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Japan Times
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Akutagawa and Naoki award decision marks rare absence of literary prizewinners
The selection committee for the Akutagawa and Naoki literary awards announced Wednesday that no works would receive the awards this time — for the first time in 27 years. Awarded biannually in January and July, the Akutagawa and Naoki prizes are Japan's most prestigious literary honors. The committee's decision marks the sixth time since their inception, in 1935, that both prizes have had no winners. The last instance was in January 1998. 'Out of the four nominated works, Gregory Khezrnejat's 'Trajectory' and Koreko Hibino's 'Taemanai Hikari no Tashizan' (literally translated as 'The Constant Addition of Light') were discussed further after the first round of voting,' selection committee member Hiromi Kawakami said regarding the Akutagawa Prize decision. 'However, as neither received a majority vote in the second round, unfortunately, there is no recipient this time.' She added, 'Some members of the selection committee expressed that the Akutagawa Prize should reward works that try something new or bring about new perspectives. It's not that the nominated works lacked new viewpoints — there were, in fact, many experimental elements — but we felt they needed to go one step further. ... As a member of the committee, I'm disappointed that we couldn't choose a winning work.' Selection committee member Natsuhiko Kyogoku said about the lack of awardees, 'Even though no winners were selected, it's undeniable that the nominated works have moved many readers. I encourage readers to visit bookstores and buy all the nominated books — they're worth reading.' The Akutagawa Prize is given to up-and-coming writers for short- to medium-length works of literary fiction published in a newspaper or magazine, while the Naoki Prize goes to an early or mid-career author for a work of pop or genre fiction. Including this round, the Akutagawa Prize has gone unawarded 33 times, and the Naoki Prize 30 times.
The Mainichi
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
No wins in 2 prestigious Japanese literary awards, 1st in 27 yrs
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The organizer of two prestigious Japanese literary awards on Wednesday announced there were no winners among the nominations this year for the first time since 1998. The awards often produce popular works representative of the era. The event is hosted by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature. "There was something about each work that drew us in, but there was still something lacking," said Hiromi Kawakami, author and Akutagawa Prize selection committee member. "We as a committee find it extremely regrettable that we were unable to award the prize." The Akutagawa Prize was established in 1935 in memory of the Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa. The Naoki Prize, created the same year, was named after author Sanjugo Naoki. Awarded authors typically receive 1 million yen ($6,700) in prize money.
