Ogawa Yoko Ms. Ogawa Yoko debuted in 1988 by winning the new writer's award from a literary magazine. In 1991, she attracted readers throughout Japan after winning the Akutagawa Prize with the publication of Pregnancy Diary. Over the more than 30 years of writing that followed, she has continued to produce excellent long and short stories, winning awards for such publications as The Housekeeper and the Professor (2004, Yomiuri Literary Prize), Mina's Matchbox (2006, Tanizaki Junichiro Award), and Kobako (Little Boxes) (2020, Noma Literary Prize).
From the 2000s, Ms. Ogawa's works achieved a rapid entry into the literary worlds of the U.S. and Europe. The English translation of The Memory Police, a long-form novel depicting a dystopia in which even memories are eventually erased, was published in 2019 and was selected as a finalist for the Booker Prize in the UK and the National Book Award for Translated Literature. Her works have also notably spread throughout Asia in recent years, including Taiwan, China, and Korea, reaching a total of 36 works translated into 37 languages overseas as of mid-2023 (or 39 works including those she co-authored). Ms. Ogawa's works, which evoke sympathy among readers across barriers of language and borders worldwide, have made a major contribution to international mutual understanding through literature and the Japanese language.