I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 320: Kitagawa teacher’s book is “up to the sky” and another Japanese Prime Minister is about to be doomed!
This is probably the biggest public opinion crisis since the Nobel Prize in Literature was established.

It was not until 2017 that the Nobel Prize in Literature encountered a similar major crisis.

In the original history, at the end of 2017, the Swedish "Daily News" revealed that 18 women accused Jean-Claude Arnault, the husband of Katarina Frostenson, a member of the Swedish Academy, of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Arnault is also a god. At a banquet in 2006, he even tried to make a move on Swedish Crown Princess Victoria.
He was also one of the main forces behind the public leak of the Nobel Prize in Literature shortlist.

After the Arnault incident, the Nobel Prize Committee and Council announced the suspension of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The impact of public opinion this time will not stop the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature next year, but the opposition and questioning voices in Japan are like a rolling wave, which has hit the West from East Asia.

Social media from major Western countries such as Britain, France and the United States also joined the debate. The literary markets in these three countries had just been swept by Kitagawa Hide's novels and they were stakeholders, so they all stood on Kitagawa Hide's side.

The most unlucky one was Dario Fo, an old artist who specialized in drama and satire of current affairs, who was inexplicably destroyed by online trolls.

He is also one of Kitagawa Hide's readers, and he quite likes Kitagawa Hide's "The Strange-Bird Shape Chronicle" and "Killing Commendatore" very much.

If the Nobel Prize in Literature was not the world's top literary award and its temptation to writers was not too great, Dario Fo would not have considered accepting the prize.

This vigorous protest wave lasted for more than half a month. When it was at its peak, a major event pushed it directly to the forefront.

1997 11 Month 3 Day.

A luxury mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA.

"Dear~ come quickly! There's an urgent email for you!"

Yumeko, who was holding Kitagawa Midori and feeding her, didn't even have time to pull up her clothes which had slipped off, and she ran excitedly into the study.

"Urgent email?"

Kitagawa Hide was working on the outline of The Old Man and the Sea at this time, and was also revising the subsequent chapters of Norwegian Wood.

He keeps up with current events and, after reading feedback from many readers and netizens, fine-tunes some controversial plots.

At the same time, noticing that Naoko was much more popular than Midori in the novel, a small plot about Naoko and Toru Watanabe in the mental hospital was added according to Haruki Murakami's remake.

Some may criticize him for using any means necessary for business and fame.

But Kitagawa Hide has a completely different view on this.

In the past, writers could only write their novels completely, read the reviews after they were published, and then make adjustments for the next one because of limited communication conditions and technological equipment.

But nowadays, with the rapid development of science and technology, writers can obviously get feedback from readers in almost real time, so why can't they revise their works while they are writing?

The reason why science can develop so rapidly is that generation after generation of scientists have been tirelessly learning and overturning the "truths" of their predecessors.

Why can’t literature be like this?

Only works that make readers applaud and cannot be put down for a long time after reading can be called good books.

A writer who is not good at writing and only thinks of using unconventional means to gain achievements that he does not deserve will never be able to stand at the top of the world literary scene.

"Yes, yes, it's an encrypted email from the Prime Minister's Office~"

Mengzi is the manager of Hide Kitagawa's personal mailbox and website. Now, when she is not taking care of the two little ones, she passes the time by reading letters and emails written to Hide Kitagawa by others.

There was no internet in Kitagawa Hide's study, and he didn't know why the Prime Minister's Office suddenly visited him.

I went outside and sat down in front of the computer, opened the encrypted email and saw that the sender was "Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Machimura Nobuyoshi, Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency, Toyama Atsuko, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency researcher and astronaut Doi Takao."

In 2001, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Agency for Science and Technology merged into the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Therefore, the letter writer, Atsuko Toyama, is now a high-ranking official at the same level as Nobutaka Machimura - equivalent to the high-ranking official next door.

I also have an impression of Takao Doi and Hide Kitagawa behind him. He seemed to be the first Japanese astronaut to complete a space walk.

Why did the aerospace people suddenly come to me?
Kitagawa Hide read the email curiously, and Mengzi also came over with her daughter in her arms. Then her eyes widened and she was shocked.

“.Our department is extremely dissatisfied with the award result of the Swedish Academy and has sent an official email to protest.

To show our respect for Mr. Kitagawa, we hope that astronaut Takao Doi will send Mr. Kitagawa's masterpiece "The Dancing Girl of Izu" into space during the STS-11 mission on November 9.

"The Space Research Institute wants to send your dear book into space?!"

As far as Mengzi knew, there had never been such an outrageous thing.

For most ordinary people, aerospace technology, outer space, universe, and astronauts are the most advanced and mysterious words, which arouse more imagination than pilots, captains, etc.

This time, in order to help Hide Kitagawa, the Japanese authorities are actually going to send his rejected work "The Dancing Girl of Izu" into outer space. It's simply horrifying!
Kitagawa Hideya found this outrageous.

In his memory, there was only one similar incident.

After the millennium, the country successfully bid for the Olympic Games, and the government invited celebrities to write songs to congratulate it. Then the only king of the Chinese pop music scene wrote a song called "Thousands of Mountains and Rivers", which was also sent into outer space.

This can be said to be the highest official recognition of celebrities in the literary and art circles.

Kitagawa Hide himself doesn't really care about this kind of honor.

He had no sense of belonging to Japan, but it was different for the natives like Yumeko.

Wealth and honor do not return to their hometown, just like walking in brocade at night.

In Yumeko's opinion, now is the shining moment for Kitagawa Hidekazu and her return home in wealth and glory.

"That's great. I'll reply to the email, and then on the 9th, we'll watch the live broadcast together at home."

Kitagawa Hide said to Mengzi with a smile, and then sent a reply email with only one word to the official of the Aerospace Research Institute -

"it is good."

After receiving Kitagawa Hide's reply, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency immediately began intensive preparations for sending the novel into outer space.

STS is the abbreviation of Space Transportation System, which is the official name given to the space shuttle by NASA.

The so-called STS mission is an official space shuttle mission organized by the United States. This type of mission generally involves the participation of astronauts from many countries.

The STS-87 mission is mainly to conduct a microgravity load experiment and use the corona to observe the situation of the Spartan satellite. It is a relatively easy space mission.

That's why the host military agreed to allow Japanese astronaut Takao Doi to take a novel on the space shuttle and keep it permanently in the aviation equipment he was riding.

This is also thanks to the Swedish Academy for not awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature to Kitagawa Hide.

If the award had really been given to him, perhaps the topic would not have become so hotly discussed that it would have become known to everyone and even shocked the Western literary world.

At 11:9 p.m. on November 3, the National Geographic Channel and the American cable science fiction channel jointly established by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures broadcast the STS-87 space mission live.

Kitagawa Hide and Yumeko were already in front of the TV early.

There are actually several live broadcasts of this kind of space missions every week, but they are too professional and the content is very boring, so basically no audience will watch them.

When the news that his work "The Dancing Girl of Izu" was going to be sent into outer space came out, it instantly attracted millions of curious American citizens.

On the other hand, major Japanese TV stations, having captured the business opportunity, also paid money to buy the broadcasting rights so that the Japanese people could also witness Mr. Kitagawa's novel "Going to Heaven" for the first time.

In winter time, 3 p.m. in the United States is 4 a.m. the next day in Japan, and it is still dark.

But at this moment, across Japan, tens of millions of television sets were turned on, and nearly 100 million citizens were sitting in front of their televisions, staring intently at the live broadcast of this space mission.

Under the guidance of the staff, American reporters came to the space shuttle launch base and met the twelve astronauts who were responsible for carrying out the mission into space.

These space elites greeted the audience in front of the TV one by one with a smile. When it came to the last person, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

This was the first time that Takao Doi felt so nervous in his 14 years in the industry.

"Hello, Mr. Doi, please say hello to the audience in front of the TV?" The female reporter handed over the microphone with a smile on her face.

"Hello everyone, my name is Takao Doi, I am from Tokyo, Japan, and I am one of the astronauts on the STS-87 space mission."

As he spoke, he pulled out an English version of The Dancing Girl of Izu from behind his back. After talking about Kitagawa's novel, his reserved demeanor improved significantly.

"This is another important task I took on this time - to take the English version of The Dancing Girl of Izu into outer space.

Personally, I often read some pure literary novels in my spare time to improve my literary literacy.

Mr. Kitagawa is my favorite writer and I have collected all his novels.

I have read this book "The Dancing Girl of Izu" sixteen times and recommended its English version to all my colleagues.

When I heard that Mr. Kitagawa and it were shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature, I was really happy, even happier than when I heard that I could participate in this space mission!
It's a pity that Mr. Beichuan didn't win the award in the end, I feel very sorry.

I believe there are many readers watching TV who share the same regret as I do.

Sending it into outer space can make up for some of our regrets!"

These lines were naturally designed before the interview.

The designers are most likely from the United States.

It seems that the Americans are a little indignant that Kitagawa Hide didn't win the award.

Takao Doi spoke calmly, but his tone and the content of his words were not friendly.

Not only did they deliberately give away an English version, but they also specifically emphasized the regret of not winning the award, which was simply a cue to the Swedish Academy in person.

Kitagawa Hide was amused and thought that the social media of Americans were also very interesting. Just like the UC Shock Department which later became very popular, they knew what gimmicks to use to attract traffic.

The great Murakami, who was a runner-up for the Nobel Prize for more than ten years in his previous life, was also exploited in various ways by social media.

In the end, it is not clear whether it was the Nobel Prize that made Murakami successful, or whether Murakami helped maintain the popularity of the Nobel Prize.

Anyway, Kitagawa Hide himself still hopes to win the award as soon as possible, and it would be even better if he could win all the literary awards.

On TV, in full view of everyone, Takao Doi personally sealed the book "The Dancing Girl of Izu" into an exquisite box and took it into the space shuttle.

There was a sudden and prolonged applause from all around, which showed that Kitagawa Hide was indeed very popular.

The shuttle launch time was 3:55:46 p.m.

Kitagawa Hide and his friends waited in front of the TV for nearly an hour and finally saw the space shuttle launch.

Seeing this scene, Beichuan Xiu suddenly remembered a controversial topic before he traveled through time in his previous life -

Did the United States' Apollo successfully land on the moon? Was Armstrong's small step, a giant leap for mankind true or false?

This thing seemed to have no clear conclusion until he came here.

Some people say this is true, and official media have come forward to testify that it is false and is a conspiracy theory. Others say this is a fabrication made up by the United States in order to consolidate its hegemonic position.

In short, Kitagawa Hide hopes that this time "The Dancing Girl of Izu" is really a success, so that he can leave his name in history.

The live broadcast of this space mission lasted until 5 pm, and in Japan, the broadcast officially ended at : in the morning.

Many people stood in the cold wind, staring at the electronic screen outside the shopping mall.

When the space shuttle took off, cheers echoed over major cities such as Tokyo.

During this live broadcast, the average viewership of the two major American channels reached 31.7%, setting a record for the highest viewership for technology channels in the United States in the past decade.

The situation in Japan is quite exaggerated. The average viewership rating of Tokyo Broadcasting System TBS, which has grabbed the broadcasting rights, directly exceeded 50%. Among all TV programs this year, it is second only to the Red and White Songs Contest at the beginning of the year!

The popularity of the event has further boosted the sales of "The Dancing Girl of Izu", and the total sales of the Japanese version of the physical book are already approaching Kitagawa Hide's most popular "No Longer Human".

After the STS-87 space mission, the Swedish Academy was once again at the center of public opinion.

This time they simply pretended to be dead and did not respond. In any case, they must not undermine the unparalleled authority of the Nobel Prize.

As for the fact that Americans helped Kitagawa Hide's novel "Go to Heaven", they all kept silent about it, as if it had never happened.

These two events went back and forth in Japan, and finally around the middle of the month, they were overshadowed by another major event.

11 month 13 day.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office held a press conference to announce the Nomura Securities Corporation interest-sharing case.

Nomura Securities was the second large securities company to go bankrupt after the bursting of the bubble economy, and it was also the largest securities company in Japan.

The amount involved in this case is as high as 160 billion yen, and most of Nomura Securities' money came from ordinary people.

Also exposed was the Ministry of Finance's reception corruption incident.

It is said that officials from the Ministry of Finance were unclear about reception expenses, and the average amount of corruption per person exceeded 100 million yen. The total amount is terrifying!
Whether these things are true or not is not important, but all the blame is directed at Ryutaro Hashimoto and his cabinet members.

Kitagawa Hide, who was sending the revised version of "Norwegian Wood" to Saito Rena in the form of an encrypted email, couldn't help but sigh after seeing the news.

"Another Japanese Prime Minister is about to be ruined!"

(End of this chapter)