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August 17, 2026
 

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JAPANESE LITERATURE

From Edogawa Ranpo to Uketsu, Japanese writers have long put their own twists on the conventions of crime, horror and mystery, creating a literary tradition that can be as unsettling as it is inventive.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 15, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ macabre literati go global
Japanese crime, mystery and horror have hit their stride with English readers, offering a complement and counterpoint to ¡°healing fiction.¡±
Etc.books was named for those who appear as ¡°etc.¡± or footnotes in society.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 2, 2026
Etc.books: A lone bookstore in Tokyo pushes against sexism
Etc.books helped redefine feminist publishing in Japan. Now its greatest challenge is staying open.
Keigo Higashino's meticulously constructed mysteries and memorable characters earned him readers across languages and cultures.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 30, 2026
Keigo Higashino¡¯s ¡®global afterlife¡¯
As tributes pour in for the prolific author who died at age 68 last week, his English translators reflect on his legacy and impact abroad.
Hayao Miyazaki lists books as direct sources for a number of his films including his latest, ¡°The Boy and the Heron.¡±
CULTURE / Books
Jul 25, 2026
How Hayao Miyazaki¡¯s love of books influenced Studio Ghibli¡¯s stories
Hayao Miyazaki lists books as direct sources for a number of his films including his latest, ¡°The Boy and the Heron.¡±
Kasumi Asakura (left) and Chito Kosagawa won the 175th Naoki and Akutagawa Prizes, respectively, for their novels ¡°Kengwai¡± and ¡°Zonbi Kaishufu.¡±
CULTURE / Books
Jul 15, 2026
Chito Kosagawa and Kasumi Asakura win Â鶹´«Ã½ top literary prizes
Tech-dystopian fiction and a historical novel claimed Â鶹´«Ã½ highest literary honors on Wednesday.
Writer Kanako Nishi was born in Tehran and grew up partially in Cairo and Osaka.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 14, 2026
Author Kanako Nishi is ready for anything ¡ª even the world
The beloved writer is finally getting her due as ¡°Sakura,¡± her bestselling debut novel, comes out in English 20 years after its original release.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 1, 2022
New Monkey imprint broadens the reach of contemporary Japanese literature
Stone Bridge Press and Monkey magazine have joined forces to expand the literary landscape of Asian writings in translation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 31, 2020
Literary magazine Monkey serves up a full meal of delights
Monkey¡¯s inaugural volume features a who¡¯s who of contemporary Japanese literature, with a food theme to tie the contributions together.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 11, 2020
Japanese books to get you through a lockdown
With ¡°staying in¡± now the new ¡°going out,¡± housebound activities have become officially the cool thing to do. But what if you¡¯re stuck for a good book? Read on to see four of our critics¡¯ top reads for an extended period of self-isolation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / 2010S: DECADE IN REVIEW
Nov 2, 2019
Our critics¡¯ favorite Japanese books of the decade
As 2020 approaches, The Japan Times¡¯ book reviewers look back at a decade of literature and their favorite and most impactful books written about Japan or by Japanese writers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / Children's Literature in Japan
Jun 15, 2019
Children¡¯s author Kenji Miyazawa: Fundamental to the modern form
Author and poet Kenji Miyazawa¡¯s fantastical worldbuilding, poignant text and progressive morals laid the foundations of modern Japanese children¡¯s literature.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jun 8, 2019
¡®Modern Japanese Short Stories¡¯ review: A bridge between past and present
A classic introduction to the Japanese short story, ¡®Modern Japanese Short Stories¡¯ is a literary time capsule of postwar Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Apr 22, 2018
Â鶹´«Ã½ pop culture and literature drive soft power
Anime, manga and Haruki Murakami may form an unlikely trinity, but outside of Japan they¡¯re responsible for filling Japanese Studies departments and sprawling convention halls with generations of the devoted.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 19, 2017
Ryunosuke Akutagawa: Writing in the shadows of Â鶹´«Ã½ literary giants
How a short but fruitful relationship with Natsume Soseki led to the most productive years of Akutagawa¡¯s tragic life.
JAPAN / History
Jan 1, 2015
Donald Keene reflects on 70-year Japan experience
My first visit to Japan was very short, only a week or so in December 1945. Three months earlier, while on the island of Guam, I had heard the broadcast by the Emperor announcing the end of the war. Soon afterward, I was sent from Guam to China to serve as an interpreter between the Americans and the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 27, 2014
Read up on books about books about Japan
Revving up the metabolism of culture with the pulse of new artistic voices, a good literary journal doesn¡¯t usually have much to do with profit ¡ª it¡¯s all about circulation. Japanese literary journals enjoy a healthy transmission here, thanks to the financial backing of big publishing firms. How do...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Apr 17, 2014
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai: Tales of the Weird and the Strange
While many overseas scholars are attracted to the retrained aesthetics of Japanese arts and letters, it was the country¡¯s wild and wooly folklore that captivated Zack Davisson, an American writer and translator. While pursuing his masters degree in Japanese studies Davisson immersed himself in the mysterious...
CULTURE / Books
May 19, 2013
Ranpo¡¯s novella of a desecrated grave continues to send shivers
There has long been a taste in Japan for the bizarre and abnormal. The experimental Taisho Era was no exception. A desire for sensory experience existed even in cinema. During a funeral scene, for example, an attendant might light sticks of incense in the theater, drawing the audience into the ritual....
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Dec 30, 2012
The wonderful worlds of 100 waka
The scene: England, Boxing Day 2012. The archetypical Carters are relaxing after a cold turkey lunch (with bread sauce) and are watching the Royal Family¡¯s latest sonnets being read on the goggle-box. Time for a game!
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Â鶹´«Ã½ anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend ¡ª or want to pay off their debts ¡ª at host clubs.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
How U.S. bombing survey in Japan shed light on civilian sentiments of WWII
Residents are seen walking beside rubble in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, in this undated photo taken soon after the end of World War II.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Takaichi needs Aso on her side to solidify position in LDP
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party meeting alongside LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso in Tokyo earlier this month
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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