What's On

The UK is enjoying a surge in the popularity of Japanese contemporary literature. Yet, one particular genre remains overlooked: crime and mystery. However, with the recent trend of Japanese works being shortlisted for the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation, it is clear that this genre which boasts a great variety in Japan deserves more attention in the UK, the home of crime fiction.

With this in mind, the Japan Foundation is delighted to bring Akane ARAKI to the UK for the first time this October, in celebration of her newly translated debut novel, Murder at the End of the World（『此の世の果ての殺人』. ARAKI, praised by many well-known mystery novelists such as Yukito AYATSUJI and Arisu ARISUGAWA, is somebody we all should watch out for, regardless of if you are a fan of crime novels.

Murder at the End of the World:

An asteroid is hurtling towards Earth and the human race has just over two months to live. But twenty-three-year-old Haru, stargazer and chronic worrier, is still trying to pass her driving test. Then she finds a body in the boot of her car: a woman, stabbed and tortured. There’s a murderer on the loose. And it turns out that Haru’s driving instructor is an ex-cop with a manic devotion to justice. So, despite the small matter of an impending apocalypse, the two women team up to catch the culprit regardless of the danger. After all, the world’s not quite over yet…

About Akane ARAKI

Akane ARAKI was born in 1998 in Fukuoka, Japan and is a graduate of Kyushu University’s School of Letters. At 23 years old she published her debut novel, Murder at the End of the World, after her manuscript won Japan’s most prestigious award for unpublished crime writers, the Edogawa Rampo Prize.

The Japan Foundation is proud to once again partner with Théatre Lapis following the success of their 2023 musical Galaxy Train. Their new experimental, multidisciplinary puppetry performance, co-produced by Big Kun, draws on Japanese folklore and traditional Noh Theatre to create a breathtakingly impressive theatrical experience.

The Runaway Effect (Work in Progress) follows Aris, a climate researcher who is one-quarter Japanese, as she encounters Yokai (monsters from Japanese folklore) from her grandmother’s stories while trapped in Antarctica. Aris must determine whether these creatures are really appearing before her or merely the result of hypothermia setting in – as they just might be her way home.

The Runaway Effect (Work in Progress), co-created by ICHIKAWA Yojiro and Diana FENG, will come to Soho Theatre for a limited run of performances – don’t miss out!

The Japan Foundation is excited to take part in the return of internationally acclaimed Japanese author Mieko KAWAKAMI, organised by Picador. Her newly translated work, Sisters in Yellow (『黄色い家』) is her first crime novel, poignantly exploring the question of why people commit crimes. Meet her at her exclusive talks in Manchester, Bath, Edinburgh, and London this August.

Sisters in Yellow:

Fifteen-year-old Hana seeks escape from poverty and instability in suburban Tokyo when she and the charismatic Kimiko open a small bar called Lemon, offering her friendship, purpose, and hope for a better life. But as Hana becomes drawn deeper into the harsh realities of Sangenjaya’s nightlife, she must confront betrayal, danger, and the painful loss of innocence.

Praise for Sisters in Yellow:

“With Sisters in Yellow, [Kawakami] proves she is still the most exciting Japanese novelist at work today” - The Times

“Relentlessly riveting…My heart felt very tender reading this. Astonishing Kawakami, as always” - Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

About Mieko KAWAKAMI

Mieko KAWAKAMI is the author of the internationally bestselling novel Breasts and Eggs, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and one of TIME’s Best 10 Books of 2020, and the highly-acclaimed Heaven, her second novel to be translated and published in English, which Oprah Daily described as written “with jagged, visceral beauty.” Born in Osaka, Japan, KAWAKAMI made her literary debut as a poet in 2006, and in 2007 published her first novella, My Ego, My Teeth, and the World. Known for their poetic qualities, their insights into the female body, and their preoccupation with ethics and modern society, her books have been translated into over twenty languages. KAWAKAMI’s literary awards include the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, and the Murasaki Shikibu Prize. She lives in Tokyo, Japan.

The Japan Foundation is delighted to be bringing award-winning author Nao-cola YAMAZAKI to tour the UK this October. Nao-cola’s instant best-selling books Don’t Laugh at Other People’s Sex Lives （『人のセックスを笑うな』）and Beautiful Distance（『美しい距離』）have recently been translated and made available in English. 

Nao-cola YAMAZAKI is a highly respected author in Japan with admirers in the literary world including Asako YUZUKI. As a non-binary writer, Nao-cola recognises the importance of diversity and being an individual in society which they beautifully and sensitively put into writing. Nao-cola’s novels resonate with reader’s hearts and some have even been adapted into film, including a short story, Hand（『手』）, which was screened as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme.

Beautiful Distance:

A man sits in a cafe, sipping a green juice and watching the world go by. A white butterfly flutters through the air; a calico cat jumps onto a wall; cherry blossom petals fall, softly, to the ground. Life, momentarily, stands still. Our unnamed narrator is preparing to visit his terminally ill wife in hospital.

Don’t Laugh at Other People’s Sex Lives:

Art student Isogai first models for one of his tutors, the much older Yuri, then begins a passionate affair with her. As he gets to know her better, he struggles to understand his own emotions and his place in the world, just as he yearns to be closer to her and for her to share more of herself with him.

About Nao-Cola YAMAZAKI:

Nao-Cola YAMAZAKI (山崎 ナオコーラ) is a Japanese writer. They pride themselves on writing ‘things no one else can say in words anyone can understand’. They have won the Bungei Prize and the Shimase Award for Love Stories and been nominated multiple times for the Akutagawa Prize. Their first title to be translated into English was FRIENDSHIP FOR GROWN-UPS, a chapbook published by Stranger Press in 2017 and similarly translated by the acclaimed Polly Barton. The Japan Times praised Yamazaki's "skill in evoking the ambiguity of contemporary life" and called the collection "a small book that says a lot about the way we live today". Their debut novel DON’T LAUGH AT OTHER PEOPLE’S SEX LIVES and their prize-winning BEAUTIFUL DISTANCE published this spring with Daunt Books in the UK, and is set to publish in the US with SJP Lit this September.