Writer awarded for publishing column in same magazine for 37 years

Tokyo, Oct 14 (efe-epa).- At a time when images are gaining more ground every day in the media, that Japanese writer Mariko Hayashi has completed 37 years column in the same Japanese weekly is quite a feat.

This was recognized by Guinness by granting her the world record for being the longest-lasting author publishing a column in the Shukan Bunshun magazine published weekly by Bungei Shunju.

The publishing house released the information in a Wednesday statement in recognition of a feat that the author achieved Jul. 2, reaching the record of 1,655 published columns, as recorded in the Guinness notice.

Hayashi, also a novelist, began writing her columns for that weekly in 1984, and continues to do so, according to the Guinness world record site.

The publisher said that thanks to these contributions the author has published 34 pocketbooks with compilations, with a global circulation of 4 million copies.

Japan often appears on the Guinness world record list for the longevity of its inhabitants, but this time the honors went to a writer for her perseverance in winning over readers.

The recognition was received by Hayashi on Oct. 10, when she was presented in the Japanese city of Kofu with the certificate that accredits her long dedication with her column “Yofuke no Nawatobi” (The rope at dawn.)

When giving an account of the information, the publisher collected a few words from the author in which she confesses it had sometimes been difficult for her to find the topics to write her column.

“But I’ve been able to do it continuously for 37 years, and I’m glad I was able to do it.”

Hayashi, 66, has no intention of giving up her work because she plans to continue “for another twenty years.” EFE-EPA

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