The idea of publishing a Japanese version of Nguyen Nhat Anh’s “Ticket to Childhood” (“Cho toi xin mot ve di tuoi tho” in Vietnamese) was first mooted in 2018 as a project between the Vietnam-based Youth Publishing House, Japan’s Daido Life Foundation, and author Nguyen Nhat Anh.

In its introduction to the novel, the Daido Life Foundation said that Nguyen Nhat Anh has written many best-sellers in Vietnam and “Ticket to Childhood” won an ASEAN Literature Award in 2019. The foundation also said it believed the book would promote mutual understanding and solidarity between Vietnam and Japan.

Since it was first published in February 2008, “Ticket to Childhood” has been re-published nearly 70 times. With 400,000 copies having been sold, it was a best-seller for the Youth Publishing House in 2017 and 2018. It has been translated into several languages, including Thai, Korean, English, and now Japanese./.VNA