As testimony to their characteristically low profile, Japan¡¯s public libraries seldom make the news, although two recent exceptions come to mind.
In 2013, a number of school and public libraries in Shimane and Tottori prefectures attracted coverage when they removed Hiroshima bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa¡¯s illustrated autobiographical novel, ¡°Barefoot Gen,¡± from their shelves. Some parents had objected to the depictions of extreme violence, while local right-wing groups had denounced its raising the issue of the late Emperor Showa¡¯s war responsibility.
Last year, the defacing of more than 100 books at Tokyo-area public libraries related to the diary of Holocaust victim Anne Frank, mostly in the juvenile book sections, made international headlines. The perpetrator, a man with a history of mental health issues, was finally apprehended after a security camera recorded him doing the same thing in a bookstore. His name was not even made public.
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