In Japan, book criticising trans ‘craze’ sparks rare culture-war skirmish

Backlash against publishers of controversial book highlights blurring of national borders in the social media age.

Tokyo, Japan – When Japanese book publisher Kadokawa announced last year it would publish a translation of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, it ignited a culture-war skirmish of the kind rarely seen in Japan.

Trans rights activists organised a protest in front of Kadokawa’s Tokyo offices, while social media users accused the publisher of acts of bigotry – from platforming a “trans hater” to “inciting discrimination through public relations.”

Within days, Kadokawa announced it had cancelled the planned publication and apologised for causing concern.

“We planned to publish the translation, hoping it would help readers in Japan deepen their discussions about gender through what is happening in Europe and the United States,” the publisher said in a statement in December.

“But the title and sales copy ended up causing harm to people directly involved.”