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October 07, 2024: The Mantis by Kōtarō Isaka has missed out on the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.
The Mantis by Kōtarō Isaka (translated by Sam Malissa, original Japanese title: AX ) was shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger in May. The winner, announced on 4th July at the Dagger Awards’ Dinner in London at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London City, was Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper. Congratulations to Mr. Harper.

June 18, 2024: The Edogawa Rampo Prize, 2024
The Edogawa Rampo Prize received 395 submissions for the 70th Prize this year. On 10th May, the winners of this prize were announced as follows:
Yukakujima Shinju Gatari by Ryu Shimotsuki
Fake Muscle by Eitaro Hino
The winning works will be published from KODANSHA in August 2024. Each winner will receive a statue of Edogawa Rampo as the main prize and 2,500,000yen as the supplementary prize.

June 03, 2024: Announcing the winners of the 77th Mystery Writers of Japan Awards!
《Best Novel and Series of Short Stories》
Jirai Glico (Glico with Landmines) by Yugo Aosaki (KADOKAWA)
Night Land by Akira Ogidou (Shodensha)

《Best Short story》
Bell o Narashite by Kaoru Sakasaki (Kodansha Shosetsu Gendai, June.)
Dionysios Keikaku by Yusuke Miyauchi (Tokyo Sogensha, Shimi no Techou Vol.14.)

《Best Critical and Research Work》
Mystery Library Investigation Sengo Honyaku Mystey Sousho Tanbou by Masaki Kawade（Tokyo Sogensha)
Edogawa Rampo Nenpu Shusei by Shosaku Naka (Rampousha)

Each winner will receive a personalized wristwatch as the main prize, and 500,000 yen as the supplementary prize.

For the Translated Novel Category, which aims to be established from 2025, we conduct a trial award for two years from last year as preparations.
《Translated Novel Category Trial, the 2nd Winner》
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox, translated by Makiko Ikeda（Shinchosha）

June 03, 2024: The Mantis by Kōtarō Isaka has been shortlisted for The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.
On 10th May, the shortlists for the 2024 CWA Daggers were announced at Crime Fest in Bristol and The Mantis (translated by Sam Malissa, original Japanese title : AX) by Kōtarō Isaka has been shortlisted for The CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.
This is the second time that MWJ member Kōtarō Isaka has been shortlisted for the CWA Award since Bullet Train (translated by Sam Marissa, original Japanese title : Maria Beetle) was shortlisted for the 2022 Translation Dagger.
The winners will be announced at the annual Dagger Awards’ Dinner in London on 4th July.

April 01, 2024: Best Mystery Fiction in Translation shortlist announced
Mystery Writers of Japan announced the final nominees for the 77th Japan Mystery Writers Award honoring the Best Mystery Fiction in Translation on this March 15th.
The 77th Mystery Writers of Japan Awards will be decided on this May 13th.

Gento no Hitsugi (The coffin in severe winter) by 孫沁文 (Tr. Kosaku Ai, Hayakawa Shobo, original title:凜冬之棺, publisher:NEW STAR PRESS, language:Chinese)
True Crime Story (True Crime Story) by Joseph Knox (Tr. Makiko Ikeda, Shinchosha, original title:True Crime Story, publisher:Doubleday, language:English)
Ho ni Kanashimi wo Kizame (Carve sadness into your cheeks) by S.A. Cosby (Tr. Takuro Kagayama, HarperCollins Japan, original title:Razorblade Tears, publisher:Flatiron Books, language:English)
Shikeishikko no Note (Execution Notes) by Danya Kukafka (Tr. Miho Suzuki, Shueisha, original title:Notes on an Execution, publisher:William Morrow, language:English)
Aiseki (Lamentation) by Ann Cleeves (Tr. Mayumi Takayama, Hayakawa Shobo, original title:The Long Call, publisher:Pan Books, language:English)

February 22, 2024: Best Mystery Fiction in Translation longlist announced
On January 15, 2024, the Mystery Writers of Japan announced the 2024 longlist for the 77th Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Best Mystery Fiction in Translation.

This award is for the best mystery fiction not originally written in Japanese and first translated into Japanese during the period of eligibility. The first official award is scheduled for 2025, after the trial period in 2023 and 2024.

The shortlist (five works) will be announced at the preliminary meeting in early March and the winner will be decided at the final selection meeting on May 13, 2024.

The longlist for the 2024 Best Mystery Fiction in Translation is as follows:

Shokeidaihiroba no Onna (Gallows Court) by Martin Edwards (Tr.Takuro Kagayama ,Hayakawa Shobo)
Netabako no Kiken (Los Peligros de Fumar en la Cama) by Mariana Enriquez (Tr.Maki Miyazaki ,Kokushokankoukai)
Shikeishikko no Note (Notes on an Execution) by Danya Kukafka (Tr.Miho Suzuki ,Shueisha)
Kono Hisoyakana Mori no Okude (These Silent Woods) by Kimi Cunningham Grant (Tr.Miki Yamazaki ,Futami Shobo)
Aiseki (The Long Call) by Ann Cleeves (Tr.Mayumi Takayama ,Hayakawa Shobo)
Ho ni Kanashimi wo Kizame (Razorblade Tears) by S.A. Cosby (Tr.Takuro Kagayama ,HarperCollins Japan)
Sotsugyosei niwa Mukanai Shinjitsu (As Good as Dead) by Holly Jackson (Tr.Kyoko Hattori ,Tokyo Sogensha)
Seizonsha (Överlevarna) by Alex Schulman (Tr.Aoi Sakamoto ,Hayakawa Shobo)
Gento no Hitsugi (凜冬之棺) by 孫沁文 (Tr.Kosaku Ai ,Hayakawa Shobo)
Kioku Shoten - Satsujinsha wo Matsu Kukan (기억 서점 살인자를 기다리는 공간) by 정 명섭 (Tr.Nagi Yoshikawa ,Kodansha)
Hunting Time (Hunting Time) by Jeffery Deaver (Tr.Makiko Ikeda ,Bungeishunju)
Kuraki Seibo (Our Lady of Darkness) by Peter Tremayne (Tr.Misako Tamura ,Tokyo Sogensha)
True Crime Story (True Crime Story) by Joseph Knox (Tr.Makiko Ikeda ,Shinchosha)
Invention of Sound (The Invention of Sound) by Chuck Palahniuk (Tr.Makiko Ikeda ,Hayakawa Shobo)
Judan no Niwa (The Bullet Garden) by Stephen Hunter (Tr.Shigeru Sometaya ,Fusosha)
Osorubeki Taiyo (Au Soleil Redouté) by Michel Bussi (Tr.Atsushi Hiraoka, Shueisha)
Uso to Seiiki (Legacy of Lies) by Robert Bailey (Tr.Hiroto Yoshino, Shogakukan)
Greek Mystery Kessaku-sen (Ellinika Egklimata 5) by (Επιμέλεια) Δημήτρης Ποσαντζής (Tr.Takashi Tachibana, Takeshobo)
Knife wo Hinereba (The Twist of a Knife) by Anthony Horowitz (Tr.Ran Yamada,Tokyo Sogensha)
Koushaku-sama ga Ayashiidesu (A Brazen Curiosity) by Lynn Messina (Tr. Sumire Hashimoto, Hara Shobo)
Lovecraft Country (Lovecraft Country) by Matt Ruff (Tr.Takeshi Mogi,Tokyo Sogensha)

June 20, 2023: Congratulatory comments on the appointment of the new president
We received congratulatory comments from the following three people regarding the appointment of the new president.

Martin Edwards (President of the Detection Club ／Ex.President of the Crime Writers Asosiation)

In my capacity as President of the Detection Club, and also personally, I should like to extend my warmest congratulations to Tokuro Nukui on your appointment to the prestigious position of President of the Mystery Writers of Japan. I believe that mystery writers the world over have a wonderful shared heritage and I am sure that under Tokuro Nukui's leadership, the Mystery Writers of Japan will continue to go from strength to strength.

Jeffrey Marks (The Author of Who Was That Lady？Craig Rice／Organizer of the Golden Age Detection).

In the very honored line of talented authors who have been named president of the Mystery Writers of Japan, I am very pleased to see Tokuro Nukui added to this list. I wish him all the best in his new role.

Tom Mead ( The Author of Death and the Conjuror )

Wishing many congratulations to Tokuro Nukui on his appointment as the new president of Mystery Writers of Japan Inc.! I am honoured to have been invited to contribute this message by my friend Masaya Yamaguchi, and I wish the new MWJ president a long and prosperous tenure.

June 14, 2023: Announcement of the 69th Edogawa Rampo Prize
The winner will receive a statue of Edogawa Rampo as the main prize and 5,000,000yen as the supplementary prize.

Title:Souten no Toritachi　（Tentative title）
Author: Koushirou Mikami

The winning work will be published from KODANSHA in August 2023.

Three hundred and ninety works were submitted for this year’s awards. Seventy passed for the first preliminary, twenty-one the second. Four works made the short list. After the careful deliberations, the above was selected as the winner.

June 14, 2023: Announcing the winners of the 76th Mystery Writers of Japan Awards!
《Best Novel and Series of Short Stories》
Yoru no Douhyou by You Ashizawa (Chuokoron Shinsha)
Kimi no Quiz by Satoshi Ogawa (Asahi Shinbunsha)

《Best Short story》
Ibunshi no Kanojo by Yasuhiko Nishizawa (Web J-Novel delivered on March 29, 2022)

《Best Critical and Research Work》
Sherlock Holmes Bible: Eien no Meitantei wo Meguru 170 Nen no Monogatari by Masamichi Higurashi (Hayakawa Shobo)

Each winner will receive a personalized wristwatch as the main prize, and 500,000 yen as the supplementary prize.

In addition, we decided to start a two-year trial period for the “Translated Novel” category, which we aim to establish in the fiscal year 2025. The recipient of the trial award is as follows.

《Translated Novel Category Trial, the 1st Winner》
1794, 1795 by Niklas Natt och Dag, translated by Miho Hellén-Halme (Shogakukan)

April 27, 2023: Mystery Writers of Japan is pleased to announce a new award for Mystery Fiction in Translation.
This award is for the best mystery fiction not originally written in Japanese, and first translated into Japanese during the period of eligibility. Both authors and translators are recognized by this award.

The first official award is scheduled for 2025, but it will be given on a trial basis in 2023 and 2024 to verify and refine the procedures for submission and judging .

We are proud to announce the nominees for the 2023 award for works first published in Japanese in 2022. The winner will be decided on May 11, 2023.

Poppy no Tame ni Dekirukoto ( What can be done for Poppy) by Janice Hallett (Tr. Ran Yamada, Shueisha, original title: The Appeal, publisher: Viper, language: English)

1794／1795 by Niklas Natt och Dag (Tr. Miho Hellén-Halme, Shogakukan, original title: 1794/1795, publisher: Bokförlaget Forum, language: Swedish) ※Two connected works as one

Meitantei to Umi no Akuma (The great detective and the sea devil) by Stuart Turton (Tr. Kazuyo Misumi, Bungei Shunju, original title: The Devil and the Dark Water, publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, language: English)

Kanojo wa Suiyobi ni Shinda (She died on Wednesday) by Richard Lange (Tr. Hiroto Yoshino, Tokyo Sogensha, original title: Sweet Nothing, publisher: Mulholland Books, language: English)

WIN by Harlan Coben (Tr. Toshiki Taguchi, Shogakukan, original title: WIN, publisher: Grand Central Publishing, language: English)

January 16, 2023: The Agatha Christie Prize, 2022
The winner of the 12th Agatha Christie Award for unpublished mystery novels, named after the “Queen of Crime” herself, was published in November 2022 by award sponsor Hayakawa Publishing. The work, Soshite, Yomigaeru Sekai (And Then, the World Reborn), is set in the year 2036, where technological advances have made it possible for the disabled to live through avatars in virtual reality. The severely disabled protagonist is a neurosurgeon who operates successfully on a young girl through an avatar, but after she is threatened by a mysterious shadow, another doctor is murdered. Author Yutaka Nishishiki penned the work while employed in planning and sales for a men’s apparel brand.

July 06, 2022: Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka Fails to Win Translation Dagger
Kōtarō Isaka’s Bullet Train (translated by Sam Malissa, original Japanese title: Maria Beetle) was shortlisted for the CWA Translation Dagger in May. The winner, announced on June 29 at the CWA Dagger Awards Gala Dinner in London, was Hotel Cartagena by Simone Buchholz. Congratulations to Ms Buchholz.

July 06, 2022: Japan’s Favorite Detective Novel Translated into English for the First Time
Death on Gokumon Island (original Japanese title: Gokumon-tō) is recognized as one of the finest works of Seishi Yokomizo, who ushered in the age of the detective novel in post-War Japan. This English translation by Louise Heal Kawai was published in Pushkin Vertigo in June 2022.
Inspired by a foreign works including Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and S. S. Van Dine's The Bishop Murder Case, its inclusion of Japanese sensitivities and unique ideas has earned praise from readers for over three quarters of a century since its initial publication in 1948. Surveys of the detective fiction community in Japan almost always show it in first place.

May 27, 2022: The Edogawa Rampo Prize, 2022
The Edogawa Rampo Prize, the oldest Japanese prize for previously unpublished mystery novels, received 385 submissions for the 68th Prize this year. On May 17, Akane Araki was announced as the winner, for Konoyo no Hate no Satsujin (The End of the World Murders). Ms Araki, only 23 when the book was completed, is the youngest recipient ever to receive the Prize. The work covers the complex search to identify a serial killer by two women—a thirty-something driving school instructor and a twenty-something office clerk—and is set in the Kyushu dystopia as a major asteroid strike is only two months away.

May 27, 2022: Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka Shortlisted for Translation Dagger
Bullet Train (original Japanese title : Maria Beetle) by MWJ member Kōtarō Isaka, and translated by Sam Malissa, has been shortlisted for the CWA Translation Dagger (formerly International Dagger) 2022.
The Dagger awards ceremony will be held in London on 29 June, coinciding with National Crime Reading Month <http://www.crimereading.com/>.

P.S. The American movie based on this book is coming soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IOsk2Vlc4o

April 24, 2020: The announcement of this year’s Mystery Writers of Japan Awards has been postponed until further notice.

October 30, 2019: Newcomer by Keigo Higashino Fails to Win Int'l Dagger
Keigo Higashino's Newcomer (translated by Giles Murray) was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger Award 2019 in July. The winner, announced on October 24 at the CWA Dagger Awards Gala Dinner in London, was A Long Night in Paris by Dov Alfon. Congratulations to Mr. Alfon.

August 01, 2019: Keigo Higashino Shortlisted for Int'l Dagger
Newcomer by former MWJ president Keigo Higashino (translated by Giles Murray) was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2019.
The winner will be announced on October 24 at the CWA Dagger Awards Gala Dinner in London.

May 15, 2019: Mark X Fails to Win Edgar Award
The winners for the 2019 Edgar Awards were announced by the Mystery Writers of America on April 25. Mark X: Who Killed Huck Finn's Father? by Yasuhiro Takeuchi was nominated in the Best Critical/Biographical category but did not win the award, which went to Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S. Klinger. The MWJ offers its sincere congratulations to Mr. Klinger.

March 22, 2019: Work by a Japanese Literary Scholar Nominated for an Edgar Award
On January 22, the Mystery Writers of America announced the nominations for the Edgar Awards. Mark X: Who Killed Huck Finn's Father? (Taylor & Francis – Routledge), by Hokkaido University Professor Yasuhiro Takeuchi was nominated for Best Critical/Biographical work. This is the first work by a Japanese author to be nominated in the Best Critical/Biographical category. The winning nominations will be announced on April 25.
Professor Takeuchi teaches American literature, and is well-known for his research into Mark Twain, J.D. Salinger, among others. While he writes in Japanese as well, Mark X was written in English, bringing together previously published papers on the subject and adding new observations.
While Professor Takeuchi is not a member of the Mystery Writers of Japan, the nomination of a work by a Japanese author is certainly exciting news for the entire community.
Other Japanese works nominated for Edgars include Out by Natsuo Kirino (trans. Stephen Snyder) and Keigo Higashino's The Devotion of Suspect X (trans. Alexander O. Smith) for Best Novel in 2004 and 2012, respectively, and Kanae Minato's Penance (trans. Philip Gabriel) for Best Paperback Original in 2018.
http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html
https://www.let.hokudai.ac.jp/book/14563

May 26, 2017: Penance
Penance, written by Kanae Minato and translated by Philip Gabriel, was published by Mulholland Books in April 2017. This is Minato’s third book, but her second in English following Confessions (2014), also from Mulholland.
Minato (b. 1973) made her debut in 2007 with "The Saint," winning a short story award from a Japanese mystery magazine. The following year she rewrote it as the first chapter in Confessions, which became a bestseller and was adapted into a film. Confessions has already been translated into numerous languages including English, French, Italian, German, Chinese, and Korean. The English translation won the American Library Association Alex Award in 2014, and was nominated for both the Strand Magazine Critics Award for Best First Novel and the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel. The Wall Street Journal also listed it as one of the ten Best Mystery Books of 2014.

April 5, 2017: The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping
The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping, written by Keigo Higashino and translated by Jan Mitsuko Cash, was published by Vertical in February 2017.
Keigo Higashino (1958-), ex-president of MWJ, is one of the most popular mystery writers in Japan, as well as in East Asia and the English-speaking world, through titles such as The Devotion of Suspect X.

November 10, 2016: Deep Red released
Deep Red, written by Hisashi Nozawa and translated by Asumi Shibata, was published by Vertical in October 2016. Hisashi Nozawa (1960–2004) is the 1997 Edogawa Rampo Prize recipient for his novel Hasen no marisu, and this is his first work to be translated into English. A review is online at Crime Fiction Lover.
http://www.crimefictionlover.com/2016/11/deep-red/

October 19, 2016: CWA International Dagger Award Winner Announced
On October 11, 2016 the Crime Writers' Association announced the winner of the International Dagger as The Great Swindle, written by Pierre Lemaitre of France and translated by Frank Wynne. Six Four, written by Hideo Yokoyama of Japan and translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies, was shortlisted for the award, marking the first nomination of a Japanese work for the CWA Dagger Awards.

October 19, 2016

New Books and Short Stories by MWJ Members

Revised: November 10, 2016

List also includes non-genre works.

January 2016: Gakuto Mikumo, Strike the Blood, Vol. 2: From the Warlord's Empire (trans. Jeremiah Bourque, Yen On)
February 2016: Keigo Higashino, A Midsummer's Equation (trans. Alexander O. Smith, Minotaur Books)
March 2016: Hideo Furukawa, Horses, Horses, in the End the Light Remains Pure: A Tale That Begins with Fukushima (trans. Doug Slaymaker and Akiko Takenaka, Columbia University Press)
Hideo Yokoyama, Six Four (trans. Jonathan Lloyd-Davies, riverrun)
Hideyuki Kikuchi, Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 23: Iriya the Berserker (trans. Kevin Leahy, Dark Horse Books)
Yoshiki Tanaka, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 1: Dawn (trans. Daniel Huddleston, Haikasoru)
April 2016: Isuna Hasekura, Spice and Wolf, Vol. 17: Epilogue (trans. Jeremiah Bourque, Yen On)
Hideo Furukawa, "The First Asura" (trans. Ryan Shaldjian Morrison, Monkey Business, vol. 6)
Shin'ichi Hoshi, "Shoulder-Top Secretary" (trans. Jay Rubin, Monkey Business, vol. 6)
May 2016: Gaku Yakumaru, A Cop's Eyes (trans. Jan Mitsuko Cash, Vertical)
Tetsuya Honda, The Silent Dead (trans. Giles Murray, Minotaur Books)
Alice Arisugawa, The Moai Island Puzzle (trans. Ho-Ling Wong, Locked Room International)
Yukito Ayatsuji, Another Episode S / 0 (trans. Karen McGillicuddy, Yen On)
Gakuto Mikumo, Strike the Blood, Vol. 3: The Amphisbaena (trans. Jeremiah Bourque, Yen On)
June 2016: Seicho Matsumoto, A Quiet Place (trans. Louise Heal Kawai, Bitter Lemon Press)
Miyuki Miyabe, Puppet Master, parts 4 and 5 of the novel (trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori, Creek and River) (ebook only)
Natsuhiko Kyogoku, The Wicked and the Damned: A Hundred Tales of Karma, Vol. 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the series (trans. Ian M. MacDonald, Creek and River) (ebook only)
July 2016: Yoshiki Tanaka, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 2: Ambition (trans. Daniel Huddleston, Haikasoru)
August 2016: Tetsuo Takashima, Tsunami (trans. Tom Slattery, Shueisha English Edition) (ebook only)
Miyuki Miyabe, The Gate of Sorrows (trans. Jim Hubbert, Haikasoru)
Shichiri Nakayama, Nocturne of Remembrance (trans. Paul Rubin, Vertical)
September 2016: Gakuto Mikumo, Strike the Blood, Vol. 4: Labyrinth of the Blue Witch (trans. Jeremiah Bourque, Yen On)
October 2016: Hideyuki Kikuchi, Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 24: Throng of Heretics (trans. Kevin Leahy, Dark Horse Books)
Mariko Koike, The Graveyard Apartment (trans. Deborah Boliver Boehm, Thomas Dunne Books)