Haruki Murakami will publish The Tale of Kaho on July 3, 2026, marking his first full-length novel to feature a lone female protagonist, publisher Shinchosha said. The 352-page book follows 26-year-old picture‑book author Kaho as she confronts a string of strange events after a man calls her “ugly” and resolves to “find the way out of this world.” The novel unites four previously published short pieces that appeared in Japan’s Shinchō magazine from June 2024 through March 2026; an English translation of the first piece, by Philip Gabriel, ran in The New Yorker in 2024. Murakami first tested the story at a reading at Waseda University with author Mieko Kawakami. The Tale of Kaho will be released in print and digital formats in Japan; no English publication date has been announced. The book follows Murakami’s 2023 novel The City And Its Uncertain Walls and arrives amid renewed discussion about his portrayal of women across a five‑decade career.