Tsutaya Books, a Japanese franchise, will open a new branch in the 96-year-old Columbia Circle in Shanghai on Christmas Eve with some 50,000 books and 17,000 cultural items. It will have an exhibition hall, gallery, cafe, restaurant, craft store and a place where local people can appreciate Japanese and Western culture. Books from overseas account for about 40 to 50 percent of the stock and visitors will be able to find artwork by of Japanese sculptor Kohei Nawa and crafts from famed Japanese brands.