NO ONE'S PERFECT, by Hirotada Ototake. Translated by Gerry Harcourt. Kodansha International, 226 pp., 1,900 yen.

Hirotada Ototake, in his first major literary effort, "No One's Perfect (Gotai Fumanzoku)," has written a work whose seismic rating has scaled off the page: To date, over 4 million copies have been sold.

"Oto," who has become the darling of the press and the talk of the town in Japan, hosts a prime television news show and has become one of the country's most sought-after public speakers.

His phenomenal popularity has been as swift as it has been sudden; and in the glare of publicity, he has been true to his persona -- as someone who has overcome the obstacles of his life with grace, certainty and candor. As much as he claims to love the attention and chides himself for his concern with image or fashion, his public image and voice as a writer are in perfect harmony.