By 3 min readJune 1, 2026 – 12:21PMAFP
Publication Date: 2026-06-01 02:21:00
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring ribbons in a Kyoto print shop, two authors watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form, part of their efforts to reach new audiences in the age of AI.
Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publishing and hand-crafted “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the country’s enduring love of paper in the digital age.
Speaking to AFP at the factory, his hands black with ink, one of the founders, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think (paper) is a medium that appeals to all five senses,” unlike social media.
Obara and his creative partner Akihico Mori are among the latest artists to use a printing press offered by the Kyoto Shimbun newspaper, which is looking to find alternative uses for its machines as subscriptions decline.
As the machine printed its work on newsprint, five technicians in uniform quickly flipped through the pages to check the quality.
“I think print media is incredibly open. You can…
