The Last Smoker

"The Last Smoker" (Japanese: 最後の喫煙者, "Saigo no Kitsuensha") is a 1987 short story by Yasutaka Tsutsui.[1] It has been adapted for television and radio. An English translation by Andrew Driver was published in the collection Salmonella Men on Planet Porno (ISBN 9780307377265) in 2008.[2]

The story deals with the repression of dissent.[3] It is set in a future Japan where smokers are persecuted to the point of extinction, and the last smoker is stuffed and preserved in a museum.[4]

Adaptations

Television

The story was adapted for television in Japan in 1995. Nine years after being broadcast it was said to have left a strong impression on audiences.[4]

Radio

The English-language radio adaption is a 45-minute Loftus Production radio drama broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 20 February 2009,[5] picked that day as an editor's choice[6] and listed as a "pick of the day".[7] It was adapted by Julia Dover[6] and the final program directed by Matt Thompson.[6] The actors include John Byrne,[7] Eileen McCallum,[5] Madeleine Worrall,[6] Stewart Conn,[5] and Madeleine Brolly.[5]

References
  1. Feldman, Eric A. (2006). "The culture of legal change: A case study of tobacco control in twenty-first century Japan". Michigan Journal of International Law. 27 (3): 807.
  2. "Naked fantasies with edge". The Miami Herald. 2 November 2008.
  3. "'Porno' Goes Absurdist". The Harvard Crimson. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  4. "Kicking the habit? The central government enacted the Heal". Yomiuri Shimbun. 1 May 2004.
  5. "Afternoon Play, The Last Smoker". BBC. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  6. Reynolds, Gillian (20 February 2009). "Radio highlights: Friday 20 February". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  7. "Pick of the day". The Guardian. London. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
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