Poplar Shinsho 'Will Furigana Improve Academic Ability?', scheduled for release in June by Poplar Publishing Co., Ltd., held a live sales event on June 9, 2026 (Tuesday) on Yurindo Co., Ltd.'s official YouTube channel 'Yurindo's Unknown World'. All 5,000 limited copies sold out within 37 minutes of the broadcast starting!

During the broadcast, the author, Mr. Ooki Matsumoto, also appeared and discussed the content of the book. The maximum concurrent viewership exceeded 12,000 people, and the comment section was filled with reactions like 'I realized the importance of ruby (furigana) again' and 'I bought it immediately!', creating a lively atmosphere.

<Overview of the 'Will Furigana Improve Academic Ability?' Sales Event>

⚫ Broadcast Date & Time: June 9, 2026 (Tuesday) 19:00 - 20:30

⚫ Sales Time: 19:30 - 20:30

⚫ Number of Copies for Sale: Limited to 5,000 copies *Sold Out

Mr. Matsumoto also appeared in the 420th episode of the same channel, 'Trivia: The World of Books About Ruby', released on June 2, 2026 (Tuesday). He mainly introduced the book's content, discussing types and placement of ruby, free ruby expressions used by literary masters, and his reasons for writing a book about ruby.

Yurindo's Unknown World 420

Trivia: The World of Books About Ruby

Video URL: https://youtu.be/aqcWjzPuF2E

Release Date: June 2, 2026 (Tuesday)

Cast: R.B. Bukkoro, Ooki Matsumoto (Founder, Ruby Foundation, a general incorporated foundation)

Content of 'Will Furigana Improve Academic Ability?'

The reason why junior high and high school students stumble with 'skimming reading' and why adults give up on reading specialized books... it is said that the main issue is 'not being able to read'. If you know how to read, you can look up the meaning, but if you can't read in the first place, you cannot learn. An environment where you can freely read what you want to read is what expands knowledge and accelerates learning. However, in recent years, the use of furigana has been on the decline.

This book aims to unravel this mystery and explain the relationship between furigana and improved academic ability.

<Book Contents>

Chapter 1: What are 'Furigana' and 'Ruby'?

Furigana named after gemstones / Why 'The Tale of Genji' could not be written without kanji / Small characters placed next to kanji to show meaning / The era when literary masters wrote with full ruby / Reasons for the decline of ruby ...

Chapter 2: Does Furigana Improve Academic Ability?

Why 'being able to read' leads to academic ability / Readers are selected just by the absence of ruby / Types of ruby / Misreadings become long-term habits / An environment where you can read what you want expands knowledge ...

Chapter 3: The Future of Japanese Opened by Furigana

Dealing with 'not knowing how to read' / Towards a society where reading is a prerequisite / The expressive potential of ruby / How to create a society where everyone can read / Using reading comprehension to discern what is correct ...

Author Profile

Ooki Matsumoto

Founder and Councilor of the Ruby Foundation (General Incorporated Foundation), Chairman of the Board of Monex Group. Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1963. Graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo in 1987. Joined Salomon Brothers Asia Securities Co., Ltd. Worked at Goldman Sachs Securities Co., Ltd., becoming the company's youngest General Partner at age 30 in 1994. Co-founded Monex Inc. (currently Monex Group, Inc.) with Sony in 1999. Served as CEO until June 2023, then as Representative Executive Chairman, assuming his current position in April 2025. Served as an Outside Director of the Tokyo Stock Exchange for five years, participating in government governance reform-related meetings. Former Vice Chair of Human Rights Watch, and has held outside director positions at several listed companies, including Mastercard Incorporated (USA).

Director of the Japan Shogi Association.

Book Information

Title: 'Will Furigana Improve Academic Ability?'

Author: Ooki Matsumoto

Release Date: June 2026

Price: 1,078 yen (including 10% tax)

Bibliography Page >> https://www.poplar.co.jp/book/search/result/archive/8201286.html

Amazon >> https://amzn.to/4dLmyPO

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: Event