Digital publishers and developers from around the world introduced the latest
trends in EPUB 3 at this event. Registered participants totaled more than 1,000.

The digital format provides us with power. We can be author,
editor and publisher all at once, while also becoming one of
the many readers who support this new world. However you
look at it, we all play an essential role. Yet we first need tounderstand the landscape that surrounds us.

As monitor displays increased over the years, reflow replaceda fixed layout, so that content could be adjusted as needed—
depending on screen size. Reflow allows text that doesn’t fit
inside certain screens to be sent to the next page. At the sametime, Japanese digital publishers sought the ability to read

What is it that eBooks and digital publishing require? The
list includes: a distribution format, a viewer to display
content, a reading device, a Website where eBooks are sold, a
bookshelf to store contents which have been purchased or are
free of charge, references offering information, a means
whereby readers can share their impressions or reviews ofcontents, and so on. These requirements can be met using awide variety of technologies, all currently available. Voyager
Japan has adopted the idea of placing the Web browser at thecenter as a means of providing these necessary functions.
Before we examine our proposed solution, let’s journey backin time, to the dawn of digital publishing.

An example of a display in dotBook for Chisana media no hitsuyo (The needs of
independent media) (Kaitaro Tsuno). The layout is realized using reflow, while
following Japanese typesetting rules regarding vertical text layout, captions, ruby,and Japanese word wrapping.

7❖T he Web and EPUB

Web pages originally displayed horizontally on a Web
browser in a vertical text layout. For this purpose, Voyager
Japan released T-Time. The electronic book format used by
the T-Time reader is dotBook (“.book”). The dotBook format
is extremely fastidious about typesetting rules.

Just what is EPUB? Definitions vary, but generally speaking,it’s the file format standard promoted by the International
Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), an organization working tostandardize eBooks. EPUB is based on XHTML, andpackaged for download delivery so that content can be read
offline on either a mobile device or a laptop. At the sametime, EPUB retains the open characteristics of HTML and
Web browser technology.

❖T ypesetting Rules: Items Added and Items

Discarded

When designing a Japanese book, typesetting rules are thearbiters of final layout. These rules determine a variety oflayout issues: spacing between characters, spacing betweenlines, page margins, Japanese word wrap, etc. These items all
assume a fixed paper page. In establishing our first
specifications for eBooks using reflow, the question for
Voyager Japan was how far to go in applying typesetting rules
developed for print books. Voyager Japan experienced
repeated failures in developing these specifications, learningby trial and error. As a result, highly precise typesetting (forexample, character position by specifying pixel unit) can berealized in dotBook. From the beginning, our developers
thought intensively about how to get as close to the paper
page as possible.

To sum up, an EPUB file is a zip file containing compressed
Web content.
EPUB is a book, not a Web page. You read it by turning
pages and reading one page at a time. There are things you
can do on both a Web page and a book and things you can’t
do. Where does the boundary between these formats lie?
How do you assess the differences between a Web browser
and an EPUB reader?
❖B oundary 1: Scrolling and Pagination
Vertical scrolling is most commonly used on a Web browser
and is an assumed characteristic when we design and build
any Web page. In contrast, pagination is the norm for EPUB
readers.

As experiences accumulated over time, flexible layouts
designed to look good on any size monitor became a moredesirable goal. But this change in direction did not mean thattypesetting rules were ignored for eBooks. Voyager Japan had
to adjust some and discard others, focusing our efforts on themost optimal method for handling a large variety of page
sizes. Current dotBook specifications are testimony to thegreat care we have taken in drawing up the most appropriate
typesetting rules for eBooks using reflow type pagination.

These differences—between scrolling display on a browser
and pagination on an EPUB reader—make it easier tounderstand why Web capabilities and publishing capabilities
should be considered separately.

On the left, a Web page as seen on a Web browser. The assumption hereis that the page will scroll vertically. The page can be displayed without
the necessity of horizontal scrolling if a fixed width (or fixed margin) is
maintained.

In the case of an eBook, characters that don’t fall within the range of thepage are sent onto the next page. The example in the image above, from
the Magazine Ko (“What printers thought about after the earthquake” byAdam Ari Furuta) is displayed in BinB.

8

People can view EPUB on a wide variety of platforms,
offering different monitor sizes or window sizes. For thisreason, a more appropriate tactic for developers is to provide
a generous design (one offering some slack and that assumes
reflow) and not be boxed into a particular target size.

EPUB specifications follow three basic rules:•••

The latest version of EPUB also can use Media Queries, somany of us agree that making the eBook reader capable ofreading a different CSS for each screen size will in turn makeit possible to design appropriately for each screen size. Thissolution represents an effective way of handling magazine
style content and layout. However, some EPUB readers
ignore styles used by Media Queries.

Rules Established as Unique EPUB 3 Standards
One representative example of unique EPUB 3 standards is
specification of the direction of page progression, an
important function required by Japanese language books. The
following elements are defined in the EPUB package text file(OPF):For a typical, text-centric book, digital publishers can obtain
the best results by letting the EPUB reader produce theappropriate layout through reflow, rather than by making thedesign overly fixed.
❖B oundaryContent

Rules established as unique EPUB standards
Rules as defined in HTML5 which are used in
EPUB 3Rules as defined by CSS which are used in EPUB 3•••

2: Network Content and Local

Bibliographic Information
Configuration File
Configuration File Copy Sequence

The attribute page-progression-direction is provided in thedefinitions. Readers can select the setting value “rtl” (Right
to Left) in order to set pages so that they progress from rightto left for vertical text reading in Japanese language books.

In principle, unlike the Web, an EPUB reader can display
only local content (i.e., content stored on a device such as aPC, smartphone or tablet).

Rules as Defined in HTML5

In EPUB 3, JavaScript can also be used, making it possible todisplay dynamically-created content on a network. According
to specifications, this can be done in an EPUB file. However,I do not recommend it and some EPUB 3 readers avoid
interpreting JavaScript for security reasons.

EPUB realizes “ruby” script with use of the ruby componentof HTML5. The code appears like this: <ruby>漢<rt>かん</rt>字<rt>じ</rt></ruby>

おもむ

赴いて

If your intent is to display content on all types of EPUB 3
readers, it’s best to avoid using dynamic display of network
content using JavaScript.
❖E
 PUB 3 Japanese Capability
EPUB 3 now supports Japanese, but what exactly does thismean? First of all, readers will see a page with vertical text
layout which progresses from right to left. In addition,
furigana (ruby annotation) are used, as well as circles foremphasis. Also, numbers appearing in the text are displayed
horizontally within vertical text.

←Ruby

The example above left shows rendering of the ruby script in Camera wo
furimawashita otoko: satsuei kantoku Kawamata Takashi (Kawamata Takashi: A
man who moved camera) by Takehisa Kawashima.

9Rules as Defined by CSS3

Verticalandhorizontal
combined
display

←

全 巻

24

we would love to provide an answer, but almost none of the
EPUB readers currently prevalent in the market support
EPUB 3 and cannot display it correctly. Unfortunately, only
time will tell.

Emphasiscirclemarks←︑ ︑ ︑ ︑

アメリカ

EPUB is packaged in a zip file. Unzipping the file reveals an
HTML5 file. The HTML5 file can be opened using any
browser, such as Safari or Google Chrome. By doing so, you
can see that vertical text, ruby, vertical and horizontal
combined text and so on are all displayed correctly. So what
happens when you perform pagination? Is the direction of
page-turning set correctly? At this time these components
cannot be properly displayed on a Web browser. To resolve
this issue, IDPF and other supporters initiated the Readium
Project.

Example of vertical and horizontal combined display and emphasis circle marks
in sesame dots style, from Chisana media no hitsuyo (The need for independent
media) by Kaitaro Tsuno.

❖T he Readium Project

Most all of the characteristic expressions of the Japanese
language are included in rules established by CSS3, and thesesame rules are used in EPUB 3. The CSS3 standard is still aworking draft, but EPUB 3 stipulates these same rules to theextent currently possible.
•••

Revised specifications in EPUB 3 allowing for Japanese
language support made this latest version a major upgrade forpublishers in our country. Yet there’s a major stumbling
block to popularizing its use: there are currently no eBook
readers that can correctly run or display EPUB 3.

 ertical text is realized by using the property
V“writing-mode” in CSS Writing Mode Module Level
3. To use this mode in EPUB 3, a prefix is includedin the signage and displayed thus: -epub-writingmode. Vertical text is realized by specifying verticalrl along with this value.
A combination of vertical and horizontal text can be
specified by placing a prefix on the CSS Writing
Mode Module Level 3 property text-combine sothat it looks like this:-epub-text-combine:horizontal.
For the emphasis circle mark, the CSS Writing
Mode Module Level 3 property text-emphasis-styleis used. You can produce a black sesame dot by
specifying -epub-text-combine:filled sesame.

Readium delivers a system for referencing the accuracy ofEPUB 3 operation and display. Most importantly, Readium
is open-source, so anyone can use it.
Currently, Readium developers are promoting its use as a
Google Chrome extension. Voyager Japan is participating in❖E
 PUB 3 and the Japanese Book: How Does It

Look?

For digital publishers in Japan, the question remains: will
Japanese language books using EPUB 3 create a valid
product? What will these books look like? At Voyager Japan,

The Readium Project’s Website (http://readium.org/). Development continues
to move forward in an open environment, with persons involved in electronic
publishing participating from around the world.

10

this project and hopes to contribute to the realization of a
new environment for better electronic books, based on ourlong experience rendering Japanese language books throughdotBook.

developers had to write different code for each browser andeven come up with complex code to avoid problems causedby browser bugs and specifications. For digital publishers, itwould be madness to repeat this sorry saga.

We have covered the basics of EPUB and Web browsers, aswell as the factors that separate them. So how, at thismoment in history, do digital publishers create content?

❖P roducing

EPUB 3 Books for Maximum
Distribution: 4 Pointers

For digital publishers seeking to take advantage of EPUB 3,
Voyager Japan believes there are four ways to increase
distribution possibilities for your eBooks.

❖W hat Is a Book and What Is the Web?
EBooks use Web technology, but they’re not the Web.
They’re books. When creating an electronic book through
EPUB, an important component becomes the question of
distribution. To allow your audience to easily access content
created for the Web, all a publisher needs to do is to releaseit on the Web. If one desires compensation for said contents,
creating a members-only Web page is sufficient.

1. Don’t specify style more than necessary
Many have heard the old adage, “separate structure fromstyle.” Structure refers to the various components whichmake up the textual structure, including titles, captions, andthe main body of the text. Style refers to guidelines related tothe decorative aspect of the book—i.e., how one goes about
displaying these structural components.

In actual fact, the EPUB Web application using HTML5functions targets this capability. Web content renderedthrough Flash has moved in the same direction, despite thelimitation of being unable to run on a proprietary iOS. EPUB
is a book. eBooks created in the EPUB format can be
distributed through any kind of online bookstore and can besold anywhere in the world. This capability delivers a hugebenefit to digital publishers. EPUB can change everything.

For EPUB, textual structure is defined in HTML5; style ishandled by CSS. As noted earlier, CSS3 is used to specify themeans of rendering Japanese language books using verticaltext, including components such as vertical text, combination
vertical and horizontal text, and emphasis circle mark. Unlessthese components are specified by developers, a vertical text
design cannot be achieved. Other elements of style, such as
background color (white) or font color (black), are best left
up to the reader’s default settings.

Currently, few online bookstores can handle EPUB 3, andspecifications for submission of an EPUB book may differ
from store to store during the early stages of its adoption. So
rather than making a book optimized for one particular
EPUB reader but which cannot be displayed on other reading
systems, publishers need to maintain general versatility. At
this watershed moment for digital publishing, eBook design
should offer maximum flexibility, so many types of EPUB
readers can display content properly. Books—whether paperor electronic—belong to everyone, to as many people as canfind them and read them.

Using pixel number or point size to specify font size may end
up producing a font that’s too large or too small for theterminal’s resolution, and make it impossible in certain cases
to change font size using the reader’s functions. Developers
should therefore specify the basic font size with the use of a
relative value, such as body{font-size:100%;}; all other fontsizes should be specified using relative values as well. The rest
should be left up to the EPUB reader.

Voyager Japan has been working in two distribution arenas.
We’ve developed BinB (Books in Browsers), a browser-based
reading system independent of any one particular platform.
And we’re promoting content production on the Web that’s
largely free from format constraints—so it can be distributed
anywhere. In the past, facing such constraints, Web

2. Avoid a layout that assumes a window size above a certain
fixed size
Digital publishers should never create a layout which assumes
that if there is a particular target it should look good onmonitors of 768 x 1024 or more. We need to make eBooks
11

that will look best on a particular target device, but evenwhen reading them on the target device the visual effect willchange when the user changes font size or switches between
holding the device vertically and holding it horizontally.
Rather than making fine adjustments so that it looks goodunder all of these conditions, digital publishers should strive
to develop a book layout for the widest possible variety ofmonitor sizes and font sizes.

creation is necessary for horizontal tables. However, when ahorizontal table is placed inside vertical text, characters
running over the page range have nowhere to go, andtherefore may not be displayed. We recommend avoiding thissituation by replacing the conventional horizontal table with
an image or graphic.
❖C onverting from dotBook to EPUB 3: Voyager

Japan’s Conversion Support

3. Be careful when combining vertical and horizontal text

Sales of EPUB 3 titles will soon begin, and Voyager Japan isoffering conversion support from our existing dotBook format
to EPUB 3. That’s the exciting news. Unfortunately,
specifications for submission of an EPUB book currently
differ from store to store, but we’re handling these differenceswith the use of the eBook format conversion system.

According to EPUB 3 specifications, vertical and horizontal
text can be combined on the same page. However, when yourcharacter count is large, the display may break down. In
Japanese vertically-written text, characters progress from top
to bottom while lines progress from right to left. Meanwhile,horizontal text progresses from left to right while lines
progress from top to bottom. When text runs over the pageon which it’s displayed, characters have nowhere else to go
and may disappear. Even if the line is short, as in a screen
caption, developers should play it safe to avoid suchoccurrences.

Also, because of the lack of EPUB support at some online
stores, Voyager Japan will continue to make dotBook titles
for the time being—while fully realizing that all these titles
will eventually be converted to EPUB, and producing themaccordingly.
The following items will be critical to our future conversion
efforts:
•
•
•
•
•

ページ領域
Page
Range

•

Characters that have run over the
はみだした部分は？
page

•
•

Example of display combining vertical and horizontal text.

4. Avoid problems with tables
For developers, creating tables creates many of the same
issues. From the viewpoint of text structure and accessibility,
tables should be treated as tables. In most cases, table
12E ndeavor to use style sheets in performing
description.
Avoid nested lists as much as possible in specifying
font size.
Use heading tags for specifying heading size (do notuse font tags).
Do not perform justification of headings.
Reflect chapter, section and paragraph structure inheadings.
When performing description of extended
characters, include information for conversion toanother format in a comment, such as the Unicodevalue.
Do not perform specifications which straddle pages.
Specify each instance of vertical-horizontal
combined text individually rather than using theautomatic vertical-horizontal combined text
function.

❖V oyager Japan’s BinB
Voyager Japan’s BinB reader supports EPUB 3. We havecreated a reading system that can be used on any Web
browser that supports HTML5 (not only Safari and Google
Chrome, but Firefox and Internet Explorer as well). We don’t
directly utilize the Readium project, but our development is
progressing with reference to EPUB 3 operation and display
through Readium.
BinB is not an application that’s installed and then used. It’sa system that realizes a reading environment requiring only
an HTML5-supported browser. By running an eBook reader
on these types of browsers, BinB allows users to open
electronic book formats such as EPUB and dotBook in any
platform (i.e., any device or OS). In the case of an
application, developers will need to create and distribute a
different version for each platform. Because of this,development of an application will take time and money.
Depending on the platform, distribution may prove too greata challenge.

©2012 Petit Kashima
The BinB display is shown on the left side of the above image. The author’s blog
is on the right. By using an embedding function, eBook contents can be displayedin the blog. A book can therefore be read on a blog without having to move to
BinB.

Voyager Japan’s BinB provides a character set engine which
can be used in a Web browser supporting HTML5. Thisfunction allows users to read content in the browser as soon
as they access it on a PC, iPhone, iPad or Android device.
Unofficially, developers can also use Linux for access tocontent. Books purchased by your audience are stored andsynchronized in the cloud, so a reader can begin a book on a
PC and later finish it on a smartphone.

Web browsers are installed as a standard on most platforms,
so BinB allows eBooks to be quickly delivered to readers.
Voyager Japan believes that Web browsers offer the mostcost-effective and elegant way to deliver a reading
environment.

BinB users can also recommend their favorite titles on
Facebook or Twitter. The BinB system even allows you toembed an entire book into your blog page to share withothers via Twitter or Facebook. And users now have thepower to include material previously unable to fit in a
traditional book into an electronic version of the same title.
This expanded material (such as constantly updated reference
information), as well as images, can be put into an EPUB
distribution file.

❖C onnecting eBooks to the Web
BinB has other essential benefits for your potential audience.
Links of all kinds will be handled more smoothly throughWeb browsers. Also, users will be freed from the time andeffort of installing an application to get the book they want.

The world of books has undergone dramatic changes in thelast twenty years. The convergence of eBooks, the Web and amyriad of mobile devices makes this world even moreinteresting and enjoyable. Of course, numerous issues remain,
but the potential for digital publishing appears limitless.
EPUB (with its open standard) and browser-based reading
systems such as BinB (able to cover everything fromadvertising to sales, reading and social networking using only
a Web browser) can one day transform the future of reading,and bring to life a publishing environment unlike any thathas existed before.

In some cases, a dedicated SNS (social networking service)
application may be necessary for users to search for andlocate books, and many of these applications are readily
available as existing Web services. People can immediately
access books introduced via an SNS through a link in theirWeb browser. Online booksellers are also easily accessible on
the Web. Using Voyager Japan’s BinB, an eBook purchased
at an online bookstore can be displayed immediately in the
Web browser before users have to go to the trouble ofdownloading it and then opening it in a separate application.

13

VOYAGER TIMELINE
1998.7

T-Time Internet Vertical Writing and Reading Model (Hybrid edition), a software which converts HTML files
into book-like text in a vertical layout, was released.

1998.10 Adapted TTZ format into T-Time, a predecessor of dotbook format (.book).
2000.6

Adapted dotbook file format.
Adapted T-Time Plugin: a dotbook/vertical reading system for web browsers. Made it possible for distributersto administrate the reading time on web browsers.

2000.9Dotbook was adopted as the standard ebook format in the PABURI electronic library, the collaborativeelectronic bookstore of four major publishing companies (KADOKAWA GROUP PUBLISHING, Kodansha,
SHUEISHA, SHINCHOSHA Publishing).
Launched the homepage of Risoh Shoten (Risoh Bookstore meaning "Ideal Bookstore"), an ebook specialized
bookstore.

2001.9Announced T-Time in WinCE/Pocket PC version.

2002.3Collaborated with Architump. Announced T-Break, a software that makes dotbook readable with Pook, thecompany’s Palm software.

2004.4

Announced T-Bridge, an on-demand printing system via PDF.

2005.3

Announced T-Time 5.5, with a new function which allows exporting on-screen images.

2006.2

Implemented low-brightness mode in T-Time. Made it possible for visually impaired persons to read dotbooksby providing choices in font size, brightness of screen and a magnifying glass.

2006.10 Made T-Time compatible with Denshi-Kataribe, a text-to-speech software, which made it possible to listen to
dotbooks.

Cooperated with CELSYS and INFOCITY. Adapted BookSurfing, a reader for mobile phones. Started distributing
dotbook files in BookSurfing format.

2008.5

Announced T-Time Crochet. Started distributing encrypted dotbook files in increments for faster access.
Realized a distributing system for high capacity content, such as comics, that can instantly respond to users’
requests regarding display mode.

2008.7

Released T-Time for iPhone. Started providing comic books for iPhone and iPod touch in App Store.

2008.11 Made dotbooks compatible with PC-Talker, a text-to-speech software for visually impaired persons using PC.
2009.7Adapted Risoh Book Viewer, an iPhone application, to handle dotbook files in the Risoh Bookstore. Started
distributing dotbook files for PC and iPhone platforms.

2010.6

Adapted Risoh Shoten to iPad and released Voyager Books, a viewer app for iPad.

2010.12 Opened Voyager Store, a virtual shopping center which includes the new direct management shop Altbook.
Risoh Shoten won the Japan Electronic Publishing Association’s Electronic Publishing Award (JEPA).

2011.3

Toyo Keizai Shinpo-sha Store opened as the third bookstore in the Voyager Store.

2011.5

Gutenberg21 Store opened as the fourth bookstore in Voyager Store.

2011.7Harlequin Comics Store opened as the fifth bookstore in Voyager Store.

2011.10 Released the EPUB3 Japanese Basic Standard Guide in Japanese and English. Launched the EPUB JapaneseStandard Study Group (EPUBJP) jointly with other collaborators.

2011.12 Released BinB, a new reading system by Books in Browsers. BinB reader supports both a fixed layout andreflowable contents. Simultaneously, a BinB store managed by the system of BinB was launched.

2012.7

Yahoo! Bookstore, administered by Yahoo Japan Corporation, adopted BinB. More than 50,000 books
including novels and comics are available on web browsers.
14

Original Edition (Japanese) first published on July 4, 2012English Edition first published on October X, 2012
Editor-in-chief (English edition): Daisuke Muro
English Editor: Jim Vaccaro
Translator: Eric Selland English
Proofreader: Patricia Mushim Ikeda
Cover Design: Koga Hirano
Editorial Design: Marui-Kobunsha Corporation

The Terms and Conditions in this brochure may be changed without prior notice.
* T-Time, dotBook, and BinB are registered trademarks of Voyager Japan, Inc.
* Other product, company and service names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of theirrespective owners.

Voyager Japan, Inc.
5-41-14 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
http://www.voyager.co.jp
tel. +81-3-5467-7070 fax. +81-3-5467-7080
Company Information:
Voyager Japan, Inc. was founded in October 1992 as a joint venture with the Voyager Publishing Company, Inc. (U.S.A.). Voyager
Japan owns exclusive rights to sell, translate and sublicense Voyager products in Japan, and has developed original software while growing
a publishing business. In addition, Voyager Japan’s online journal, Magazine Ko, provides news about digital publishing.
Our Business:
Electronic publishing (e-publishing)- Planning, producing and publishing electronic publications (e-publications)- Developing software (viewer, editing tool) to handle e-publications with text /audio/ movie data

www.voyager.co.jp