The Japan Society Review

Written and directed by Hikari 37 Seconds explores the coming-of-age story of Yuma, a woman with cerebral palsy, and her quest to become more independent from her overbearing mother. Review by Jenni Schofield

By Imai Yoshihiro This book is a chef monograph, where, through food writing – a blend of personal essays and photographs revolving around food and nature, concluding with a number of recipes – Imai Yoshihiro tells the story of his fourteen-seated wood-fire pizza restaurant. Review by Riyoko Shibe

By Ichikawa Takuji In 'Monkey Man', Ichikawa Takuji, one of Japan’s most imaginative, bestselling and unusual authors, pointedly challenges readers to consider how we can change the inevitable course of history and save the human race from itself. Review by Laurence Green

By Hanaoka Kiyoko and Clare Pollard This book introduces over forty surimono in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and provides readers with an insight into the refined and cultivated Japanese literati culture of the early nineteenth century. Review by Fiona Collins

By Christopher Roberts Filling an important gap in extraterritoriality studies and in the history of Anglo-Korean relations, this benchmark study examines Britain's exercise of extraterritorial rights in Korea from 1884 until Korea's formal annexation by Japan in 1910. Review by Kimura Genki

The August issue of The Japan Society Review presents five reviews that cover a diverse spread of media and topics related to Japan. The opening review explores a two-volume academic work focusing on public diplomacy, human rights, and modern slavery in Japan and the US.

By Kawakami Mieko In 'Heaven' graphic and extreme teenage bullying takes centre stage which makes for uncomfortable reading at times. The novel is also an exploration of friendship and its limits, victimisation, morals, religion and ethics. It is undoubtedly a thought-provoking book, which I continue to digest months after having read it. Review by Susan Meehan

By Tsujimura Mizuki Kagami no Koji, an innovative and tender blend of social commentary and magical realism, is a prizewinning novel by Tsujimura Mizuki published in 2017, with the English translation by Philip Gabriel, titled Lonely Castle in the Mirror, published in 2021. Review by Riyoko Shibe

By Roger Buckley Comprising two volumes, this pioneering study examines how the United States has deployed public diplomacy with Japan to confront Japanese sexual and labour trafficking, while also charting the successes and failures of the US's own record on anti-trafficking practices at home and abroad. Review by Ian Neary

The opening review of our June issue explores the fascinating life and career of Herbert Ponting, the photographer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole.