CROSS-BORDER PUBLISHING

From Japan to the world.
From the world to Japan.

Create in your own language. Publish for readers in another culture. BOOK:// supports translation, editing, design, and publishing files — all with AI.

Don't let your knowledge and stories end at one language. Don't let the world's best books be kept out of reach by a language barrier.

TWO DIRECTIONS

Two directions, one system.

Japanese books for readers abroad. Books from abroad for Japanese readers. Both directions run through the same studio.

JAPAN TO GLOBAL

From Japan, to readers worldwide

A book made in Japanese, finished for a market abroad. We add the cultural background readers will need, redesign the title and cover, and deliver a book that people in that country will actually pick up.

Japanese cultureFood & cookingTravel & regionsBusinessResearch & technologyCraft & traditionEntertainmentPhoto & artManga & storiesCompanies & brands

GLOBAL TO JAPAN

From the world, to readers in Japan

A book written in English or another language, finished for Japanese readers. We add glossaries and translator's notes, and set the book in the typographic conventions Japanese readers expect.

International businessResearch & educationTravel & cultureCookingEssaysFictionPhoto booksCompany profilesBrand storiesExpert knowledge

AI LOCALIZATION

AI localization — how it differs from translation.

Swapping the words does not change the reader. Localization means finishing the book itself around the fact that the reader has changed.

TRANSLATION

Translation

The text is carried into another language. That's the starting point — not the finish.

  • The body text is rendered in another language
  • The title tends to be a literal translation
  • The structure stays as the original
  • Assumptions the new reader doesn't share are left in place

AI LOCALIZATION — BOOK://

AI localization

On top of translation, the book is finished for the readers of the market you want to reach.

  • Title and subtitle redesigned for the market
  • Explanatory chapters or notes added where the reader lacks context
  • Chapters reordered to fit that market's conventions
  • Cover, typefaces, and layout rebuilt for the language
  • Currency notes, units, and date formats adapted too

The AI proposes; you decide what to accept. Any proposal that would change the intent of the original is always shown together with its reasoning.

TOOLS

Consistency, built into the system.

What breaks first in cross-border publishing is proper nouns and store-page copy. BOOK:// manages both with dedicated tools.

Glossary — one spelling for every proper noun

Names, places, dishes, technical terms. Register the source term, its reading, its romanization, and its rendering in each language, and the same form is used throughout the book. The AI also extracts proper-noun candidates from your text, so nothing slips through.

The screen is a diagram; the table contents are examples showing how the glossary works.

Market metadata — store-page copy for each market

Not just the title: the sales-page description, author bio, search keywords, and category candidates are prepared separately for each market. The same book sells with different words on a Japanese shelf and a North American one.

EDITION — JAPAN

TITLE
厨房の手仕事 (The Handwork of the Kitchen)
DESCRIPTION ANGLE
A record of the apprenticeship years — what a chef's work is really like.
KEYWORD CANDIDATES
料理人 修業 和食 店づくり

EDITION — NORTH AMERICA

TITLE
The Quiet Kitchen
DESCRIPTION ANGLE
A doorway into Japanese food culture — the story of dashi, knives, and a small kitchen.
KEYWORD CANDIDATES
Japanese cooking washoku memoir culinary

SUPPORTED

Languages and support status

What works today, and what's still in preparation — written plainly.

Japanese & English Quality-assuredFully supported — creation, translation, localization, and publishing-file output.
Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Korean, Spanish, French, German, and others In preparationYou can select these as a manuscript language, but we cannot yet guarantee translation and typesetting quality. The studio shows this same notice when you select them.
Vertical Japanese text (tategaki) BetaVertical or horizontal layout can be chosen for the body text; vertical text in print-ready PDF is currently in beta. Please check the preview before relying on it.
Publishing on Amazon We prepare the KDP submission package and instructions for each marketplace. Registering and publishing on Amazon is done by you, through your own KDP account.

CROSS-BORDER SAMPLES

One book changes shape for each market.

Cross-border publishing is never a plain language swap. Title, cover, and structure all change for the market you want to reach. Four examples:

01 A JAPANESE CHEF'S BOOK → ENGLISH-SPEAKING MARKETS

COOKING
厨房の手仕事
BOOK://
Japanese edition
JAPANESE FOOD
The Quiet
Kitchen
Fifteen Years in a Small Kitchen in Japan
BOOK://
English edition
  • The Japanese edition centers on apprenticeship, cooking, and building a restaurant
  • The English edition adds chapters explaining Japanese food culture and ingredients
  • The title is redesigned for the market; the cover moves from vertical Japanese type to horizontal Latin type

02 AN OVERSEAS RESEARCHER'S BOOK → JAPAN

SCIENCE
The Plasma Garden
BOOK://
English original
翻訳・科学
プラズマの庭
太陽をつくる科学、はじめの一冊
BOOK://
Japanese edition
  • The Japanese edition adds a glossary at the back
  • The opening chapter is re-edited for Japanese readers
  • Typefaces and page layout are redesigned as a Japanese book

03 A JAPANESE REGIONAL-CULTURE BOOK → THREE FORMS

LOCAL RECORD
川と暮らしの記録
BOOK://
Japanese edition
TRAVEL GUIDE
The River Villages
A Traveler's Guide
BOOK://
English travel edition
RIVER
BOOK://
Photo-led international edition
  • The travel edition adds how-to-visit and seasonal information
  • The photo-led edition strips text to a minimum and restructures
  • Across three books, structure, title, and cover all change

04 AN OVERSEAS FOUNDER'S BOOK → A JAPANESE BUSINESS BOOK

STARTUP
Small Bets
BOOK://
English edition
翻訳・ビジネス
スモール・ベット
小さく賭けて、大きく学ぶ
BOOK://
日本の読者のための訳注付き
Japanese business edition
  • The Japanese edition adds translator's notes with Japanese examples
  • Chapters are reordered to fit the conventions of Japanese business books
  • The cover gains an obi — the promotional band Japanese bookstores expect

All four are concept examples, unrelated to any real books, people, or organizations. More examples on the Samples page.

PRICING

Global publishing prices

An AI-powered plan, and an individually quoted service with human editors. Prices are in Japanese yen (JPY), tax included.

GLOBAL STUDIO

Cross-border publishing with human editors (individual quote)

Individual quote

  • Human translation review & native-speaker checks
  • Localization by editors
  • Planning for overseas markets
  • Cover design & publishing procedure support
  • Cross-border publishing for companies, municipalities, and cultural organizations

We quote after hearing your project and budget. Contact us to talk it through.

Payment is via PayPal — used in more than 200 countries and regions. See the full pricing page for all plans.

One book, out into the world.

Start by making one book. The overseas edition can come after it's finished.

Copyright

Copyright for all text, images, illustrations, design, data and systems on this site belongs to J-Catalyst LLC or the respective rights holders. Use beyond what is permitted by copyright law requires prior permission.

For quotation, coverage, republication, collaboration, or use of our data and systems, please contact us first. We will look at what you have in mind and let you know what is possible.

Contact us

© 2026 J-Catalyst LLC All rights reserved. — 2026-08-04b