Japan's Beloved School Notebook Covers Go thru Overhaul

Toyama, Dec. 19 (Jiji Press)--Loved by many children in Japan for decades for its colorful covers featuring photographs of insects and plants, the Japonica Gakushucho school notebook series has gone through a revamp to now feature illustrations on the covers.

Under the theme of coexistence of living organisms, the overhauled notebook covers, introduced in November, will hopefully encourage children to learn about the importance of respecting all people, according to stationery company Showa Note Co.

"We hope that the notebook series is something that will support children's love (for learning)," said an official of the company based in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan.

First released in 1970, the Japonica Gakushucho series has sold about 1.4 billion notebooks in total, boasting about a 40 pct share of the country's school notebook market.

On top of the iconic deep green outer frame surrounding the photos of insects and flowers on the cover, the notebooks also included crossover features with a major encyclopedia released by publisher Shogakukan Inc., which spurred their popularity.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]