Renowned Japanese mystery novel writer Keigo Higashino passed away in the early morning of July 23 due to colon cancer, at the age of 68.
On July 27, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported the news of his passing.
According to Nandu N Video journalist, Keigo Higashino’s funeral was held in a private manner, with only family members allowed to attend.
Chinese writer Ma Danqing in Japan expressed shock, saying, “He was still very young.”
Ma Danqing introduced Keigo Higashino as a top-tier author in Japan. He debuted with “After School” in 1985, and by 2023, with the release of “Seven Days in Witch’s Company,” he had published 100 novels in Japan, with total sales exceeding 100 million copies. Adding overseas sales figures of around 70 million copies to more than 30 countries makes his publishing volume and scale exceptionally rare among Japanese authors. For the past forty years from 1985 until today, he maintained the unprecedented pace of releasing two to three books annually.
Keigo Higashino was born in 1958 in Osaka to a family in the jewelry business, as the youngest child. Reports indicate that in high school, he became interested in novels after encountering Meicho Minami’s detective novel “Substitute for Murder” and developed a strong interest in the works of popular detective writers at the time such as Seicho Matsumoto.
In 1981, he graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Osaka Prefecture University. Keigo Higashino began his writing career while working as an engineer at a car parts supplier, Japan Electric Corporation.
In 1985, Keigo Higashino won the 31st Edogawa Rampo Award for “After School,” leading to him resigning from his job to become a professional writer. In 1999, he won the 52nd Mystery Writers of Japan Award for his novel “The Secret.”
In 2006, his work “The Devotion of Suspect X” received the 134th Naoki Prize, the 6th Honkaku Mystery Award, and topped the year-end rankings of three major mystery novel lists. Many of his works have been adapted into movies or TV dramas.
Some of his representative works include “Divorce” “The Door of Murder” “Journey Under the Midnight Sun” “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store,” among others. With outstanding mystery designs and intricate storytelling, his works are well-received in Japan and abroad.
In addition, a new full-length novel called “Eternal Memory” from Keigo Higashino’s “Galileo Series” was scheduled to be published on August 5 this year.
According to statistics, Keigo Higashino has a total of 106 published works (excluding collaborations).