The 164th Akutagawa Prize / Naoki Prize Selection Meeting was held in Tokyo on the 20th, and “Push, Burning Yu” by Rin Usami (21) was selected for the Akutagawa Prize.

Usami is a sophomore at an active university. The award at 21 years and 8 months will be the third youngest in history after Risa Wataya (19 years and 11 months at the time) and Hitomi Kanahara (20 years and 5 months at the time) who received the award at the second half of 2003.

Mr. Usami, who received the news, smiled, “I am full of heart and my head is not catching up. I am very happy.” “I can’t believe it in the long run, I’m 21 years old,” she said with joy upon receiving the award at age 21.

In the same work, which shows fans “pushing” idols, the goal of pushing is expressed as “backbone.” For me, writing is called the “spine”, and “I’ve always had the feeling that I can do it for this, not for exaggeration. It’s not going to change, so I’ll do my best to write it.

Masahiko Shimada, a member of the selection committee, said: “A work with a high literary deviation value. The atmosphere of young talent evaluation was dominant.” Mr. Shimada commented that “the words were being scrutinized.” “I take the time to write. Finding the optimal solution to a sentence can be fun and painful.” I’m ashamed to say it, but I’m happy, “he said with a shy smile.

Last year he won the Yukio Mishima Award for his novel “Kaka”, the youngest in history. Currently writing the next job, he said, “I feel happy and up in the air, but now I’m concentrating on the third job. I want to continue without getting carried away in a bad way.”