Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese version of Bernardo Atxaga’s novel Soinujolearen semea (The Accordionist´s Son), translated from the Basque original by Nami Kaneko and supported by the Etxepare Basque Institute, is among the five finalists for Japan’s Best Translation Award. Published by Shinchosa in 2020, the Japanese translation of the Atxaga novel is being acclaimed by readers and critics alike, and has received positive reviews in newspapers and magazines, as well as five-star ratings in Japanese bookshops.
In 2016, Nami Kaneko won this prestigious award for her translation of Kirmen Uribe´s novel Mussche. The jury will announce this year’s award on May 18th. The initial candidates for this year’s edition included eighteen books, thirteen of which received the highest number of votes from readers, plus another five recommended by a jury of five translators. These were the finalists:
- Soinujolearen semea, written by Bernardo Atxaga, translated by Nami Kaneko
- An Inventory of Losses, written by Judith Schalansky, translated by Naoko Hosoi
- Born in 1984, written by Hao Jingfang, translated by Chuo Koron
- Friday Black, written by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenya, translated by Motoko Oshino
- Murderbot Diaries, written by Martha Wells, translated by Naoya Nakahara