【Existing Videos OK】Short Videos with 700 Billion Daily Views Could Become the Next Hit Picture Books?! The "Readers' Choice New Picture Book Awards" Strengthens Video Category Recruitment!

At the forefront of entertainment today, trends and new characters are emerging worldwide, centered around smartphone "short videos."

It is not uncommon for digital-born content to swiftly sweep the globe and grow into massive IP (intellectual property).

The second edition of the "Readers' Choice New Picture Book Awards" by Ehon Navi and Kodansha is recruiting for the "Video Category" to discover the talents of next-generation video creators. Submissions of already existing video works are also welcome! So, it's not too late.

Short Videos: 700 Billion Daily Views Worldwide, Market Expected to Reach 53 Billion Yen by the 2030s

The current battleground for digital entertainment is "short videos."

According to Alphabet (Google), YouTube Shorts' global daily view count has surpassed 700 billion.

Additionally, a report by global market research firm Mordor Intelligence predicts rapid growth in the short video market, expecting it to reach approximately 33.7 billion dollars (about 53 billion yen) by the 2030s.

Now, videos under one minute are the most widely consumed content in the world.

Reference: Mordor Intelligence "SHORT VIDEO MARKET SIZE & SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECAST (2026 - 2031)" (2026)

Top Japanese Creators with Hundreds of Billions of Total Views Have Emerged

This global trend has also spread to Japanese creators.

Leading the way is ISSEI/issei with over 650 billion total views, followed by Sagawa with over 310 billion views, and Junya with over 240 billion views. These creators, who focus on short videos, have amassed fans worldwide, achieving unprecedented figures of "hundreds of billions of views."

Short videos born from smartphone screens hold the potential to play an increasingly central role in Japan's content market. However, this intense competition also leads to the short lifespan of popular short videos.

We want to expand appealing video IPs further! And perhaps they can also become picture books that transcend generations?

The New Picture Book Awards office believes that picture books and videos should be more closely connected.

First Edition Grand Prize Winner "Let's Imitate" Gains Huge Response After Video Adaptation

Currently, many children and parents in Japan regularly access video content through platforms like YouTube.

"Let's Imitate," a picture book by Aomono Yokocho that won the grand prize and was published in the first edition of the "Readers' Choice New Picture Book Awards," gained a huge response when a collaborative play song video with the popular educational YouTube channel "Bonbon Academy" (with over 1.22 million subscribers) was released, surpassing 200,000 views in just over a month.

https://youtu.be/piehluPHinA

"Let's Imitate" Lyrics, Composition, and Song: Ichii & Naru (Bonbon Academy)

The attempt to quickly turn the first edition's grand prize-winning work into a play song to reach new readers resulted in a massive response that even surprised the office!

"Great for families!", "Seems useful for nurseries and kindergartens!" The response was also significant at the storefront, and the paper picture book has already gone into its third printing and continues to increase its circulation. It's in great shape.

It is precisely because of this powerful momentum from the two-way interaction of "picture books and videos" that the second edition of the "Readers' Choice New Picture Book Awards" is also placing high expectations on the "Video Category," which recruits talent from the start in video form.

Still Time! Existing Works Can Be Submitted Too

"There's only two weeks left until the deadline, so it's impossible to create a new work now..." There's no need to give up at all.

The video category of this award is set up so that active creators can enter immediately. Whether vertical or horizontal, as long as it's a video, you're good to go! If you feel like it might be a "new picture book," that's okay.

Past works and existing uploaded videos are welcome!

There's no need to create a completely new work for this award. You can submit videos of works uploaded to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc. (short animations, moving picture books, digital kamishibai, etc.) as they are.

No hassle of mailing. Digital submission that is completed online

Submission is completed by simply uploading video files to a dedicated web form (or sharing a link URL). Since there's no need to prepare materials, binding, or mailing, you can enter today if you have a work.

【Especially recommended for these people】

・Those who create 1-minute animations or short story videos

・Those who have self-produced character videos or digital kamishibai

・Creators who add sound and motion to illustrations and share them on SNS

【How to Apply for the Video Category】

Please submit moving picture books, digital kamishibai, mini-animations, etc., in MP4 format within 10 minutes.

Please name the file as "Category Name_Your Name (Group Name in case of group application)_Work Title."

● Files up to 200MB can be attached and submitted to the form

● If the file exceeds 200MB, please upload it to your own web storage and register the link URL in the form.

※ If the file size is large, it may take time to attach to the form and may time out. Please try to keep it lightweight.

※ When uploading to web storage, please confirm that the sharing permissions are set so that the office can access it.

※ Works that do not comply with the submission regulations will not be subject to review.

※ Generative AI cannot be used at all in the submitted works for drawing or sound sources.

For detailed submission methods, please refer to the website

→https://www.ehonnavi.net/pb-innovation-award/

The application form is here

→https://www.ehonnavi.net/pb-innovation-award/submission.asp

That one-minute short video you created, or the mini-animation sleeping in your smartphone, might become the next hit picture book.

The recruitment period is until June 30, 2026 (Tue) 23:59.

We look forward to your application!

Recruitment Overview

Recruitment Period: April 14, 2026 (Tue) 14:00 ~ June 30, 2026 (Tue) 23:59

Eligibility: No age or experience requirements (Professional or Amateur)

How to Apply: Please refer to the website https://www.ehonnavi.net/pb-innovation-award/

Special Judges: In addition to everyone's judgment, picture book professionals continue from the first edition