QUICK TAKES - May 29, 2009

Everything has been kept secret, except the author and title. But the first novel in five years by Japan’s Haruki Murakami has become a hit even before its official release today.

The book’s publisher, Shinchosha, said it raised its first printing to 480,000 copies from 380,000 after orders flooded in.

Murakami, 60, is one of the most widely translated Japanese writers alive, with global bestsellers such as “Norwegian Wood,” “Kafka on the Shore” and “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.”

As part of a marketing scheme, the contents of his new novel have been kept secret. Fans ordering the book know nothing but the title, “1Q84,” which can be read as “1984” in Japanese.

It is unclear when the work will be translated into English, according to Shinchosha.