Domestic sales of books and magazines in Japan are expected to fall for the 18th straight year in 2022, down 6 percent from a year earlier.

The Research Institute for Publications made the projection based on sales results from January to November. The sales figure for this year is estimated at around 1.13 trillion yen, or about 8.46 billion dollars.

Last year, sales of books were up for the first time in 15 years as many people spent more time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. But such sales are expected to drop sharply this year.

By category, sales of maps and guidebooks rose, driven by recovering domestic travel demand. But other areas, including literary and business books, plunged.

Sales of magazines fell nearly 10 percent from a year ago when many hit manga titles came out.

The institute points out that consumers are cutting back on spending due to higher prices of various items. It also says the average price of new books has increased 2 percent from the same period last year, and it will likely continue to climb next year.