Ian Buruma is a famous contemporary European cultural scholar and writer. Born in the Netherlands on December 28, 1951, he studied Chinese literature at Leiden University in his early years. Later, he studied film at the Art Department of Nihon University and lived there for seven years. He once served as the Hong Kong correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review and regularly writes as a critic for magazines such as The Spectator and The New York Review of Books. Much of his work focuses on Asian cultures, particularly 20th-century Japan. His major works include "Occidentalism" (co-author), "The Wages of Sin: Memory of the War Between Germany and Japan", "Ian Buruma's Japanese Interviews: From Haruki Murakami to Hiroshima", "Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Filmmaker Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance" etc. In 2008, Buruma was awarded the Erasmus Prize in recognition of his "important contribution to European culture, society or social sciences." Currently professor of democracy, human rights, and journalism at Bard College in New York.