Japan Literature Advances Overseas: Styles that Gaze Deeply into Society Gaining International Popularity
Hiromi Kawakami's novel 'Under the Eye of the Big Bird' was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, the translation category of a prestigious British literary award. The novel depicts humanity on the verge of extinction and its fusion with artificial intelligence, among other themes.
The winner will be announced on May 20. A work by Han Kang of South Korea, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year, was previously selected for the International Booker Prize. If Kawakami wins it this time, it will be a first for a Japanese author.
Writers from Japan have been highly evaluated abroad in recent years. Works by Yoko Tawada and Yu Miri won the U.S. National Book Award for translated literature.
In Britain, Japanese novels have enjoyed a boom following hits such as Sayaka Murata's 'Convenience Store Woman.' Asako Yuzuki's 'Butter' has reportedly sold more than 300,000 copies there.
Works by Yasunari Kawabata and Junichiro Tanizaki are said to have been read abroad due to their perceived exoticism. Since the late 1980s, the more accessible works of Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto and other novelists have been loved beyond borders, laying the groundwork for the present boom.
Looking at the international situation, economic disparities and divisions are widening in many countries. Against this backdrop, the style of Japanese novels, which do not easily judge right from wrong and sometimes look deeply into society with a sense of humor, seems to have achieved resonance. Especially, the boom is characterized by the high popularity of female writers.
The Japan Foundation has long subsidized translation and other expenses for foreign publishers to promote Japanese literature overseas. Tawada's work, which won the National Book Award in the United States, also received support from the foundation.
The Cultural Affairs Agency is also promoting a project to help Japanese publishers and others write English-language proposals to market their novels overseas.
These efforts should be further strengthened to introduce many attractive works overseas.
It is also important to devise ways to link the popularity of Japanese literature overseas to the acquisition of readers in Japan. It is hoped that publishers will communicate more than they do now about the evaluations and reactions of overseas readers. It may be that more people here will gain new perspectives and awareness different from those of Japanese readers, and will want to read the works themselves.
Translation not only into English but also into other languages needs to be strengthened. The government should focus on cultivating translators in cooperation with overseas universities and other entities. Increased interest in Japanese literature will lead to a deeper understanding of Japan.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 14, 2025)
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