My new book, Painless Civilization: A Philosophical Critique of Desire was finally published on Oct.5. Now we can see them at large bookstores in big cities. I gave a public lecture on painless civilization at Ikebukuro, Tokyo, on Oct.5, about 100 people came and we had an exciting discussion on the topics I presented. The publisher says the book sells well. I plan to report reactions from readers here.

The other day, a college student in the USA sent an email to me saying that she could help edit the translation of Painless Civilization. It is exciting to know that there is someone outside Japan who has an interest in my new book!

And I suddenly realized that messages from visitors who used our feedback form may have been lost, particularly during recent several months, in a great deal of spam accumulated in my mailbox.... If you have not received a reply after sending a message to me, would you send it again?

Photo: What's this? A coffee cup, or.....

What's New: Nothing.

I gave two public lectures in Tokyo, on Sep.27 and Oct.15. Almost 100 people came to each lecture, and we had long discussions about my new book. Many participants already had the book, and the rest seemed to get it after the lecture. Questions were very interesting. I regret that I was not able to answer clearly to every question.

Several book reviews and comments have been uploaded on the web. Some are favorable, but some are critical; both are stimulating for me. Probably, some book reviews will appear in newspapers next month. I will report them next.

Photo is an advertisement of the book in a nation-wide newspaper. You can see five Chinese characters in the middle, which mean "critique of painless civilization."

What's New: Nothing.