Sydney-based writer and translator Michiyo Miyake, who was in Tokyo during the Great East-Japan earthquake in 2011, published her semi-autobiographical novel “Green Metal” in 2024, based on that experience. Credit: SBS/photo AC
Fifteen years ago, Michiyo Miyake, now living in Sydney, experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in Tokyo. Drawing on her experiences—the shaking she felt in a department store basement, going home by foot, the aftershocks, health concerns from the nuclear accident, conflicting information, and disagreements within her household—she published a semi-autobiographical English book titled “Green Metal” in 2024. Why did she choose to write it in English?
Fifteen years ago, Michiyo Miyake, now living in Sydney, experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in Tokyo. Drawing on her experiences—the shaking she felt in a department store basement, going home by foot, the aftershocks, health concerns from the nuclear accident, conflicting information, and disagreements within her household—she published a semi-autobiographical English book titled “Green Metal” in 2024. Why did she choose to write it in English?
'Green Metal: Life in Tokyo during the Nuclear Catastrophe' written by Michiyo Miyake. Credit: Uguisu Books
Listen to SBS Japanese Audio on Tue, Thu and Fri from 1pm on SBS 3.
