- Japanese author Haruki Murakami is set to release his new novel, The Tale of KAHO, in Japan on 3 July, with an e-book edition available simultaneously.
- The 352-page novel marks Murakami's first full-length work to feature a woman, a 26-year-old picture book author named Kaho, as the sole protagonist.
- The Tale of KAHO is a reworked version of Murakami's four-part "Kaho" series, which was originally published in the literary magazine Shinchō between June 2024 and March 2026.
- The story centres on Kaho, described as having "rather strong curiosity", after a male stranger tells her, "To be honest, I have never seen anyone as ugly as you," prompting her to question his intentions.
- Murakami, who wrote much of the novel after recovering from a serious illness, described the work as "more optimistic" than his previous output and found writing from a woman's perspective surprisingly natural, stating, "I became her."
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