Farewell to the Yukan Fuji; Biden nixing U.S. Steel deal a big mistake

CALIFORNIA — This will be my last column for the Yukan Fuji as this colorful evening newspaper is shutting down at the end of January. This brings an end to 18 years worth of columns on my part and 45 years of a vital presence at train station kiosks on the part of this newspaper, having become a victim of the spread of digital services and risings costs for raw materials and transportation.

Actually my relationship to Yukan Fuji goes back even longer — all the way back to 1977 when I was interviewed by an enthusiastic young reporter named Kozo Abe, a Waseda grad, who wrote a feature about my new book, The Chrysanthemum and the Bat.

Abe-san went on to translate and edit my columns starting in 2007, which have been turned into several books over the years. He retired in 2022. And the fine editor Hiroyuki Yonezawa took over.