Yohan Inc., a Japanese book publisher, distributor and retailer, has acquired the famed Bay area independent bookstore chain Cody's Books.  Cody's recently closed its Telegraph Avenue store in Berkeley, but still has a 21,000 square foot Union Square store in San Francisco and a smaller Fourth Street store in Berkeley.  Yohan, which owns 18 bookstores of its own, is the largest distributor of English language periodicals and books in Japan and also controls IBC Publishing.  Last September Yohan acquired the Berkeley-based Stone Bridge Press, which specializes in books about Japan and Japanese culture (including the Anime Encyclopedia, see 'The Anime Encyclopedia 2').

In 2004 Yohan purchased and renovated Tokyo's Aoyama Book Center.  In the San Francisco Chronicle Cody's owner Andy Ross praised Yohan's 'commitment to independent bookselling' and noted that Yohan's 'financial resources and international relationships will...allow us to be around for another 50 years.'