author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Twitter

@mbmelodies

Patrick St. Michel
Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 23, 2019
Denki Groove campaign reveals what Japan truly thinks of celebrities embroiled in drug scandals
It doesn’t take much for a celebrity drug scandal to be picked up by domestic news outlets in Japan, so when TV personality Pierre Taki was arrested on suspicion of cocaine use on March 12, it’s perhaps not surprising that TV and print media jumped on the story. Segments featured on morning shows...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Mar 21, 2019
Tower Records goes all in on the vinyl trend with its new store, Tower Vinyl
Last year proved to be a pivotal one for streaming music in Japan. According to a report by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, 2018 saw plays via platforms such as YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify overtake digital downloads.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 18, 2019
Review: Sid at Yokohama Arena
Passionate fandom has become the domain of pop music. Or, at least, that's the image that has developed globally over the past decade, as intense groups of diverse people throw their support behind a wide range of mainstream acts, from Beyonce to BTS. Rock, once the hub for this type of devotion, doesn't...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 16, 2019
Get your fill of green tea with Seven-Eleven's mile-high matcha dorayaki
The latest edition in Seven-Eleven's line of dorayaki (sweet pancake sandwiches) is a massive matcha cream-filled creation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE NOTES
Mar 14, 2019
Marie Kondo and Momo: The new faces of Japanese culture
Japanese soft power has seen two faces in 2019. One is that of tidying guru Marie Kondo. The other is the horrifying visage of Momo, an unsettling sculpture turned viral hoax.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 9, 2019
Roll right into spring with Roll Ice Cream Factory's festive cherry blossom-flavored concoctions
Roll Ice Cream Factory has become the go-to Harajuku spot to indulge in the popular rolled ice cream dessert trend with its new trio of sakura flavored sweets.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 9, 2019
Spotify has one eye on untapped podcast market in Japan
Spotify paid nearly $340 million to acquire podcast producer Gimlet Media and services provider Anchor in deals disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, prompting analysts to start considering what this all meant for the industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 2, 2019
Reaction to Niigata bullying video reflects changing attitudes in Japan
A video of a first-year high school student in Niigata being bullied appeared online in mid-February and quickly became a topic of discussion. The clip shows a group of male students pushing, kicking and eventually striking the victim with a stick, all while throwing insults the victim’s way, too....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 2, 2019
Nissin's lasagna-flavored cup noodle's design catches the eye, but tastes surprisingly normal
The new lasagna-flavored, 'big-sized' pot noodle hopes to pack the taste of the hearty Italian dish into a single cup, promising a mix of cheese and meat sauce.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE NOTES
Feb 28, 2019
Will 'Queer Eye' show a different view of Japanese culture?
Netflix's popular reality series "Queer Eye" recently wrapped up filming for a number of special Japan-based episodes. The footage from the recent trip to the country won't air until later in the year, so curious viewers will have to wait to see just how the Fab Five highlight the country to the world....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 27, 2019
Dogen: Humor that's not lost in translation
Living in Japan can, from time to time, present a fair amount of frustration for non-Japanese, especially if they can't speak the language well. Long-term resident Kevin O'Donnell, who creates YouTube videos about Japan under the name "Dogen," isn't afraid to vent but avoids any vitriol.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 23, 2019
Cafe de Paris: A Seoul favorite, now in Tokyo
Cafe de Paris has been a hit back in Seoul, particularly thanks to its Bon Bon series of sweets, which loads up on fresh fruit, layers of whipped cream and powdered sugar.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 23, 2019
Japanese teen's aborted bid to hitchhike across the United States divides social media
Twitter user @REIbahobahoanta had an ambitious dream: The 15-year-old junior high school student wanted to hitchhike across the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2019
Telling the musical story of Japan's ambient era
At the time, the Japanese music scene of the 1970s felt pretty flat to Daisuke Hinata. "But (then) Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) and Plastics came out, and we thought the market would open up for more new sounds," the Los Angeles-based musician tells The Japan Times. Along with three Japanese classmates...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 16, 2019
Temptation from the fried-foods section
We're almost seven weeks into the new year — how are those resolutions going? Still going strong? Good for you! Now get out of here and let the rest of us bask in our failures. To anyone who has given up on eating healthy, walk with me into the fried-food section of your local convenience store.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 16, 2019
Understanding how social media can land you in hot water
Only seven weeks into the year and Japan already has a new buzzword to worry about. In the past few weeks, baito tero (part-timer terrorism) has become a major talking point on social media following a string of incidents featuring workers at various chain establishments behaving badly. If you’re...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 9, 2019
Loft under fire for its outdated portrayal of women in advertising campaign
Retailers typically strive to promote their products by creating ad campaigns that attract consumers’ attention.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 9, 2019
Say 'I love you' a different way with Kourakuen's chocolate ramen
This Valentine's Day offering from ramen chain Kourakuen features a soy sauce-based ramen with a hefty dose of chocolate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 8, 2019
Rapper Chanmina is blurring the lines of genre and nationality
Everyone has moments where they have to choose between two paths that will lead to drastically different lives. For Mina Otomonai, it came during her second year of high school when she strongly considered moving to South Korea to pursue a career in music. Her friends convinced her to stay in Japan....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Feb 7, 2019
Where will fans go after Arashi?
Fans of Arashi still haven't come to terms with the news that the J-pop group will go on a hiatus at the end of 2020, bringing a close, at least temporarily, to one of the 21st century's most popular Japanese acts.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER