Who was Keigo Higashino? Japanese mystery novelist dies at 68; cause of death revealed

Japanese mystery novelist Keigo Higashino passed away on Thursday (July 23, 2026) at the age of 68 due to colon cancer. According to news platforms Jiemian News and Shanghai Daily, the news of his demise was confirmed by Kodansha, a Japanese publishing house, on Monday (July 27, 2026).

Higashino, the author of global bestsellers such as The Devotion of Suspect X and Journey Under the Midnight Sun leaves behind a monumental literary legacy.

Keigo Higashino: Personal life, education and career

Born in Osaka in 1958, he wrote 106 works (excluding co-authored works) during his lifetime. His representative works include The Devotion of Suspect X, After School, Journey Under the Midnight Sun, and The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, Jiemian News reported.

According to online platform Phoenix News, he earned some of Japan’s most prestigious honors, including the “Edogawa Rampo Award,” the “Mystery Writers of Japan Award,” the “Naoki Sanjugo Award,” and the “Honkaku Mystery Award.” In 2012, he received the “Chuo Koron Literary Prize” for “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store." The following year, “The Dream Flower” won the “Shibata Renzaburo Prize,” and in 2014, "When the Prayer Ends" earned “the Yoshikawa Eiji Literary Prize.”

By 2023, his works had sold more than 100 million copies in Japan. That same year, he was honored with the Medal with Purple Ribbon and the Kikuchi Kan Prize, cementing his place among the country’s most celebrated literary figures.

After graduating from Osaka Prefecture University with a degree in electrical engineering, he worked as an engineer in a manufacturing company while simultaneously pursuing his writing career. In 1985, he made his official debut with “After School," a locked-room mystery set in a girls' high school, which won the Edogawa Rampo Award. In 1999, his novel The Secret won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award.

He served as the chairman of the Mystery Writers of Japan from 2009 to 2013 and as a judge for the Naoki Prize from 2014 to 2019. His new Galileo series novel, The Eternal Memory, was originally scheduled for release on August 5, 2026.

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