"The Last Smoker" ( ja, 最後の喫煙者, "Saigo no Kitsuensha") is a 1987 short story by

Yasutaka Tsutsui is a Japanese novelist, science fiction author, and actor. His ''Yumenokizaka bunkiten'' won the Tanizaki Prize in 1987. He has also won the 1981 Izumi Kyoka award, the 1989 Kawabata Yasunari award, and the 1992 Nihon SF Taisho Award. Writing ...

. It has been adapted for television and radio. An English translation by Andrew Driver was published in the collection ''Salmonella Men on Planet Porno'' () in 2008. The story deals with the repression of dissent. 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.

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.

Radio

The English-language radio adaption is a 45-minute Loftus Production radio drama broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

on 20 February 2009, picked that day as an editor's choice and listed as a "pick of the day". It was adapted by Julia Dover and the final program directed by Matt Thompson. The actors include John Byrne, Eileen McCallum, Madeleine Worrall, Stewart Conn, and Madeleine Brolly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Smoker Japanese short stories Works by Yasutaka Tsutsui 1987 short stories Smoking

External links

Full text from the Kyoto Journal