Yohan Files for Bankruptcy

by Judith Rosen -- Publishers Weekly, 8/1/2008 7:32:00 AM

One-time Cody’s owner and former Stone Bridge Press owner, Yohan Inc., the largest importer of foreign-language books and magazines into Japan, has filed for bankruptcy in Tokyo District Court. As reported in Jiji Press, 55-year-old Yohan was 6.5 billion yen in debt. Yohan Book Service Inc., which operates the bookstore chain Aoyama Book Center, has also filed for protection from creditors; it has debts of 5.4 billion yen.

Yohan’s five-year-old publishing arm, IBC Publishing, which broke away from the company last fall, is unaffected by the bankruptcy. IBC, which was formed by the merger of Yohan Publications and ICG Muse, now owns Stone Bridge and was the owner of Cody’s at the time of its closing earlier this summer.

Stone Bridge Press president and publisher Peter Goodman told PW, “We’re not a party to any bankruptcy filing and don’t expect to be affected by anything going on at Yohan.” He also expressed his sadness that the employees at Yohan are out of work. One estimate placed that number at 120 employees. Although Yohan’s offices are closed and its Web site is down, the bookstores remain open.

—Judith Rosen