This episode of the Books on Asia podcast introduces new fiction and non-fiction on Japan to be published this year, along with two upcoming books on Taiwan. We present the books here in the order they appear on the podcast. Listen to the episode for more information on each title:

Phantom Paradise: Escape from Manchuria, by Kay Enokido
(Bold Story Press, January 13, 2026)

Kokun: The Girl from the West, by Nahoko Uehashi (transl. Cathy Hirano)
(Europa Editions, January 13, 2026)

When the Museum Is Closed, by Emi Yagi (transl. Yuki Tejima)
(Soft Skull Press, January 27, 2026)

Hooked: A Novel of Obsession, by Asako Yuzuki (transl. Polly Barton)
(HarperVia, March 17, 2026)

Sisters in Yellow, by Mieko Kawakami (transl. Laurel Taylor and Hitomi Yoshio)
(Knopf, March 31, 2026)

Hollow Inside, by Asako Otani (transl. Ginny Tapley Takemori)
(Pushkin Press, May 5, 2026)

Japan’s Anime Revolution!: Twenty Animated Films That Changed the World, by Jonathan Clements
(Tuttle Publishing, May 12, 2026)

Troubled Waters, by Ichiyō Higuchi (transl. Bryan Karetnyk)
(Pushkin Press Classics, May 26, 2026)

Upcoming 2026 Releases from Plum Rain Press :

Taiwan 22: Travels in Paradox, by Tyrel Eskelson
Release date to be announced

Hidden Formosa: Life and Travels in Rural Taiwan, an anthology( ed. John Ross)
Release date to be announced

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Thomas Bird was living in Southern China when he decided to explore the country by train and write a book about it. He first attempts to trace the steps of Bruce Chatwin after reading an article of his in the New York Times, but eventually decides to just go with the flow, traveling far and wide on China's old railway during the pre-Covid years 2014-2019. He seeks out old lines and trains and chronicles the people he meets along the way to tell readers what China is like today. The result is Harmony Express: Travels by Train Through China.

Books and authors included in the discussion

Riding the Iron Rooster (1988), by Paul Theroux

Forgotten Kingdom: Nine Years in Yunnan 1939-48 by Peter Goullart (1955)

The Great Walk of China: Travels on Foot from Shanghai to Tibet (2010), by Graham Earnshaw

Bruce Chatwin and Joseph Rock.

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

The 1910 Japan-Britain Exhibition – with Formosa Files

In this special crossover episode, John Ross and Eryk Michael Smith from Formosa Files: the History of Taiwan Podcast explore how Japan showcased its “model colony” of Formosa (1895–1945). First up is the 1910 Japan–British Exhibition in London, which featured human exhibits – 24 Indigenous Paiwan people from southern Taiwan. Next, they follow Crown Prince Hirohito on his 1923 royal tour of the island, before finishing with the 1935 Taiwan Exposition, a massive event commemorating forty years of rule. To learn more about these stories – and to find other episodes – visit the Formosa Files website.

Book recommendation: The primary source for the story of Paiwan tribespeople at the London Exhibition was Lost Histories: Recovering the Lives of Japan’s Colonial Peoples by Kirsten Ziomek (Harvard Asia Center, 2019).

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.