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Events on Sunday 31 December 1995 9
1990 – 1995Slowness and Later French WorksPublished Immortality (1990) and Slowness (1995), his first novel written entirely in French, completing his transition from Czech to French literary identity.
1991 – 1995Princeton and TuftsMoved to the United States, serving as a visiting scholar at Princeton University (1991-93) and writer-in-residence at Tufts University (1993-95). During this period he wrote The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
1994 – 1995The Wind-Up Bird ChroniclePublished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, a sprawling novel weaving together a man searching for his missing cat, Japanese wartime atrocities in Manchuria, and a mysterious woman at the bottom of a well. It won the Yomiuri Prize — ironic, as Murakami had previously declined the same award — and is considered by many critics to be his finest work.
19951995: Michael SchumacherBenettonSchumacher won his second consecutive title with Benetton before moving to Ferrari with a mission to restore the team to championship glory.
1995BraveheartPlayed Smythe, a vicious English soldier, in Mel Gibson's Braveheart, in a performance remembered for its unsettling intensity.
1995High LifeReleased High Life, which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
1995Imagination Library FoundedLaunched the Imagination Library through her Dollywood Foundation, initially providing free books to children in her home county of Sevier, Tennessee. The programme would eventually expand to five countries and distribute nearly 308 million books to children worldwide.
1995New Partnership with KazakovaAfter Mishkutionok's retirement, formed a new partnership with Oksana Kazakova, again under Moskvina's coaching. They won the 1996 European Championship in their first season together.
1995President of ToyotaNamed president of Toyota Motor Corporation, the first person from outside the founding Toyoda family to hold the position in 28 years. His management credo was 'not changing is evil' — a direct challenge to Toyota's sometimes conservative corporate culture.