From time to time, Japundit likes to tell readers about Japanese books that are finding readers in translations overseas. The Japan Foreign Rights Center in Tokyo actively pursues such deals, not only to help Japanese publishers and writers find larger audiences, but also as a way of exporting Japanese culture around the world.

Two books, one titled KERITAI SENAKA (The Back I Want to Kick) and the other titled INSTALL, were written by cult writer (and prestigious Akutagawa Prize winner) Risa Wataya. She’s just in her early twenties and already making waves at home and abroad. Is she the new Banana Yoshimoto?

Wataya, who burst onto the Japanese literary scene in 2001 with her debut novel Install, said on receiving the Akutagawa Prize that she was not particularly conscious of being the youngest-ever recipient, which she was. Install became a bestseller in 2001, selling more than 300,000 copies nationwide, and has been adapted into a film starring popular actress and singer Aya Ueta.

The translation deal, by the way, was negotiated by Paolo Repetti at Einaudi Stile Libero, an Italian publisher, with literary agent Marinella Magrì in Rome finalizing the contract, according to industry sources.