Publishing house Kodansha Ltd. has created a literary award named after Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe to promote Japanese novels worldwide.
Oe will choose the works to receive the award. They will be translated into English and possibly other languages, and will be published worldwide, the Tokyo publisher said.
"There are works every year that are not translated despite Japanese feeling some should be strongly recommended as genuine literature," Oe said at a news conference Tuesday in Tokyo in announcing the creation of the award.