Chinese novelist Yang wins prestigious Japanese literature prize

TOKYO, July 16 Kyodo - Chinese writer Yang Li's novel, which she wrote in Japanese, won the Akutagawa Prize on Tuesday, making its author the first Chinese to win the prestigious literary award, the prize's organizers said.

The 44-year-old Yang's award-winning work, titled ''Tokiga nijimu asa,'' literally meaning ''a morning when time blurs,'' is set during and after China's democratization movement centering on the 1989 Tiananmen Incident.

The book follows a Chinese man who lived through those times and later moved to Japan, still holding on to his ideals.

Meanwhile, the Naoki Prize, a major literature award for popular fiction, wentto Areno Inoue, 47, daughter of the late novelist Yasushi Inoue.

Inoue's ''Kiriha e,'' meaning ''to the mine face'' is a love story about ateacher who lives with her husband on a remote island.

Yang's previous work was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize in January, but wasnot chosen.

Yang began learning Japanese after arriving in Japan in 1987. She has lived inthe country for 21 years.

Born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Yang's real name is Liu Qiao.