The Japan Society

Upcoming Events

13/07/2026ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Set My Heart on Fire by Izumi Suzuki

13/07/2026

Through stark, fragmented narratives, Set My Heart on Fire portrays women navigating unstable relationships and emotional isolation in postwar Japan.

10/08/2026IN-PERSON EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Grave of the Fireflies by Akiyuki Nosaka

10/08/2026

Grave of the Fireflies is a stark and devastating account of two siblings struggling to survive in Japan during the final months of the Second World War.

14/09/2026ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

14/09/2026

Vanishing World imagines a near‑future society in which artificial reproduction replaces sexual relationships, reshaping ideas of love, family, and identity.

12/10/2026IN-PERSON EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: The Traitor by Kobo Abe

12/10/2026

The Traitor offers a bleak meditation on betrayal, power, and moral uncertainty, revealing how individuals are compromised by political control and pervasive fear.

09/11/2026ONLINE EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: The Third Love by Hiromi Kawakami

09/11/2026

The Third Love follows a married woman who escapes into dreamlike lives set across different historical periods, experiencing love in new forms.

14/12/2026IN-PERSON EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: Troubled Waters by Ichiyo Higuchi

14/12/2026

Troubled Waters is a collection of five stories depicting everyday lives on the margins of Meiji‑era Tokyo with lyrical restraint.