University of Tokyo undergrads use unique status to pen best-selling books

Being a student at the prestigious University of Tokyo, popularly known as Todai, seems to be all it takes to become a successful author these days.

It's not just advice on how to study for entrance exams, which might seem reasonable for a young college student still wet behind the ears. But Todai students are also presenting themselves as experts on subjects such as the stock market and bureaucratic jargon. And readers are lapping it up.

Not surprisingly, more college students are jumping on the bandwagon and pitching book ideas to publishers. As for why, there seems to be something more appealing about seeing their words in print rather than on an Internet blog.

The pioneer of the recent spate of books by Todai students was 2004's "Todaisei ga Kaita Yasashii Kabu no Kyokasho" (Simple textbook on stocks, written by Todai students), an investment guide in the form of a conversation between a student and a college teacher. The book's publisher, Index Communications, says the book has sold about 132,000 copies.
"Kabu no Kyokasho" was written by seven Todai students, most of them enrolled in the department of law and members of the school's investors' club.

Editor Hidemi Kawabe, 38, who was instrumental in getting the book published, thinks he knows the reason for its success: "It's because Todai is a national brand.
"We put out a guide on stock investments written by Keio University students that sold only 13,000 copies. Keio doesn't have the same cachet as Todai."

With the flood of business books on the market, the identity of the authors is a key selling point, Kawabe says. But experts on economics tend to have fixed views, and they don't like to change their accustomed way of expressing themselves. Todai students, on the other hand, accept direction from an editor without making a fuss, and they don't balk at doing research. They write from an open perspective, and since they're young, they don't mind burning the midnight oil. They're ideal for someone like Kawabe to work with.

In January, "Todaisei ga Kaita, Atama ga Yokunaru Sansu no Kyokasho" (Textbook to improve your brain for arithmetic, written by Todai students) hit the shelves. There are plans for two more books in the series, on physics and math.

The books are designed for young business people who want to know more about the thoughts and principles underlying the study techniques that helped the authors win their place at the nation's top university.

"Today's readers identify with the thinking of their own generation," Kawabe says. "There's little jealousy or reluctance to take lessons from Todai students."

"Dragon-zakura," a popular comic that became a TV drama series last year, features a group of third-rate high school students studying hard for the Todai entrance exam. Tricks to studying introduced in the comic have been compiled as "Todai Gokakuho" (How to pass the Todai entrance exam), published by Data House. Featuring actual Todai students who review recommended study techniques, the book is in its fifth printing.

Riding the boom, Data House also released "Todai Gokaku e no Sugaku" (Math for success at Todai) in January. The book is a practical manual of advice from Todai students majoring in medicine who outline approaches to solving math problems on past Todai entrance exams.
"We wanted them to come up with ideas freely and enjoy math as if it were a game," says Data House President Yoshitsugu Uno. "Some people say college students' academic standards are declining, but we wanted to show that isn't so."

Meanwhile, other students are taking the initiative.

In January, Picaso, a group of students from Todai, Keio, Waseda and other leading universities, released "Todaisei ga Kaita Oyakunin Kotoba no Nazo" (The mysteries of bureaucrats' language, written by Todai students), with the help of publishing house Sanseido. The book covers the language used by government officials and politicians, delving into the cultural background that gave rise to the peculiar way of speaking.

The authors came up with the idea after noticing that older college friends who took jobs with government ministries or departments suddenly started speaking in a strange way.
Eight Todai students who are members of Picaso spent half a year compiling the book. They came up with the basic ideas, then divided the tasks to meet deadlines more easily. The process gave them a chance to experience the pleasure of thinking logically and creating something real, the group's spokesman, Todai sophomore Yuta Suda, 21, explains.

Last October, Picaso members took the lead in setting up Shuppan Koshien to promote students' book ideas to publishers. After invitations for proposals were posted on college bulletin boards, a committee selected 18 ideas from 107 submissions and invited editors from 14 publishers to assess their potential. Each editor was asked to rate three ideas on a points system.

Picaso's enterprise has led to a five-volume series.

"We're happy if students' ideas can bring new life to publishing," says Shuppan Koshien's executive committee chair Masaya Kato, 21, a junior at Todai.(IHT/Asahi: February 18,2006)

Asahi Shinbun http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200602180174.html