Japan's Yuzuki Wins British Book Award

Tokyo, May 13 (Jiji Press)---The English version of "Butter," a novel by Japanese author Asako Yuzuki, won the debut fiction category of the 2025 British Book Awards, Japanese publisher Shinchosha Publishing Co. said Tuesday.
Yuzuki is the first Japanese author to win the award, according to the publisher.
The work is a long novel inspired by a series of suspicious deaths that actually occurred in the greater Tokyo area.
The English version was published in February last year in a translation by Polly Barton. Since then, the work has become a bestseller, selling more than 400,000 copies in Britain and more than 100,000 copies in the United States.
"I feel greatly honored. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Polly Barton, who translated my novel beautifully, and to the publisher, bookstore staff and readers," Yuzuki said.
(2025/05/13-22:23)