Who asks Nakata to kill him?

• A. Johnny Walker
• B. Oshima
• C. Kafka
• D. Crow

Answer: (A)

Johnny Walker embodies a dangerous, otherworldly force in Murakami’s world, and this scene puts Nakata in a moral crossroads. Nakata has a simple, almost innocent sense of right and wrong, plus a rare ability to interact with the world in unusual ways. When Johnny Walker directly asks Nakata to kill him, it forces Nakata to confront a life-and-death choice and tests the limits—and the responsibility—of his power. This moment is a clear test of what Nakata is willing to do and what it means to intervene in someone else’s fate, which is why this figure is the one who makes that specific request. The other characters—Oshima, Kafka, and Crow—drive different parts of the story and do not pose that kind of direct, life-ending proposition to Nakata.