Thrilling Roundtables with Five Intellectuals Also Included

The legendary conversations between the two “Ryus,” Ryū Murakami and Ryuichi Sakamoto, where they sharpened their intellect and sensibility, are revived for the first time in 30 years. This book includes their new conversation, “Talking in Tokyo After 3.11,” their first in 14 years, alongside roundtables held at the end of the 20th century.

“EV.Café 1998-1999” features roundtables that were serialized in the now-defunct magazine “Esquire Japan,” where the two hosts invited guests they wished to speak with. Five leading intellectuals of the time—Akira Asada, philosopher and professor at Kyoto University of Art and Design; Joichi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab; Kenichi Akao, economist; Hiroaki Kitano, president of Sony Computer Science Laboratories; and Naotsugu Takenaka, director of Future Prosecutors Brazil, who handles diverse web content—engage in thrilling discussions reflecting the social climate of the era.

Furthermore, the “EV.Café Special Meeting,” recorded in 2001 for Ryū Murakami’s email magazine “JMM,” featured Yasuhisa Shiozaki, a politician and high school classmate of Ryuichi Sakamoto.

“Ryū Murakami and Ryuichi Sakamoto: 21st Century EV.Café” is the culmination of their conversations over time. How do they view contemporary Japan? And how did they see it then? Perhaps from these reflections, a new “future” will emerge.