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Bestsellers of 2018

The sales figures are in and we can now reveal OUP Japan’s bestselling publications of 2018. Though the usual higher education textbooks continued to dominate the top ten, there were some notable changes in position and two big new entries.

Entering the top ten for the first time were two titles from Blackstone’s Statutes, a towering series that provides a carefully selected, regularly updated and well sourced collection of legislation for the core subjects and major options offered on a law syllabus. The two titles include Blackstone's International Law Documents, 13th edition, edited by Professor Malcolm Evans. (Professor Evans is the author of International Law, revised and updated in 2018 and now in its 5th edition.) This volume covers International Law documents from the Covenant of the League of Nations from 1919 to the International Law Commission’s Draft Article on the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters from 2016, with all relevant developments up to March 2017. Meanwhile, Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents, 11th edition, which is an abridged collection of legislation from Covenant of the League of Nations to ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (2012) that shaped the current state of human rights law at international and regional levels, also made its debut on our bestsellers list. Other entries from the field of social sciences are The Globalization of World Politics, 7th edition and Modern History of Japan, 3rd international edition, the former, a favourite introductory text in International Relations, had an unprecedented reach in 2018: it was adopted as reading material at an undergraduate level English language course and also became a course book at a high school with strengths in fostering youth with global minds.

Our internationally acclaimed Chemistry texts represent the largest proportion of the top ten. Atkins’ Physical Chemistry, 11th edition, Inorganic Chemistry, 7th edition (Weller), Organic Chemistry, 2nd edition (Clayden), and Organic Chemistry: A Mechanistic Approach (Okuyama) continue to gain popularity among Japanese chemistry students through the publication of Japanese editions by Tokyo Kagaku Dozin and Maruzen Publishing. A comparison of these original and translated texts equip Japanese students with the specialized terminology and expressions required to read and write research papers in their areas of specialization.

Completing the top ten are two top-selling 2017 titles with truly widespread appeal: Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, an anthology of Japanese modern literature; and the 40th anniversary edition of The Selfish Gene. The results from a 2017 Royal Society poll highlight the lasting impact of the groundbreaking 1976 book and now language students and interested readers in Japan can enjoy a Japanese edition published by Kinokuniya Shoten.

* This ranking is based on 2018 OUP Japan sales figures.

Bestsellers by category

ISBN in parentheses   

Humanities
  • 1. The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (9780199583195)
  • 2. A Modern History of Japan, International Edition - From Tokugawa Times to the Present: 3rd edition (9780199930166)
  • 3. A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present (9780198758396)
  • 4. Oxford Modern English Grammar (9780199533190)
  • 5. But Is It Art? - An Introduction to Art Theory (9780192853677)
  • 6. How to Write: Successful Essays, Dissertations, and Exams 2nd edition (9780199670741)
  • 7. Making Sense 8th edition - A Student's Guide to Research and Writing (9780199010165)
  • 8. How English Became English - How English Became English (9780198754275)
  • 9. Shinto - A History (9780190621711)
  • 9. The Long Defeat - Cultural Trauma, Memory, and Identity in Japan (9780190239169)
Social Sciences
  • 1. The Globalization of World Politics - An Introduction to International Relations: 7th edition (9780198739852)
  • 2. Japan and the Shackles of the Past (9780190619589)
  • 3. Global Political Economy 5th edition (9780198737469)
  • 4. 【絶版】Introduction to International Relations - Theories and Approaches: 6th edition (9780198707554)
  •    【改訂新版】Introduction to International Relations - Theories and Approaches: 7th edition (9780198803577)
  • 5. Introduction to Politics 3rd edition (9780198704386)
  • 6. Anthropology - What Does it Mean to Be Human? 4th edition (9780190840686)
  • 7. Strategy - A History (9780190229238)
  • 8. Microeconomic Theory (9780195102680)
  • 9. Devouring Japan - Global Perspectives on Japanese Culinary Identity (9780190240417)
  • 10. Comparative Politics 4th edition (9780198737421)
Natural Sciences
  • 1. Atkins' Physical Chemistry: 11th edition (9780198769866)
  • 2. The Selfish Gene: 40th Anniversary 4th edition (9780198788607)
  • 3. Inorganic Chemistry 7th edition (9780198768128)
  • 4. Organic Chemistry (by Okuyama): A mechanistic approach (9780199693276)
  • 5. Organic Chemistry 2nd Edition (by Clayden) (9780199270293)
  • 6. An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry 7th edition (9780198749691)
  • 7. Scientific Writing and Communication 3rd edition: Papers, Proposals, and Presentations (9780190278540)
  • 8. Spectral Theory and Differential Operators 3rd edition (9780198812050)
  • 9. Reactions - The private life of atoms (9780199668809)
  • 10. Solutions Manual to accompany Organic Chemistry 2nd edition (9780199663347)
Law
  • 1. Blackstone's International Law Documents 13th edition (9780198802747)
  • 2. Blackstone's International Human Rights Documents 11th edition (9780198818571)
  • 3. Japanese Law 3rd edition (9780199642069)
  • 4. First Steps in the Law 7th edition (9780198735892)
  • 5. Textbook on International Law 7th edition (9780199574452)
  • 6. Arcs of Global Justice - Essays in Honour of William A. Schabas (9780190272654)
  • 7. Commentaries on European Contract Laws (9780198790693)
  • 8. Oppenheim's International Law: United Nations (9780198808312)
  • 9. Comparative International Law (9780190697570)
  • 9. Principles of Banking Law 3rd edition (9780199276080)
  • 9. Philosophical Foundations of Children's and Family Law (9780198786429)
Oxford World's Classics
  • 1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (9780199558292)
  • 2. To the Lighthouse (9780199536610)
  • 3. Frankenstein: or `The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 Text (9780199537150)
  • 4. A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Oxford Shakespeare (9780199535866)
  • 5. Dubliners (9780199536436)
  • 6. Selected Tales 2nd edition (9780199535774)
  • 7. Gulliver's Travels (9780199536849)
  • 8. Persuasion (9780199535552)
  • 9. Othello - The Moor of Venice: The Oxford Shakespeare (9780199535873)
  • 10.Hamlet: The Oxford Shakespeare (9780199535811)
Very Short Introductions
  • 1. Globalization 4th edition: Very Short Introductions (9780198779551)
  • 2. Modern Japan: Very Short Introductions (9780199235698)
  • 3. Multilingualism: Very Short Introductions (9780198724995)
  • 4. The History of Medicine: Very Short Introductions (9780199215430)
  • 5. Nutrition: Very Short Introductions (9780199681921)
  • 6. Food: Very Short Introductions (9780199661084)
  • 7. The English Language: A Very Short Introduction (9780198709251)
  • 8. American History: A Very Short Introduction (9780195389142)
  • 9. The United Nations 2nd edition: Very Short Introductions (9780190222703)
  • 10. Languages: A Very Short Introduction (9780199590599)
What Everyone Needs to Know®
  • 1. Environmental Protect: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190223076)
  • 2. Advertising: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190625894)
  • 3. Food Politics 2nd edition: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780199322381)
  • 4. India in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780199973590)
  • 5. Brain: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190603397)
  • 6. Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190463977)
  • 6. Economic Development 2nd edition: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190688424)
  • 6. Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780199759460)
  • 6. Invasive Species: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780199922031)
  • 10. Mexico 2nd edition: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190494179)
  • 10. Quantum Physics: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190250713)
  • 10. Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190602390)
  • 10. Measuring Research: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780190640125)
  • 10. Copyright: What Everyone Needs to Know (9780199941162)

* This data is based on Oxford University Press Japan sales from January 1st - December 31st, 2018.