Latest news with #AsakoYuzuki
Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Two Japanese novels up for prestigious CWA Dagger award
Akira Otani, left, and Asako Yuzuki (Photo of Otani provided by Kawade Shobo Shinsha and photo of Yuzuki taken by Toko Tanaka) Amid the growing popularity of Japanese literature in Britain, two Japanese novels have made the final shortlist of six for the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. 'The Night of Baba Yaga' by Akira Otani and 'Butter' by Asako Yuzuki were named finalists for the prestigious award, the London-based Crime Writers' Association announced on May 29. The winner will be announced on July 3. Translated by Sam Bett, Otani's 'The Night of Baba Yaga' follows Yoriko Shindo, a fierce, mixed-race fighter who is forced to work as a bodyguard for the sheltered daughter of a yakuza boss. Yuzuki's 'Butter' is a thriller that centers on Rika Machida, a journalist investigating Manako Kajii, a gourmet cook accused of seducing and murdering businessmen. Translated by Polly Barton, the English edition of 'Butter' has sold more than 400,000 copies, surpassing its original Japanese edition and becoming a best-seller in Britain. No Japanese author has ever won the CWA Dagger, although Hideo Yokoyama, Keigo Higashino and Kotaro Isaka have previously been shortlisted for the award. Pierre Lemaitre, a renowned French author whose works have a strong following in Japan, is also among the finalists this year.
Kyodo News
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: May 13, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 20:30 | All, World, Japan The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Nissan logs 670.9 bil. yen loss in FY 2024, lifts job cuts to 20,000 TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co. logged a net loss of 670.90 billion yen ($4.5 billion) Tuesday for fiscal 2024 as it continues to grapple with poor sales in the United States and China, and increased the number of planned job cuts to 20,000 globally as part of its restructuring. The reduction in the workforce, representing around 15 percent of the company's total, comes as Nissan is set to reduce the number of its vehicle production plants from 17 to 10, including some possibly in Japan, by fiscal 2027. It also plans to reduce global output capacity excluding China by 30 percent to 2.5 million units also by that target year. ---------- SoftBank Group returns to black for 1st time in 4 yrs on stock rally TOKYO - SoftBank Group Corp. said Tuesday it swung back to profitability in fiscal 2024 for the first time in four years with a net profit of 1.15 trillion yen ($7.8 billion) due to a rise in the value of its investment portfolio. The turnaround by the Japanese tech investment firm, on the back of a global stock rally, comes after it had marked a loss of 227.65 billion yen the previous year. ---------- Japanese novelist Yuzuki's "Butter" wins British book award TOKYO - Japanese novel "Butter" by Asako Yuzuki has won the debut fiction section at the 2025 British Book Awards, its Japanese publisher said Tuesday, as translations of the work enjoy a boom in critical and commercial recognition abroad. Yuzuki's novel, her first to be published in Britain, received the award on Monday local time, Shinchosha said. ---------- Honda expects 70% drop in FY 2025 profit amid U.S. tariff woes TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it expects its net profit for the current fiscal year starting April to plunge 70.1 percent from a year earlier to 250 billion yen ($1.7 billion), amid economic uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's higher tariffs. Japan's second-largest carmaker by volume also said its sales are projected at 20.3 trillion yen, down 6.4 percent from the previous year, with concern mounting that the tariffs could weigh on corporate performance and deal a heavy blow to the global economy. ---------- Japan ground force to train with S. Korea marines for 1st time TOKYO - The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force said Tuesday it will conduct training with South Korean marines for the first time in early June on the occasion of a multinational defense exercise in the Philippines. The move comes as the two countries are enhancing their defense cooperation bilaterally as well as trilaterally with the United States amid North Korea's nuclear and missile development and China's maritime assertiveness. Last year, Japanese and South Korea defense ministers agreed to boost exchanges, including between their troops. ---------- Replica of Nobel Prize medal on display at museum in Hiroshima HIROSHIMA - Replicas of the Nobel Peace Prize medal and certificate awarded last year to Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors went on display at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on Tuesday. Toshiyuki Mimaki, a representative of Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, visited the museum, viewing the display while recalling the moment the group was honored with the award. The showing runs until Aug. 31. ---------- Albanese of Australia's Labor Party sworn in for 2nd term as PM SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Cabinet were sworn in Tuesday following his ruling Labor Party's landslide victory in the country's May 3 election. Albanese took office for his second term as the country's election commission continues the vote counting. The commission said the center-left Labor Party is so far on track to win 94 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, up from 78 in the last parliament, and the opposition Liberal-National coalition 43. ---------- Suspected unexploded wartime bomb found on Hiroshima Univ. campus HIROSHIMA - An object believed to be an unexploded wartime bomb was discovered Tuesday on a Hiroshima University campus in western Japan, police said. The object around 90 centimeters long and 25 cm in diameter was found at about 10:20 a.m. at a construction site on the university's Kasumi campus in Hiroshima's Minami Ward. Video: Trade fair in Pyongyang
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Japanese author Asako Yuzuki on how she stumbled on fame by chance with Butter
Japanese novelist Asako Yuzuki was one of the panellists at the recently concluded Alliance Literary Festival in Bengaluru. Speaking with the aid of a translator, Asako shared some of her observations about writing, India and interpersonal relationships. Perhaps best known for Butter, Asaka says she was surprised by the popularity it garnered. 'I have written a lot of other books and I have no idea why Butter caught the limelight,' says Asako, adding that she lacks the skills to promote herself or market her work. 'When I sent off the first chapter to Harper Collins I had no idea they would pick it up. Personally, I feel The Nile Perch Women's Club was better by far.' Her reticence is understandable — a quick glance at her Wikipedia page shows awards seem to pass her by, having been nominated numerous times, but winning only occasionally. Talking about why she likes The Nile Perch Women's Club, Asako says, 'The book required quite a bit of effort on my part and it talks about the meaningful relationships between women of different ages and classes. The Nile Perch Women's Club is about an unusual friendship between an older woman and a younger one.' However, Asako is candid in admitting that it did not do well in Japan as it went against the traditional norms of society there where women occupy a submissive role. Though many cultivate them, close friendships between women seem to be frowned upon, leaving those who do enjoy them tight-lipped about their companionships, she says, adding, 'I am hopeful that if translated into English, The Nile Perch Women's Club would become well-known in other parts of the world.' Though most of her works revolve around interpersonal relationships, Asako says it is not because of a penchant for human psychology. 'I am an ardent fan of French Literature and I am intrigued by how authors such as Balzac crafted their stories; it was like reading letters from that era, encompassing life, culture and society.' 'They were ahead of their times with their style and depiction. And much like letters, those works too, shone a light on human relationships,' she adds. Screen time Some of Asako's works have been adapted for radio and the screen, most notably The Many Faces of Ito which came out as a comedy series on Netflix in 2017. As an author who feels her writing has not gained recognition in her homeland, Asako believes that times are slowly changing which is why there are takers for a pictorial representation on digital media of her books. And while many authors may have reservations about their work being modified for the screen, Asako says, 'I agonise over writing dialogues; constantly honing them so they sound true-to-life for readers and when scriptwriters don't change them too much or keep their gist, it feels all the lonely nights of writing are worth it.' By the book Asako says she is always more touched than flattered, when she finds her books are read in India or anywhere in the world. 'Readers either resonate with the characters or wonder if that is how the world is and speculate if similar people walk among them.' Pleasantly surprised by the huge turnout for a literary event, Asako feels, 'the reach of books is far greater than we realise and they are harbingers of cross culture,' and adds that as first-timer in the country, it seemed India was quite accepting of change. She elaborates on her observation. 'Even in the simple issue of clothing, it is wonderful to see Indian women have taken to wearing the sari and other traditional wear as well as Western-styled clothing on a daily basis,' says the author who also enjoys reading Indian author Jhumpa Lahiri's books and essays. Asako winds down our conversation with an observation she has made over the years, 'Society will always pressurise women. It is up to us to accept that which will spur us to do better and disregard anything that else that limits us.'
South China Morning Post
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Butter by Asako Yuzuki, novel about a serial killer, hailed as feminist outside Japan
Butter, a cult Japanese bestseller by Asako Yuzuki inspired by the real-life case of a serial killer convicted of poisoning three of her male lovers, is being hailed overseas for its exploration of misogyny, fatphobia and sexism in modern Japan. Advertisement The English translation of Yuzuki's book, based on the 'Konkatsu Killer' Kanae Kijima , has created a buzz in Britain, with sales reaching some 280,000 copies and major bookstore chain Waterstones naming it 'Book of the Year' for 2024. Yuzuki, 43, says she has been pleasantly surprised by the reception of her book overseas as a feminist novel , as opposed to the focus in Japan on how she had depicted Kijima's serial killings. The protagonist of Butter is Rika Machida, a Tokyo-based journalist in her thirties who investigates the case of a female food enthusiast-turned-serial killer. Manako Kajii, also known as Kajimana, has been convicted of the murders of three lonely businessmen she is said to have seduced with her home-cooked meals.
South China Morning Post
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: from HKILF and new books to Zuma's alumni
Published: 11:00am, 22 Feb 2025 In what I expect isn't an uncommon story for media types – or anyone picking up a print magazine honestly – I was an avid reader as a child. Shockingly, compulsory education didn't beat it out of me. In fact, summer reading lists and 19th century literature courses were welcome havens from the indignity of precalculus, physics and econ. (Perhaps to my detriment, but that's another story.) For me, it was entering the workforce. Even in a profession of words, time to just read for pleasure evaporated. And that was before the deluge of social media with its memes, short-form video and infinite scrolling. I wish I didn't have to make time and space for reading, but that's the reality. So the arrival of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) next weekend is, in a way, luxurious. A whole week all about books. I even got a reading assignment – you'll find me deep in the pages of Jake Adelstein's Tokyo Noir (2024) and Asako Yuzuki's Butter (2024) before their dinner on March 3. This isn't exactly a Lit Fest themed issue, but with all the great writers coming to town, it was impossible for them not to show up in the stories that follow. Our cover, bringing the world of books into a traditional kaifong stall, is illustrated by Hong Kong artist Kaitlin Chan, who will be speaking at the festival. The 'culture wars', as they are, feel like they are at a fever pitch across the world. In this context, Jo Lusby explores the role of sensitivity readers in publishing. It's an interesting proposition – should historical works be edited to fit the time? Marked with a trigger warning? What's the line between sensitivity and censorship? She speaks with authors joining next week's literary festival to understand how they grappled with these issues in their own work. Fionnuala McHugh plunges into a new book on Hong Kong's Japanese residents in the late 1800s. Inspired by Hong Kong Cemetery's Japanese section, Meiji Graves in Happy Valley (2024), by Yoshiko Nakano and Georgina Challen, who will be leading a walk as part of the HKILF, uncovers the untold stories of those who were laid to rest there.
