Haruki Murakami Meets Press in Japan for 1st Time in 37 Years

Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)--Renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami has held a press conference in Japan for the first time in 37 years, to announce a plan to donate his manuscripts, books and other materials to Waseda University. The private university in Tokyo intends to set up a center to study Murakami's works, which have been translated and published in over 50 countries around the world, by March 2020. At the news conference held at the university on Sunday, Murakami, a 69-year-old Waseda graduate, said he decided to meet the press because he found it "necessary to explain by myself" his commitment to the research center project, which he said means a lot to him. "I'll be happy if (the project) helps people who want to study my works," Murakami said. He also expressed hope that the center will provide an opportunity for international cultural exchange. Kaoru Kamata, president of the university, said Waseda is "best suited" for managing the Murakami collection. The university accepts foreign students most in the country, he pointed out. Murakami enrolled at the university's literature department in 1968 and graduated in 1975. END