The Chinese translation of Higashino’s Miracles of the Namiya General Store was Amazon’s bestselling paperback in China in 2017 and its third bestselling e-book. His novel Journey Under the Midnight Sun was the fourth bestselling paperback in 2017.
According to China Daily, Higashino’s novels have made it into the top 10 of these two rankings for four consecutive years since the Chinese edition of Miracles of the Namiya General Store was first published in 2014 in China.
His books aren’t just bought; they are also widely borrowed. In 2016, his novel by, Mysterious Night, was the third most frequently borrowed book at Peking University Library, the main library at China’s leading and most prestigious university.
Higashino also had the two most requested and reserved books at the Library, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, and Journey Under the Midnight Sun. The only other novel in the library’s top ten was Animal Farm, by George Orwell (1903-1950), the seventh most borrowed book from the library.
Higashino’s popularity is not just limited to China and Japan. In 2017, three of top ten bestselling novels in South Korea were also by him. Making him a massive hit in the world’s second, fourth and tenth largest markets respectively, as measured by the International Publishers Association (IPA).
Journey Under the Midnight Sun, structured as a series of short stories, was initially published in serial format in a Japanese magazine (1997-1999) and in book format in 1999. It has been adapted for television, the stage, and for film in Japan and Korea.
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