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May 06, 2024
 

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Iain Maloney
For Iain Maloney's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 11, 2021
‘Lady Joker: Volume One’: A crime thriller opus’ weighty first half
Kaoru Takamura isn't playing around with “Lady Joker,” her two-part novel that reveals the social and economic inequities in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 16, 2021
‘Things Remembered and Things Forgotten’: History, memory and cultural identity
Kyoko Nakajima's latest collection of translated short stories explores the ties connecting Japan's past to its present. Ghosts are involved in more ways than one.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2021
‘Lonely Castle in the Mirror’ helps us face the consequences of bullying
Mizuki Tsujimura's touching novel about teenage bullying in the Tokyo suburbs illuminates the importance of compassion and reaching out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 11, 2021
‘Terminal Boredom’ is a treasure trove of Izumi Suzuki’s subversive science fiction
Izumi Suzuki, a prolific writer of speculative science fiction and a counterculture figure in the 1970s and '80s, has gone largely overlooked by modern readers — until now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 20, 2021
In ‘Klara and the Sun,’ Kazuo Ishiguro questions what it means to be human
There’s a moment in “Klara and the Sun,” Kazuo Ishiguro’s first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017, in which the protagonist, Klara, and another character, The Father, are discussing whether artificial intelligence may ever fully replicate what it means to be human. The Father is skeptical, and likens the human heart to a house with many rooms: “‘But then suppose you stepped into one of those rooms’ he said, ‘and discovered another room within it. And inside that room, another room still. Rooms within rooms within rooms.’” Klara — herself an AF (artificial friend) — disagrees, and thinks there must be a limit, a point where every aspect of a person can be understood.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 6, 2021
‘When The Waves Came’: Personal accounts from the 3/11 disaster zone
At the heart of M.W. Larson's book of March 11, 2011, and its aftermath are the stories of the individuals who lived through the disaster, bringing to light all that was lost that day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 6, 2021
‘The Investigation’: With poetry, hope prevails within prison walls
South Korean author Jung-myung Lee's thriller set in a prison in Fukuoka during World War II explores the power of literature and humanity in the darkest of times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 30, 2021
'Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration' creates the man anew
One of the joys of reading about history is the way in which each generation interprets the past through its own perspective. This isn’t simply new facts coming to light or official documents being unsealed — rather, it’s the historian’s equivalent of “the observer effect” in physics: It’s impossible to completely remove yourself from your own context and perspective. There is no such thing as objective history. This, in part, helps explain the position Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-67) holds in the pantheon of Japanese greats — every generation creates him anew.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 11, 2021
Dealing with a dire diagnosis in a new country
When Niall Breathnach came down with a rare ailment he was sure to get several opinions before seeking a path for treatment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 2, 2021
Exciting books and translations from Japan to look out for in 2021
It's time to put 2020 behind us and look ahead to a new year with a new reading list. Here's a selection of intriguing titles coming out in the next 12 months.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 28, 2020
Craft brewer Sean Collett: 'If you chase two rabbits, you'll catch neither'
The founders of Two Rabbits Brewing Company have brought their corner of the craft beer market to Shiga Prefecture, a perfect place to burrow down.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 21, 2020
‘The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives’: Personal stories present a fresh perspective on Japan
Christopher Harding scales Japan's history down to the level of the individual with portraits of the eminent as well as the overlooked.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 26, 2020
‘The Hole’: A fitting metaphor for a restrictive society
Hiroko Oyamada's novel is a moving and subtle study of the pressures and expectations placed on women.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 12, 2020
'The Japanese Sake Bible': Sake production is 'a business that's all about families'
“The Japanese Sake Bible” delves deep into the history and culture of Japan's national drink, as well as the stories of the people who make it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 6, 2020
‘Echo on the Bay’ review: Weird doesn’t quite do it
“Weird” and “quirky” are adjectives readily bandied about when reviewing Japanese literature. So what happens when something truly bizarre comes along?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 11, 2020
Japanese books to get you through a lockdown
With "staying in" now the new "going out," housebound activities have become officially the cool thing to do. But what if you’re stuck for a good book? Read on to see four of our critics’ top reads for an extended period of self-isolation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 14, 2020
'Underground': The thematic keystone to Haruki Murakami's oeuvre
In the 20 years that have passed since the publication of Haruki Murakami's nonfiction 'Underground,' it remains both an outlier and a springboard for the career that would follow.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Feb 8, 2020
'The Japanese Linguistic Landscape': Essays on language by the man behind 'Reiwa'
For the student lost in the midst of memorizing kanji, it's easy to forget that languages are molded not just by the sharp corners of reality but also by the careful caressing of poets. What a joy it is then to have this window into the poetic beauty behind some "quintessential words."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jan 11, 2020
'The Honjin Murders': Japan's own Sherlock Holmes is on the case
'The Honjin Murders' is a classic murder mystery in which a newly married couple are found butchered by a Japanese sword inside a room locked from the inside.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2020
The books and translations about Japan to watch out for in 2020
A new decade brings a whole host of translations from prize-winning Japanese authors and books about Japan, from detective fiction to geopolitical studies.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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