Legendary Japanese Mystery Writer Keigo Higashino Passes Away at 68 from Colon Cancer — Final Work to Be Released in August

Keigo Higashino, the celebrated Japanese author known for winning the Naoki Prize with 'The Devotion of Suspect X' and creating numerous works adapted into films and TV dramas such as 'Journey Under the Midnight Sun,' passed away on May 23 due to colon cancer at the age of 68. A private family funeral has already been held. Born in Osaka City in 1958, Higashino graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Osaka Prefectural University. After working as an engineer in the manufacturing industry, he simultaneously pursued a career in literary writing. In 1985, he made his official debut by winning the Edogawa Rampo Prize with 'After School,' a mystery novel set around a locked-room murder at a girls' high school. In 1999, he won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award with the novel 'Secret.' His 2005 novel 'The Devotion of Suspect X' became his most iconic work, depicting a mathematically gifted high school teacher who plans a perfect crime and confronts an old friend, a physicist. The novel masterfully combines a shocking truth with a pure love story, earning both the Naoki Prize and the Honkaku Mystery Award. The Galileo series, including this work and starring actor Masaharu Fukuyama, received widespread acclaim after adaptation into television and film, becoming a blockbuster bestseller. Throughout his career, Higashino published over 100 novels, including the 'Kaga Koichiro' series and the 'Masquerade Hotel' series, establishing himself as one of the most representative authors of his generation. In 2012, he received the Chuo Koron Literary Award for 'The Miracles of the Namiya General Store,' the Shibata Renzaburo Prize in 2013 for 'Yume no Hana' (Dream Flower), and the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize in 2014 for 'When the Prayer Ends.' By 2023, his works had surpassed 100 million cumulative copies in print in Japan, and he was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal and the Kikuchi Kan Prize. Higashino served as president of the Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013 and as a judge for the Naoki Prize from 2014 to 2019. The upcoming Galileo series novel 'The Memory of Eternity,' originally scheduled for release on August 5, will now be published as his final work. More exclusive scoops from Wind Media: ‧ Rakuten Kobo Annual Rankings: Business and finance books top sellers; Keigo Higashino tops search trends ‧ Ichio Ito completes her first novel after ten years: 'Blue Flowers' weaves family and memory ‧ Farewell to Eco! Celebrated Italian novelist and author of 'The Name of the Rose' passes away at 84