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UFO Co. Ltd., was established in February 2011 with the aim to publish books and magazines written in English or both in English and Japanese, and to introduce them globally through on-line sales. Our primary mission is to spread the idea, through publications, of enjoying outdoor activities while conserving the global environment.
Our company is a spinout from a Japanese publishing company named "Chikyu-Maru". In English, Chikyu-Maru is translated as "The Whole Earth Publications Co. Ltd.". It is named from an environmental slogan from USA saying "Cherish this Earth!" When Chikyu-Maru was started in the middle of the Japanese bubble economy in the mid-80s, it has already foreseen the necessary to shift people’s lifestyle to more sustainable one. We, UFO Publishing, inherit Chikyu-Maru’s idea and aims to contribute to the environmental conservation through publishing.
Our company name “UFO” comes from the idea that we travel freely across borders and visit anywhere in the world, just like an unidentified flying object (“UFO”), in order to gather information and collect materials on the topics that we are interested in. We disseminate the information to the world online through the internet. Our venue is the Earth.
We understand that there are still lots to be done to conserve the earth. Global environmental issues are of course a major challenge for us all, but we will do our best to tackle this and hope we see good progress as our generation gives way to the next.
With this background, we have been closely collaborating with some environmental conservation organizations, such as North Atlantic Salmon Fund, Atlantic Salmon Federation and also supporting their activities. We are donating all profits realized from sales of our book related to fly fishing ( salmon and steelhead ) to these organizations.
Secondly we aim to introduce traditional Japanese culture to the world as we plan to publish books in English on such topics as "Sake Breweries in Japan", "Kyo Yuzen Dying" and "Traditional Japanese Paper, WASHI MAKING". We also plan to sell high quality Japanese crafts on our website. By doing so, we would like to contribute to the regions which produce them and to their economic development.
Thirdly we plan and organize outdoor & environmental schools for children and handicapped people all over the world. We will run this school on a non-profit basis.
Last but not the least; we also would like to support young talented artists. We will let them use our website as their “base” for introducing and selling their books as well as their arts.
Greetings from Yasuji SUGAI, President of UFO Publications Co. Ltd.
I have been enjoying mountain climbing, skiing and photography since the age of fifteen. In 1964, I began working for a publishing company that specialised in mountaineering, where I learned editing, design and professional photography. As chief editor, I oversaw the publication of a number of successful monthly magazines, including Skier, which appeared on the shelves for the first time in 1972, and Outdoor, first published in 1975. For decades, I have introduced generations of Japanese people to the concept of enjoying ”outdoor life”.
In 1985 I established my own publishing company, dubbed The Whole Earth Publications Co. Ltd., and began publishing three fishing magazines: Fly Rodders, Saltwater and Rod & Reel, followed by Living in a Dream Log House, a magazine dedicated to people who want to build and live in log homes, and Natural Life, a women’s lifestyle magazine. The company also publishes a variety of books and DVDs. In 2010 I passed ownership of the company to my son and established a new publishing company in 2011, UFO Publishing Co. Ltd., with the aim of producing English language books for the global market. Using my long career in photography, design and editing as a springboard, I am now focusing on creating books on salmon fishing, outdoor life and Japanese subculture. My motivation is to contribute to society through publishing.
