What is Cybozu, and how is it connected to the book Plurality?

A Japanese software company that makes tools for communicating and sharing information at work (groupware). Through its own publishing imprint, Cybozu Shiki Books, it published the Japanese edition of the book Plurality, titled PLURALITY, in May 2025. It is also the employer of this site's operator.

For a foreign book to become readable in Japanese, someone has to decide "let's publish this book". For the Japanese edition of Plurality, the one who took on that role was the software company Cybozu. However, this site's operator works at Cybozu Labs. This article states that relationship first, and keeps apart which statements come from whose materials.

In short

Cybozu is a Japanese software company that provides groupware such as "kintone" [1]. Groupware is software that lets a team share information and move work forward together.

Cybozu has its own publishing imprint (the brand name a publisher puts on its books), "Cybozu Shiki Books". Through it, Cybozu published the Japanese edition, PLURALITY, in May 2025. The "release" — getting the book distributed to bookstores — is handled by a different publisher, Raitsusha (ライツ社) [2][3][4].

Sources for this page, and the operator's relationship

Where the operator stands. This site's operator, Hirokazu Nishio, is a researcher at Cybozu Labs (his title is 主幹研究員, a senior researcher position) [5][6][7]. Nishio was the leader of the project to publish the Japanese edition [5]. He was also the moderator of a 2024 three-way conversation [8], set up the environment for the in-house trial of Idobata [9], and is one of the writers of the book on broad listening (responsible for its footnotes) [10]. He was directly involved in many of the events in this article. It was also Nishio who chose Cybozu as a topic.

Kinds of materials.

Published by Cybozu itself: the PR TIMES press release, the official page and note posts of Cybozu Shiki Books, articles in Cybozu's own web magazine "Cybozu Shiki", and a piece by Takabe, editor-in-chief (published on the note of Raitsusha, the distributor).
Not a Cybozu publication, but written from inside the company: the section on Cybozu's case in the book on broad listening (a book by the Digital Democracy 2030 community).
By the operator, Nishio, himself: pages on Nishio's notes site (Cosense), and an article in which Cybozu Shiki interviewed Nishio.
Media outside Cybozu: Bunka Tsushin, the blog YAMDAS, the "Tokyo Plurality Week" roundup, Roppongi Tsutaya Books, COURRiER Japon, Ledge.ai, Sustainable Brands Japan, and an introductory article by SEARCHED. Some of these articles, however, have people from Cybozu or Nishio as the speaker (Bunka Tsushin carries the words of Cybozu's Yukio Otsuki, Ledge.ai is an interview with president Yoshihisa Aono, and Sustainable Brands covers a talk by Nishio). The description in the Tsutaya Books event announcement is the same text as Cybozu Shiki Books' announcement.

Whose claim is it that the ideals resonate? The claim that Cybozu's ideals and Plurality (pluralism) have something in common appears almost only in materials from Cybozu itself and from Nishio. There are two cases where outside media connected the two in their own words: the introductory article by SEARCHED and the Ledge.ai article (see "In more detail" below) [3][11]. The Ledge.ai article, however, is based on a one-on-one interview with Aono [11].

For example

Publication of the Japanese edition (May 2, 2025). According to Cybozu's press release on PR TIMES, the authors are Audrey Tang, E. Glen Weyl and the ⿻ Community, the translator is Hiroo Yamagata, and the commentary is by Ken Suzuki. The issuer is Cybozu, Inc., and the distributor is Raitsusha Co., Ltd. [2]. → Editions and translations of the book · Hiroo Yamagata · Ken Suzuki

An event in Japan to mark the publication (May 11, 2025). At Roppongi Tsutaya Books, a talk event was held with Tang and Weyl on stage and Ryuichiro Takeshita as moderator [12][13]. COURRiER Japon reported it as a "Cybozu Shiki Books PLURALITY publication commemorative event" (translated from the Japanese) [14][15]. → Audrey Tang · Glen Weyl

An in-house trial of Idobata (August 2025). Idobata is a tool that gathers opinions through exchanges with an AI and pulls them together into issues. According to a Cybozu Shiki article, about 50 employees wrote for five minutes on the theme "promoting the use of AI within the company" (translated from the Japanese), and the AI drew out six issues. The environment for Cybozu was built by the developer Shutaro Aoyama and by Nishio [9]. → Idobata · Broad listening

In more detail

How the publishing imprint began

According to Bunka Tsushin, in 2019 Cybozu partnered with Raitsusha to start a business-book imprint, "Cybozu Shiki Books" [1]. The paper reports, citing Yukio Otsuki, then the project leader, that this was not traditional corporate publishing that only advertises the company itself, but an entry into publishing in order to spread and realize the corporate ideal "to create a society brimming with teamwork" (translated from the Japanese). Otsuki said, "Our company's aim is to realize our corporate ideal" (translated from the Japanese) [16].

How the Japanese edition came about (three accounts)

Three people in different positions tell the same story.

Nishio himself (interviewed by Cybozu Shiki): he learned of the idea at "PLURALITY TOKYO 2023" in 2023, and on learning that the English edition was being written on GitHub (a site where people can edit together in public), he started making a Japanese machine translation. What he said at an in-house presentation reached the Cybozu Shiki Books team [5]. → Hirokazu Nishio
Takabe, who handled the editing (editor-in-chief of Cybozu Shiki Books, on Raitsusha's note): it began when Takabe saw the unfamiliar word "PLURALITY" in a post that came through the company's groupware. In 2023 the English edition had not yet been published either [17].
The Ledge.ai article: president Aono did not directly lead the publication. The Cybozu Shiki Books team, having learned of the activity of Nishio, who took part in the Japanese translation, proposed publishing it [11].

Before and after publication

On July 26, 2024, Tang, Weyl and Haruyuki Seki visited Cybozu (Nishio's notes) [18]. The article on that three-way conversation appeared in Cybozu Shiki on October 3, 2024, and its moderator was Nishio. The opening of the article says that Cybozu Shiki Books is working on a Japanese translation to spread the two authors' ideas [8]. → Haruyuki Seki

To coincide with publication, Cybozu Shiki released in advance, in two parts, the two authors' pieces "On the publication of the Japanese edition" (日本語版刊行に寄せて), written specially for the Japanese edition [19][20]. The May 11 event at Tsutaya Books is also listed in "Tokyo Plurality Week", a roundup by the Digital Democracy Research Unit [21]. On the same day, a three-way conversation between Tang, Weyl and Aono was also held inside Cybozu [22][23], and the article on that conversation appeared in Cybozu Shiki on July 8, 2025 [24].

How Cybozu connects its own ideals

Everything below is how Cybozu or Nishio puts it.

The official page of Cybozu Shiki Books and the PR TIMES press release explain Cybozu's purpose (the company's reason for existing), "to create a society brimming with teamwork", and write that this ideal "deeply resonates with the worldview that Plurality portrays" (both translated from the Japanese) [25][2].
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Aono wrote that what Cybozu aims for in its groupware business could be called "Plurality in organizations" (translated from the Japanese) (quoted in Nishio's notes) [26].
In the Ledge.ai interview, Aono said that after the experience of a post of his on X drawing a storm of criticism, he read the book and came to think the problem was the mechanisms that decide what information is shown (algorithms) [11].
In a post on X on April 11, 2023, Nishio wrote that for Cybozu, which has supported "100 people, 100 ways of working" (translated from the Japanese), the ideas of Plurality seemed to be right at the center of its interests [27]. In a 2025 interview, he said that, in supporting the personnel system "100 people, 100 ways of matching" with kintone and other tools, "it can be called a success story of Plurality" (translated from the Japanese) [5].
The section on Cybozu's case in the book on broad listening (written from inside the company) says that Plurality lies behind the Idobata workshop [28].

Among outside media, the introductory article by SEARCHED writes that Cybozu positions "a hundred people, a hundred ways of working" as a practice of Plurality in an organization, and also gives this way of working as an example of "a Plurality-like view of personnel" (both translated from the Japanese) [3]. Ledge.ai, too, writes in its own words that Cybozu's groupware plays a role in organizing and sharing diverse opinions, and introduces in-house culture such as "the responsibility to ask questions" (translated from the Japanese) as an example of bringing the book PLURALITY into management [11].

What is debated

Is the publisher Cybozu or Raitsusha? The blog YAMDAS wrote that the title says "Cybozu Shiki Books" but the publisher is Raitsusha, so does that mean Cybozu is not itself acting as a publisher? [4]. The bibliographic details in the press release give the issuer as Cybozu, Inc. and the distributor as Raitsusha Co., Ltd. [2]. Bunka Tsushin describes the imprint as a partnership with Raitsusha [1].
Who organized the May 11 event? Cybozu Shiki Books' announcement, the PR TIMES press release and the Tokyo Plurality Week roundup give the organizer as Cybozu Shiki Books [29][2][21]. On the other hand, the sales page for the archive video at Roppongi Tsutaya Books has a line reading "Organizer:: Roppongi Tsutaya Books" (translated from the Japanese). However, this line sits alongside items about the archive stream — the application period, the viewing deadline and "Venue:: Online" (translated from the Japanese) — and it is not clear whether it states who organized the event on the day [13].
Was vTaiwan used for same-sex marriage in Taiwan? The Ledge.ai article writes in its own words that vTaiwan (Polis) was used in legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan [11]. But chapter 2-2 of the book Plurality describes the same events as follows: after the 2018 referendum went against it, the government passed a bill that left out the relatives from the procedure. That paragraph mentions neither vTaiwan nor Polis [30]. Aono's own words in the article speak only of making a special law [11]. → vTaiwan · Polis
Do not mix up the years of the English and Japanese editions. When the Sustainable Brands article writes that the co-authored book was published in May 2024, it means the publication of the English edition [6]. The Japanese edition was published on May 2, 2025 [2]. According to the blog YAMDAS, Amazon's original page gave the release date as December 31, 2024 [4].

Where it fits in Plurality

The book does not discuss Cybozu. In the text of the English and Traditional Chinese editions, the only place the name Cybozu appears is the endorsements in the front matter. The public manuscript of the Japanese edition (which does not include the endorsements) does not mention Cybozu either. The endorsements in the English edition introduce Aono as "Co-Founder and CEO" of Cybozu [31]. The Traditional Chinese edition introduces him the same way [32]. → The book's front matter

Chapter 6-3 of the book, "Media", gives the business model of companies like Microsoft and Slack — selling productivity software (software for getting work done efficiently) to companies — as an example of a setting where prosocial media (media that improve the bonds between people) "could thus naturally be incubated" [33]. In a 2023 in-house document, Nishio cited this paragraph and wrote that what Tang calls productivity software is what Cybozu has been calling groupware [34]. Cybozu's name does not appear among the book's examples. → 6-3 Media

For how Plurality has been received in Japan, see Plurality in Japan; for the order of events, see the Japan timeline.

Sources

Bunka Tsushin, article on the launch of "Cybozu Shiki Books" (2019) — https://www.bunkanews.jp/article/208340/
PR TIMES, "『PLURALITY』日本語版が、サイボウズ式ブックスから遂に刊行！" (2025-05-02) — https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000017.000101800.html
Introductory article by SEARCHED (note) — https://note.com/searched/n/n74f0ac9aec97
Blog YAMDAS (2024-07-24) — https://yamdas.hatenablog.com/entry/20240724/plurality-japanese
Cybozu Shiki, "いちばんやさしいプルラリティ解説" (2025-08-26) — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m006279.html
Sustainable Brands Japan article (1308413) — https://www.sustainablebrands.jp/news/1308413/
Sustainable Brands Japan article (1308740) — https://www.sustainablebrands.jp/news/1308740/
Cybozu Shiki, "新概念「Plurality」を解く", Tang × Weyl × Haruyuki Seki (2024-10-03) — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m006211.html
Cybozu Shiki, "「社員の本音」を5分で可視化" (Making employees' real opinions visible in five minutes) (2025-12-04) — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m006299.html
Broad Listening, preface (responsibility for the footnotes) — https://github.com/digitaldemocracy2030/broad-listening-book/blob/f69c60c838a91b91668abf109d7093b240610139/en/00_preface.md ［CC BY-NC 4.0］
Ledge.ai, "サイボウズ青野社長が語る『PLURALITY』の実践と、多元的協働社会への道筋" (2026-01-22) — https://ledge.ai/articles/interview_cybozu
Roppongi Tsutaya Books, event announcement (2025-05-11) — https://store.tsite.jp/roppongi/event/shop/46785-1840510414.html
Roppongi Tsutaya Books, sales page for the archive video — https://store.tsite.jp/roppongi/event/business/47428-2051010520.html
COURRiER Japon, report on the May 11 event (1) — https://courrier.jp/news/archives/402603/
COURRiER Japon, report on the May 11 event (2) — https://courrier.jp/news/archives/402749/
Bunka Tsushin, "サイボウズ・大槻幸夫氏に聞く" (2019) — https://www.bunkanews.jp/article/210286/
Raitsusha note (Takabe's section "本書は、どのようにして生まれたのか。" [How this book came to be]) — https://note.com/wrl/n/n8cabc8f91dc2
Hirokazu Nishio, "Audrey+Glen+Halsk@Cybozu" (Cosense) — https://scrapbox.io/nishio/Audrey%2BGlen%2BHalsk%40Cybozu
Cybozu Shiki, advance release of Weyl's "日本語版刊行に寄せて" — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m006261.html
Cybozu Shiki, advance release of Tang's "日本語版刊行に寄せて" — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m006262.html
Digital Democracy Research Unit, "Tokyo Plurality Week" roundup (note) — https://note.com/digitaldemocracy/n/n4c91cddef564
Hirokazu Nishio, "Audrey+Glen+青野鼎談@サイボウズ" (Audrey + Glen + Aono conversation at Cybozu) (Cosense) — https://scrapbox.io/nishio/Audrey%2BGlen%2B%E9%9D%92%E9%87%8E%E9%BC%8E%E8%AB%87%40%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9C%E3%82%A6%E3%82%BA
Video of the conversation between Tang, Weyl and Aono (2025-05-11) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGMZQa4IT00
Cybozu Shiki, "人の心は「炎上」でしか動かせないのか？" (Can people's hearts only be moved by online firestorms?), Tang × Weyl × Aono (2025-07-08) — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/articles/m006269.html
Cybozu Shiki Books, official page for PLURALITY — https://cybozushiki.cybozu.co.jp/books/plurality/
Hirokazu Nishio, "「PLURALITY」日本語版" (The Japanese edition of PLURALITY) (Cosense) — https://scrapbox.io/nishio/%E3%80%8CPLURALITY%E3%80%8D%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E7%89%88
Hirokazu Nishio, "Pluralityとサイボウズの初出" (The first mention of Plurality and Cybozu) (Cosense) — https://scrapbox.io/nishio/Plurality%E3%81%A8%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9C%E3%82%A6%E3%82%BA%E3%81%AE%E5%88%9D%E5%87%BA
Broad Listening, 9.2 "Cybozu's Approach" — https://github.com/digitaldemocracy2030/broad-listening-book/blob/f69c60c838a91b91668abf109d7093b240610139/en/09_02_cybozu.md ［CC BY-NC 4.0］
Cybozu Shiki Books, announcement of the May 11 event (note) — https://note.com/cybozushikibooks/n/n475142b2ec48
Plurality, 2-2 "The Life of a Digital Democracy" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/2-2/eng/ ［CC0］
Plurality, 0-0 "Endorsements" (English edition) — https://github.com/pluralitybook/plurality/blob/main/contents/english/0-0-endorsements.md ［CC0］
Plurality, 0-0 "名家推薦" (Endorsements) (Traditional Chinese edition) — https://github.com/pluralitybook/plurality/tree/main/contents/traditional-mandarin ［CC0］
Plurality, 6-3 "Media" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/6-3/eng/ ［CC0］
Hirokazu Nishio, "Pluralityとサイボウズ(2023)" (Plurality and Cybozu (2023)) (Cosense, public version of an in-house document) — https://scrapbox.io/nishio/Plurality%E3%81%A8%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9C%E3%82%A6%E3%82%BA%282023%29

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