It doesn't surprise me that Murakami's works are well-regarded internationally. His characters always read as highly cosmopolitan: they name-drop popular Americ

It doesn't surprise me that Murakami's works are well-regarded internationally. His characters always read as highly cosmopolitan: they name-drop popular American bands, they drink famous European liquor, they quote Plato, Aristotle, etc. I'm more surprised that he's well-regarded domestically, because the Japanese traditionally do not seem to regard well artists that they perceive as not being "Japanese" enough (see: Akira Kurosawa).