＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
It has been reported that Haruki Murakami has declined his nomination for the “alternative Nobel Prize in Literature.”
Haruki Murakami has been considered the leading candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature for many years, but has been losing every time.
However, due to a scandal involving a member of the Nobel Prize in Literature Selection Committee, the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature this year was canceled, and an alternative prize, the New Academy Prize in Literature, was established.
Murakami was one of the leading candidates for this prize, but he has now declined.
The official reason given is that he wants to avoid media attention and focus on his writing, but the truth is unknown.
This is my personal guess, but I think it’s because the status of the New Academy Prize is unclear, and there is a concern that if he receives this award, he will be excluded from future nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature. The truth is unknown, though…
First of all, how much of an impact can a “scandal involving the selection committee” have on the “selection of the Nobel Prize in Literature”? It’s hard to understand.
What’s more, it’s bizarre that the scandal has led to the cancellation of this year’s “Nobel Prize in Literature” announcement and the creation of an alternative prize. What is going on?
This may be an overstatement, but was it some kind of “plot” to have Haruki Murakami receive an “alternative prize” and prevent him from winning the Nobel Prize in Literature?
The nominees for the replacement prize appear to have been selected quickly, but how were they different from the candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature, which took longer to select (the selection process should already be over)? It’s all a mystery.
The reality is that we won’t know whether Haruki Murakami ‘s decision was the right one until the Nobel Prize in Literature is announced next year, but what do you all think?
<Added 10/10/2019>
Today, the 2018 and 2019 Nobel Prizes in Literature were announced. In 2018, the winner was Polish female author Olga Tokarczuk, and in 2019, the winner was Austrian male author Peter Handke. Peter Handke’s “political stance” sparked criticism in the West about his awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Regardless, Haruki Murakami missed out on the prize this time as well. This is strange, considering that he has been highly praised in recent years, ranking highly in British bookmakers’ “Nobel Prize in Literature betting,” and is a writer who has written many works that are recognized worldwide for their literary value.
I can’t help but suspect that the selection committee was deliberately excluding Haruki Murakami. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wonders whether the selection process is truly fair and impartial.