The Japan Society Review

By Kaimai Jun Matsumoto came to prominence in 1936 as the journalist who broke the news of Chiang Kai-shek’s detention. Japan as it grapples with globalization and ‘diversity’ has much to learn from Shigeharu Matsumoto. Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

By Richard Lloyd Parry In People Who Eat Darkness we get to see a new perspective of the events surrounding the disappearance and murder of Lucie Blackman as we follow the author's investigation into what had occurred to her. Review by Michael Sullivan

By Paula S. Harrell In this interesting study of five Japanese personalities of the Meiji era, who were closely involved with Chinese modernisation, Dr Harrell shows that the relationship between Japan and China was [...] Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi

By Patrick Galbraith Otaku Spaces is a book that attempts to dispel some misconceptions by allowing these people who are considered to have otaku interests, to discuss their hobbies and the rationale behind them. Review by Lucy Searles

By Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere The book is a scholarly study based on Professor Rousmaniere’s experiences in Japan working with Japanese scholars of ceramics. It will be a valuable source for all interested in Japanese ceramics. Review Sir Hugh Cortazzi

By Simon Alexander Collier What would have happened if the serious British diplomat, Ernest Satow, had gone to Japan with a rather less studious colleague, whose main interests were women and wine? The answer is [...] Review by Sir Graham Fry

Exhibition at Somerset House. On the first day of spring 2012 a new exhibition opened up at Somerset House, although it is easy to get side tracked by Somerset House’s terrace which is always popular on warm spring days and by the spectacular sight […] Review by Michael Sullivan

Talk by Professor Jun Morikawa. Professor Jun Morikawa, author of Japan and Africa: Big Business and Diplomacy (1997), spoke to the Japan Discussion Group at Chatham House on Japan-Africa relations. His basic thesis appeared to be that Japan’s Ministry of […] Review by Jason James

By Keigo Higashino. Keigo Higashino was born in Osaka in 1958. In 2006 he won the 134th Naoki Prize and the 6th Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize for his novel, The Devotion of Suspect X, which had been published the previous year. [...] Review by Michael Sullivan

By Ian McArthur. Editor’s note: Henry James Black was born in Adelaide, Australia on 22 December 1858. Due to his father’s work he lived in Japan from the age of three. He worked as an English teacher for about a decade before becoming a rakugoka […] Review by Inoue Atsuko (in Japanese)