Japanese literature in translation has won plenty of acclaim in recent years acclaim that only continues to increase. 2018’s “Convenience Store Woman” by Sayaka Murata and translated by Ginny Takemori sold more than 650,000 copies, made the shortlist for multiple major book awards, and was named a best book of the year by 14+ major publications from
The New Yorker to
Buzzfeed.
The next year, “The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa and translated by Stephen Snyder was a finalist for the National Book Award and the International Booker Prize. And in 2020, Yu Miri’s “Tokyo Ueno Station” (translated by Morgan Giles) one-upped “The Memory Police” and actually won the National Book Award.