Japan’s manga sales hit record but growth slows as more people go out

Sales of manga comic books and magazines in Japan were estimated to have hit a record 677 billion yen ($5 billion) in 2022, but the rise was only marginal as fewer people stayed indoors than during the earlier years of the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Friday.

The sales -- both in print and digital format -- saw a record high for the third year in a row but were only up 0.2 percent from a year before, substantially lower than the 10 percent year-on-year increase seen in 2021, the Research Institute for Publications said.

Comic book and magazine sales were worth 229.1 billion yen, a 1...