Taiwan-born novelist Li Kotomi won the Akutagawa Prize for up-and-coming authors on Wednesday, becoming only the second non-native Japanese speaker to win the prestigious literary award, the prize's organizers said.

The 31-year-old Li was honored for her novel "Higanbana ga Saku Shima" ("An Island Where Red Spider Lilies Bloom"), which tells the story of a young girl who travels to a fictitious isolated island with a female-dominated society and who struggles with gender equality issues.

In 2008, China-born novelist Yang Yi became the first non-native Japanese speaker to receive the award.