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August 15, 2024
 

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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
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Loft under fire for its outdated portrayal of women in advertising campaign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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Feb 3, 2019
An idol's fans have the power to make change in Japan
Being a fan of any entertainer in 2019 can be a challenge, as scandals both old and new make blindly supporting artists an impossible task. That might be doubly true for Japanese idol-pop acts, who inhabit a corner of the country's entertainment industry made up predominantly of young women, which has...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 2, 2019
FamilyMart's popular melon bread ice cream doesn't skip on the melon or the butter
FamilyMart has brought a new and improved version of its immensely popular melonpan (melon bread) ice cream back to store shelves — get one while they're still in stock!
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 2, 2019
Tiramisu copyright furor highlights the internet's importance
Allegations of copyright infringement have undermined a high-profile attempt to sell a renowned coffee-flavored Italian dessert in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 31, 2019
'Bohemian Rhapsody': Queen film won't bite the dust just yet
The Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" is still doing big business in Japan, long after its November release. The movie recently crossed the ¥10 billion mark here, and its impact stretches well beyond box-office stats. Songs from the British band have taken up residence on streaming charts, while affection...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 29, 2019
Arashi's hiatus spurs heartbreak, but hopes for a 2020 Olympic farewell
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics creep ever closer and one of the biggest arguments that remains is which musical performers will feature in the event's opening ceremony. Up until now, debate over who should represent Japan on the international stage has been raging.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 26, 2019
Mister Donut takes a stab at classy with its decadent Chocolate Collection
In its new range, Mister Donut collaborates with pastry chef Toshihiko Yoroizuka to develop fancy takes on the chain's ring doughnuts, and a pair of decadent cake-like creations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 26, 2019
Clamor grows for Heisei Era memories online as abdication approaches
A lot of people online appear to be feeling anxious ahead of the Emperor’s abdication. Some simply don’t like change, and this upcoming transition represents the biggest change their lives have ever known.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2019
88rising's quest to find a Japanese hip-hop sensation
Japanese music hasn't made many inroads into Western markets this decade. Save for some brief viral flashes and niche success, the country's artists have mostly been overlooked. However, Sean Miyashiro, founder of media company 88rising, thinks Japan still holds one big advantage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jan 19, 2019
This winter's convenience store steam buns are anything but boring
Nothing can make a cold winter day feel a little better than a piping-hot steam bun from the convenience store, and two recent offerings from Lawson and FamilyMart have delivered on both novelty and taste.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jan 17, 2019
Marie Kondo's new TV series cleans up
Marie Kondo is the type of person you wouldn't initially expect lots of people to go crazy over. In the cleaning consultant and best-selling author's new Netflix show, "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo," she simply lays out the basics of her "KonMari" method of organizing homes — guided by the idea of finding...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 13, 2019
Sort out your digital diet and keep your sanity in 2019
Judging by the New Year's resolutions I'm hearing so far this year, the internet was a real source of frustration for a lot of people in 2018.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

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