Abstract

In the year 20XX, 42-year-old Rinko Soma is elected as Japan's 111th Prime Minister. Her husband, Hiyori, an ornithologist, resolves to support her as the nation’s very first "First Gentleman," recording her daily struggles in a diary for future generations.

Taxation, nuclear power, and social welfare—amid chaotic times, the Soma Cabinet commands high public support, but political conspirators loom in the shadows... Will Rinko's ideals prevail? An exhilarating and deeply moving political entertainment novel!

"Why is it taken for granted that Japan's Prime Minister is always a man? I wanted to overturn that through fiction. Rinko embodies my ultimate ideal, while her husband, Hiyori, trusts and protects her behind the scenes no matter what. Set in the political arena, this is at its heart a story of marital love built on mutual trust and support." — Maha Harada

Author’s Information

Born 1962 in Tokyo. Graduated from the Department of Japanese Literature, Faculty of Letters, Kwansei Gakuin University and the Department of Art History, Faculty of Letters II, Waseda University. After working for ITOCHU Corporation, the Mori Art Museum Preparatory Office at Mori Building, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, she became a freelance curator and culture writer in 2002. In 2005, she won the first Japan Love Story Award for Waiting for Kafu, and made her debut as a writer in 2006. He won the 25th Shugoro Yamamoto Award in 2012 for Canvass, and the 36th Nitta Jiro Literature Award in 2017 for Leech Sensei. He has also published many novels and other works about art, including Today is a Good Day, God of Kinema, Tayutademo Sinkazu, The Permanent Exhibition Room, and Romansie. He has also written new books and essays, including "Van Gogh's Footprints," which traces the artist's footsteps, and "Hooten's Maha," which describes his journey to encounter art and gastronomy.