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February 22, 2025
 

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Steve McClure

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Steve McClure
Steve McClure has lived in Tokyo since 1985. Formerly Billboard magazine’s Asia Bureau Chief, he now publishes the online music-industry newsletter McClureMusic.com.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jul 10, 2019
Decades on, justice still eludes interned Japanese Canadians and their kin
More than 70 years after racism and wartime hysteria devastated their community, Japanese Canadians are still fighting for justice.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 9, 2019
Unlocking Japan's geothermal energy potential
How Japan can meet its future energy needs is not necessarily something you think about while enjoying a nice long soak in a hot-spring bath.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 15, 2017
Pursuing peculiar passions: the wacky world of Japan's offbeat groups
Play it safe. Follow the rules. Respect authority. And, above all, don't stick out like that silly proverbial nail.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 25, 2016
Yesterday: When the 'Beatles typhoon' hit Japan
Fifty years ago this week, the Fab Four played some of their final live performances in Tokyo. We speak to fans who were u2018swept off their feet' by the visit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2014
'Jazz mecca' Osaka to host star-studded global concert
What comes to mind when you think of Osaka? Maybe takoyaki (octopus dumplings), the Hanshin Tigers, Universal Studios Japan, wacky comedy and down-to-earth, unpretentious people.
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Dec 3, 2013
Spotify, Rdio and what didn't happen in 2013
This was supposed to be the year that changed the Japanese music business.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2013
U.S. jazz singer Harvey Thompson finds a new home in Japan's clubs
If Harvey Thompson had been a better 10-pin bowler, jazz would have been the loser.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013
Hostess exists rather happily on the edge
With international repertoire's share of the music market down to about 15 percent, it has never been harder to break foreign acts in Japan. And given the shrinking market for non-Japanese music, it seems quixotic to set up a company specializing in bringing foreign repertoire into the country — especially...
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Oct 15, 2013
Download law yet to bite after a year
It has been a year since Japan introduced penalties for downloading pirated music and video files.
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Sep 11, 2013
Tower Japan boss says biggest challenge facing record stores is attracting young customers
A few weeks ago I was preparing to do a guest slot on InterFM’s “The Selector” program, which features music mavens sharing their favorite tracks.
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Jul 3, 2013
Japan's festival industry is stuck in a fine kettle of fish
Are summer festivals killing Japan's live-music market?
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Jun 6, 2013
Been down so long, it looks like up
I've been to a lot of music-industry conferences over the years, and for the past decade I've listened to the same old song: How can the recording industry fight online piracy, which it blames for plunging music sales?
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
May 2, 2013
Universal-EMI is the dinosaur in the room
Last September, the European Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved Universal Music Group's buyout of EMI. Since then, the two record companies have been merging their operations worldwide. In Japan, the combined Universal-EMI entity will have a market share of between 15 percent and...
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Apr 4, 2013
Barakan wants InterFM to dial down the talk
While station-surfing on my car radio several years back, I chanced upon a program about Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. The disc jockey said Page's solo in "Stairway to Heaven" was among his best.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 7, 2013
Recochoku brings Japan further into the stream
Recochoku, a digital content aggregator owned by major Japanese labels, debuted a smartphone-based streaming service called RecoChoku Best on Tuesday. It's due to become available on PCs this summer.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 9, 2012
Music industry takes baby steps toward digital content
Will it be the "carrot and stick" or just "the stick" that revives flagging digital-music sales in Japan?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 2, 2012
Warner's Ishizaka says 'exterminate' illegal downloads
Not many music-business executives compare themselves to Oda Nobunaga or Napoleon Bonaparte.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2011
Saori Yuki wants a kayōkyoku wave
Defining kayōkyoku is like trying to nail down konnyaku.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2011
Go on, just say his name
Miyavi is a guy you can read like a book — literally.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 28, 2011
Local, foreign songwriters camp it up
Early in the band's career, Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham is reputed to have locked Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in a room and told them not to come out until they'd written their first song.
Yen advances past ¥150 per dollar as BOJ rate-hike bets ramp up
The Japanese currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar on Thursday, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
Japanese panel seeks to tighten screening of new universities
Education minister Toshiko Abe (right) receives a report on higher education from an advisory panel on Friday.
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Site designer on why expos matter more than ever
Site designer on why expos matter more than ever

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