January 21, 2026
10 Must-Read Japanese Novels Set for Release in 2026
Read ahead of the flow by picking up these translated masterpieces as they hit global bookstore shelves
By Tamaki Hoshi
From noir crime and speculative fantasy to quiet literary meditations and rediscovered classics, 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for Japanese fiction in translation. Some of the titles below are brand-new releases in Japan, while others are long-revered works finally receiving fresh English translations.
Mark your calendars: these are the books across genres to watch out for in 2026.
The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by Takuya Asakura (Translated by Yuka Maeno)
Available February 3, 2026 | HarperCollins
The Cherry Blossom Bookshop appears only once a year, during the brief, breathtaking bloom of sakura season. Within its walls, readers burdened by regret and sorrow find themselves drawn to books that connect past and present, gently guiding them toward acceptance. Told over four seasons, this tender novel follows Sakura, the enigmatic shop owner, and her calico cat Kobako as they welcome visitors in need of healing. With antique shelves, freshly brewed coffee and the quiet wisdom of stories, the bookshop becomes a space where grief can be named…and released.
At its heart, The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop asks a deceptively simple question: why do we read? The answer, here, is hope.
Kokun—The Girl from the West, Volume 1 by Nahoko Uehashi (Translated by Cathy Hirano)
Available February 12, 2026 | Europa Editions
From the author of The Beast Player comes a sweeping new fantasy epic steeped in myth, ecology and political intrigue. The Umar Empire has flourished for centuries thanks to Ohaleh rice, a miraculous grain said to have been brought from the West by the first empress Kokun.
Resistant to all parasites, it has sustained peace; that is, until a mysterious infestation threatens famine and collapse. Fifteen-year-old Aisha, granddaughter of the deposed king of the West Kantar domain, flees to the imperial capital after a brutal coup.
There, she encounters the reigning Kokun, Olie, who is worshipped for her supposed divine gift, yet is secretly powerless. As the two girls uncover hidden truths about the rice and the empire’s origins, they form an uneasy alliance that may determine the fate of the natural world itself.
Richly imagined and emotionally grounded, Kokun signals the beginning of an epic series that blends folklore with urgent contemporary concerns.
Strange Buildings by Uketsu (Translated by Jim Rion)
Available February 26, 2026 | Pushkin Vertigo
From the viral sensation behind Strange Pictures comes another addictive mystery. Eleven buildings—each eerie, each incomplete—hide fragments of a single, horrifying truth. A lonely hut. A secret chamber. A burning home. Each structure tells a chilling story, inviting readers to piece together clues hidden in floor plans, shadows and absences. As the puzzle deepens, so does the dread.
With millions of readers already hooked, Strange Buildings may be Uketsu’s darkest work yet.
Suspicion by Seicho Matsumoto (Translated by Jesse Kirkwood)
Available March 3, 2026 | Penguin Random House
Inspired by a real-life insurance murder case that shocked Japan in 1974, Suspicion transforms true crime into a psychological allegory. Originally published in 1982, Matsumoto’s novella reimagines the suspect as Kumako Onizuka, a beautiful former hostess with underworld ties, married to a wealthy rural widower. As rumors swirl and truth fractures, the novella becomes less about guilt than about how truth is pursued, distorted and weaponized.
Often called the Agatha Christie of Japan, Matsumoto delivers a taut, unsettling meditation on justice and perception.
Hooked by Asako Yuzuki (Translated by Polly Barton)
Available March 17, 2026 | Ecco
From the author of Butter comes a chilling portrait of obsession and female friendship. Eriko appears to have it all—career, family, discipline—but beneath her polished exterior lies a desperate hunger for connection. When she befriends Shoko, a popular lifestyle blogger, admiration turns to fixation, and intimacy curdles into something darker. As both women’s lives begin to unravel, Hooked exposes the fragile boundaries between desire, envy and self-destruction.
Sharp, provocative and deeply empathetic, this novel has been named one of 2026’s most anticipated releases by The New York Times, The Guardian and Oprah Daily.
Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami (Translated by Laurel Taylor & Hitomi Yoshio)
Available March 17, 2026 | Penguin Random House
Set in 1990s Tokyo at a moment when the city is rapidly splitting into haves and have-nots, Sisters in Yellow follows a tight-knit group of friends fighting for freedom, independence and survival. Described as a Japanese Breaking Bad with the literary depth of Donna Tartt or Hanya Yanagihara, this novel may well be one of Kawakami’s most ambitious works to date.
Written as a crime novel, Kawakami has described the book as an exploration of “the relationship between facts and memories, victims and perpetrators.” Though the narrative unfolds during the COVID-19 pandemic, its emotional core lies in the 1990s—a decade marked by the Aum Shinrikyo attacks, the Great Hanshin Earthquake and the rise of Shibuya-kei culture. For Kawakami, enough time has passed to interrogate that era honestly, without romanticized nostalgia, using it instead as a lens through which to understand the present.
Bonus for fans: The novel even inspired a limited-edition coffee blend in Japan, created in collaboration with Kawakami herself.
The Soul Catchers by Naoko Higashi (Translated by Lucy North)
Available March 19, 2026 | Penguin Random House
What if death didn’t mean leaving, but staying? In The Soul Catchers, eleven recently deceased souls find themselves lingering in the world, inhabiting everyday objects to watch over those they love. Drawing on Japanese folk beliefs about spirits and objects, Higashi crafts a novel that is whimsical, sensual and unexpectedly moving. Each story explores the ache of attachment and the difficulty of letting go, reminding readers that love doesn’t end; it simply changes form.
Comforting yet profound, this is a quietly original meditation on grief, memory and human connection.
Troubled Waters by Ichiyo Higuchi (Translated by Brian Karetnyk)
Available March 26, 2026 | Pushkin Press Classics
This new translation of Ichiyo Higuchi’s best stories introduces English readers to one of Japan’s most revered literary pioneers. Set among teahouses, red-light districts and working-class neighborhoods, these stories capture fleeting beauty amid hardship. Higuchi, one of Japan’s first professional woman writers, is celebrated for her classical prose and deep emotional sensitivity. Her characters—serving maids, children on the brink of adulthood, courtesans and dreamers—navigate longing, compromise and quiet resistance.
Rarely translated but deeply influential, Troubled Waters is essential reading for lovers of literary history.
Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa (New translation by Asa Yoneda & David Boyd)
Available September 15, 2026 | Penguin Random House
A cornerstone of Japanese literature returns in a stunning new translation. On the eve of the Milky Way Festival, Giovanni leaves his classmates behind to work at a printing office, earning a single silver coin before wandering into the night and onto a mysterious galactic train.
Joined by his gentle, enigmatic classmate Campanella, Giovanni embarks on a cosmic journey through wonder, sorrow and spiritual longing. Osamu Tsukasa’s illustrations, inspired by Edvard Munch and Aubrey Beardsley’s art nouveau ink drawings, give this edition a haunting, gothic beauty.
Miyazawa’s timeless meditation on compassion, sacrifice and the meaning of happiness continues to resonate across generations.
Beautiful Distance by Nao-Cola Yamazaki (Translated by Charlotte Goff)
Available September 29, 2026 | Penguin Random House
A man sits in a café, watching a white butterfly flutter past as cherry blossom petals drift to the ground. Life pauses, briefly, before he goes to visit his terminally ill wife in the hospital. Intimate and quietly devastating, Beautiful Distance is a prize-winning bestseller in Japan that examines love at the edge of loss. Yamazaki explores how families face death, how meaning emerges in small gestures and how distance—emotional, physical, inevitable—can also be a form of closeness.
Known for writing “things no one else can say in words anyone can understand,” Yamazaki has earned multiple literary awards and Akutagawa Prize nominations. This translation introduces English readers to one of contemporary Japan’s most distinctive literary voices.
Japanese literature in translation continues to flourish, and 2026 promises another rich harvest. Whether rediscovering classics or encountering bold new voices, these ten novels offer powerful reminders of why stories matter so deeply. Happy reading!
