メニュー開閉ボタン

About

Worth Sharingの表紙が並んでいる写真

Worth Sharing
A Selection of Japanese Books Recommended for Translation

For 50 years, the Japan Foundation has supported the publication of Japan-related books around the world through its Support Program for Translation and Publication on Japan. Books in over 50 languages have been published during that time, in a wide array of genres including classic and contemporary literature, history, sociology, politics, economics, and cultural theory.

From 2012 to 2017, we operated an initiative called “Worth Sharing—A Selection of Japanese Books Recommended for Translation,” aimed at giving people overseas a better understanding of contemporary Japan by selecting recommended outstanding books for translation. In 2022, we added 59 children’s books from Japan under the title, “Lifelong Favorites—Selections from the Bookshelves of Young Readers in Japan.”

Worth Sharing is a website that introduces books recommended by the Japan Foundation for translation around the world. The titles recommended on this list are works that the Japan Foundation would prioritize for its own support program, provided the translations are of adequate quality and appropriate publication plans are submitted.

We aim for the Japan Foundation list to bring together literary works and their authors with translators and publishing companies so that the books can reach overseas readers, thereby enhancing their interaction with Japan.

The Japan Foundation

The following selection committee members chose
the titles for inclusion from 2012 to 2017.

Chō Kyō (Zhang Jin)
(professor, Meiji University)
Nozaki Kan
(professor, University of Tokyo)
Numano Mitsuyoshi
(professor, University of Tokyo)
Ozaki Mariko
(editorial board member, Yomiuri Shimbun)

Note: Academic affiliation and position refers to selection committee membership period

The following selection committee members chose the titles
for inclusion in Lifelong Favorites in 2021.

Doi Yasuko
(senior researcher, IICLO; board member, JBBY)
Fukumoto Yumiko
(translator)
Nogami Akira
(critic and editor; vice president, JBBY)
Okuyama Megumi
(critic; owner, Huckleberry Books)
Sakuma Yumiko
(translator; president, JBBY)
Shiozaki Junko
(researcher; board member, JBBY)
スクロールトップボタン