Book Breaks

The speakers: David Zoppetti, Gregory Khezrnejat, Satoshi Gunji     (英文の後に日本語の案内が続きます。） The mastery of writing in a foreign language for outsiders is always a fascinating journey. To find out more the library will host two non-Japanese authors whose award-winning works of fiction in a language not...

(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...

(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...

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...

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...

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:...

Ken Belson, a longtime reporter for the New York Times who began his journalism career in Tokyo, will return to the FCCJ to talk about his new book, Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a...

Richard Sorge is one of history’s most famous spies. This hard-drinking, womanizing, motorcycle-crashing Soviet officer penetrated the German embassy in Tokyo during the 1930s and gathered intelligence credited with changing the course of World War II. It is an intriguing tale; but Sorge’s spy ring...