In January 2014, Naomi Hirabayashi took over as art director for the magazine GINZA, who had served as art director since its relaunch. The magazine will begin full-scale digitalization in 2016. How does GINZA Editor-in-Chief Toshiko Nakajima interpret and drive the recent publishing recession and digitalization wave? And what will be expected of editors in the future? The magazine industry is currently said to be in a recession. Do you think the expansion of digitalization is related to this? I can't say it's unrelated. But if everyone made the same thing, like rice grains blowing in the wind, culture would disappear. I believe that people working in magazines and media need to be proud of their place in culture. We've learned so much from media and magazines, and I believe we have a responsibility to pass on what we've inherited from older generations to younger generations. That sense of mission is what drives me to run GINZA. --There's also been lamentation about the internet generation turning away from magazines. I think a default question for young people is, "Do I really need to spend money on information?" But there is information that can only be purchased with money, and we need to make sure that professionally produced content is vastly different from the information floating around on social media. What makes it different is editorial skill and trustworthiness. We fundamentally examine the information we publish to ensure it's truly appropriate. But on social media, information is constantly being uploaded as it appears. I believe that the pride of a professional editor is to ensure that children who grow up reading this magazine are not led astray in life, and that the content is full of thought-provoking content that suggests acceptable life choices. --Yosuke Abe of web creator tha.ltd. has been appointed art director. Do you have any plans for the transition to digital?

We're planning to fully launch our new official website in the spring, so I think the significance of working with "tha.ltd." this year will become even more apparent. First of all, just as print has designs and content suited to it, I believe that the web has expressions suited to it. Therefore, I want what we create from now on to be seen as an independent medium separate from the print version. I hope to nurture people who have never bought a magazine but who still follow the GINZA website. When I started GINZA, the concept started with print, but I wanted it to span multiple media, including print, web, and events. I want the name "GINZA" to serve as a collective term for our branding. I want to establish the image that "GINZA" is not just a print medium.

--It's becoming an increasingly three-dimensional medium. Finally, what skills do you think editors will be required to have in the future?

Editing can apply to anything, not just magazines. Therefore, what media editors will need going forward is not just the ability to create pages, but also production ability. It's important to keep in mind how to communicate that message and how to inspire action from that perspective when you create it. It's not just about creating it and being done with it, but I think it's a task that is completed when you see what impact it has on readers. That's why a branding strategy is needed to communicate that message. I think the demands on editors of the future will be heavy. Because editors can't do anything, but they can do everything (laughs).


---[Japanese Editing Skills Vol. 2] Read the interview with Editor-in-Chief Nakajima from the beginning.