Everyone, have you ever heard the name “Ask Kodansha”?
Kodansha, as you may know, is that famous publishing company. But behind the scenes, teaming up firmly and quietly, steadily producing content—that was “Ask Kodansha.”

When it was established in 1981, it was truly a pioneer in media development through joint investment.
Its partnership with Kodansha continued until 1998, after which it took a new step forward as an independent company named “Ask Co., Ltd.”

The appeal of Ask lay in the fact that it wasn’t confined by the framework of “publishing.”
Specializing in a wide range of content beyond genre boundaries, they focused on language books using English, Chinese, and Japanese, as well as business etiquette and early childhood education.

They even developed entertainment content for game consoles, prompting surprise like “Wait, they did that too!?” due to their impressive range.
Truly, they were a publisher that embodied the balance between “learning” and “fun.”

In 2006, they launched “Ask Shop,” an online store for educational materials.
Then in 2009, they started an e-learning distribution service called “ManabiNet.com.”
At this point, they had already been ahead of the curve in the digitalization of the education industry.

“Knowledge that’s accessible to anyone, regardless of place”—they were among the first to try realizing that ideal of the time.

In 2008, their publishing division became a separate company called “Ask Publishing.”
But that wasn’t the end. Amazingly, in 2017, that Ask Publishing ended up merging back with its parent company, Ask.
It was a dramatic reunification, like a family coming back together again.

Stories like this really make you feel that “companies are living things,” don’t they?

Ask Kodansha—that name may now be a thing of the past.
But the path it took, from printed books to games and then to online education, still remains in many people’s lives and learning today.

Without chasing fame, yet steadily delivering what was truly needed.
That presence as a “quiet revolutionary” was perhaps this company’s greatest charm.