Today is World Book and Copyright Day. And Laos has its own story to mark it.
“The book reminds us that we are not alone in this world.”
That is how Phonepasert ‘Mee’ Xaymonty talked about “Convenience Store Woman”, a Japanese novel he spent more than 300 hours translating into Lao.
Mee grew up in the southern Salavanh Province, with an early obsession with Japan he could not quite explain.
In 2017, a Japanese government scholarship took him to Kyoto University to study education.
Six years later, a question was still lingering in his mind: Why were so many Japanese books available in Thai, but almost none in Lao?
“I wanted Lao readers to have access to these works in our own language,” he said.
After graduating in 2023, Phonepasert returned to Laos and began working as a Japanese-Lao interpreter and translator. He then founded Chiaranai Publishing and took on work as a managing editor overseeing translations from Japanese into Thai and Lao.
A Japanese Novel Finds Its Lao Voice
In 2025, he translated the internationally acclaimed novel “Convenience Store Woman” into Lao from Japanese. That pick turned out to be one of the most celebrated Japanese novels of the past decade and the first time the work is available to Lao readers.
Written by Sayaka Murata and first published in 2016, “Convenience Store Woman” won Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize and has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, with translation rights in more than 40 countries.
The Lao edition, published by Dokked Publishing under the title ມະນຸດຄົມບິນິ (Manout Khombini), went on sale at bookshops in Vientiane and nationwide in March, officially launching at the 2026 Vientiane Book Festival.
At the center of the novel is Keiko Furukura, a 36-year-old woman who has worked at the same convenience store for 18 years. She is content, precise, and deeply in sync with the rhythms of her workplace. Society, however, sees her differently. Her family and friends pressure her to marry, to find a “proper” job, to be normal.
Mee found the story unexpectedly resonant.
“It’s both funny and sad,” he said. “It reflects the pressure people face for not fitting into society’s expectations. I realized it also relates to life in Laos, especially among young people.”
Bridging the Language Gap
The translation took Mee almost an entire year of work, with the linguistic challenge of the translation being the most significant part of it.
“Translating directly from Japanese into Lao is still rare,” he explained. “Many Lao readers are more familiar with Thai versions, but Thai is not Lao.”
Despite the two languages sharing similarities, he was careful not to let Thai creep in.
“It’s not easy to find the right Lao words. I tried to use language that feels natural and modern, especially for younger readers, rather than something too formal or outdated.”
Duangdeuan Bounyavong, a SEA Write Award winner and National Artist, edited the translation, while the cover was illustrated by a Lao artist, Visakone Thammavong, designed specifically to draw in younger readers.
For Phonepasert, the work carries meaning beyond language. “I want Lao readers to explore foreign cultures through books, especially Japanese writing,” he said.
On 23 April, UNESCO marks World Book and Copyright Day, a worldwide celebration of the power of books to connect people across cultures and generations.
In Laos, the day finds a little but meaningful space in Mee’s work and his fellow translator and writer colleagues.
He is already working on his next translation.
