Haruki Murakami to appeal for peace on antiwar radio show
Haruki Murakami | PHOTO: The Yomiuri Shimbun
TOKYO — To protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine, novelist Haruki Murakami will appeal for peace and no war in a special version of his radio show on Friday.
The 55-minute radio show, “Murakami Radio Tokubetsuban: Senso o Yamesaseru Tameno Ongaku” (Murakami Radio special edition: Music to stop the war), will be aired on Tokyo FM from 11 p.m. on Friday. The program will be carried by a network of 38 FM radio stations across the country.
During the program, Murakami, 73, will promote the ideas that war atrocities should be stopped and peace is precious by playing anti-war songs and Western music that emphasizes the importance of life and introducing foreign-language lyrics that he has translated into Japanese.
He will choose about 10 protest songs from his collection of CDs and records and explain their lyrics and historical backgrounds.
“In Ukraine, a war no one wants has begun. Can music stop war? Probably not. But I believe music can certainly stir listeners into thinking they’ve got to stop the war,” Murakami said.
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