Book Breaks

Book Break: Alex K.T. Martin, author of "Phantom Wolves of Japan"

Friday, September 11, 2026, 18:00 - 20:30
Dead or alive, the Japanese wolf remains one of the country's greatest natural mysteries. Having roamed the mountains and forests of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu for thousands of years, the wolf disappeared as the country rapidly industrialized in the late 19th century. For centuries, rural...
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Book Breaks

Book Break: William Ireton, author of "The Last Samurai, The Man Who Made 239.3 Billion Yen" (日米映画の架け橋 ラストサムライ 2393億円の男)

Friday, July 17, 2026, 17:45 - 20:30
(英文の後に日本語の案内が続きます。） William Ireton, a legendary hitmaker who, for many years, served as Warner Bros.’ representative in Japan, will speak about his latest book 日米映画の架け橋 ラストサムライ ２３９３億円の男 (Nichibei Eiga no Kakehashi Last Samurai 2393oku Yen no Otoko = A Bridge for Japan-US Cinema: The Last...
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Book Breaks

Book Break: Takehiro Masutomo, author of "The 'Run Ri (潤日)' Shockwave"

Tuesday, June 16, 2026, 17:45 - 20:30
(英文の後に日本語の案内が続きます。） Why are China’s wealthiest entrepreneurs and liberal intellectuals increasingly viewing Japan not just as a destination, but as a "final sanctuary"? Since its release in January 2025, the investigative bestseller Run Ri (Toyo Keizai Inc.) has sparked a national debate. Author and journalist Takehiro...
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Book Breaks

Book Break: Stephen Mansfield, author of "The Modern Japanese Garden"

Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 17:45 - 20:30
Photo journalist and author Stephen Mansfield will talk about his background and why he has developed a particular interest in Japanese gardens, mentioning relevant previous experiences, publications, the genesis and evolution of the book, The Modern Japanese Garden (Thames & Hudson, 2025) in the pre-publication...
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Book Breaks

David McNeill and Stephen McClure, co-authors of "Japanese Rebels"

Tuesday, April 14, 2026, 17:45 - 20:30
Japan is often seen through the lens of an unusually resilient stereotype that classifies it as a nation of risk-averse conformists. In Japanese Rebels: Non-conformists in a Conformist Society (Routledge, April 16, 2026), David McNeill and Stephen McClure challenge that stereotype by showing that there...
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Book Breaks

Book Break: Jake Adelstein, author of "The Devil Takes Bitcoin"

Tuesday, March 03, 2026, 17:45 - 20:30
After more than a decade of breathless hype, how did Bitcoin—supposedly the clean, liberating future of money—turn into a global engine of scams, cybercrime, and cold-blooded chaos? To answer that, we have to go where the story truly detonated: Japan. In The Devil Takes Bitcoin:...
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Book Breaks

Book Break: Ronald Drabkin, author of "Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor"

Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 17:45 - 20:30
FCCJ is hosting author Ronald Drabkin, whose debut book Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor (William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2024;『ラトランド、お前は誰だ?: 日本を真珠湾攻撃に導いた男』by Kawadeshoboshinsha, 2024) reveals the amazing and untold story of Frederick Rutland—a debonair British WWI hero, flying ace, fixture of...
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Book Breaks

Book Break: Shoji Morimoto (森本祥司), Author of "Rental Person Who Does Nothing"

Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 17:45 - 20:30
Book Break: Shoji Morimoto, Author of "Rental Person Who Does Nothing 『〈レンタルなんもしない人〉というサービスをはじめます。: スペックゼロでお金と仕事と人間関係をめぐって考えたこと』（森本祥司） 日本語の案内が英文の後に続きます。 The author, Shoji Morimoto, presents his book, Rental Person Who Does Nothing, that traces his experience of lending himself out ‘as someone who does nothing’—meaning he is available for “just...
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