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December 04, 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
CULTURE / Music
Jul 15, 2014
Emerald Four slows its sound down
The music created by Emerald Four practically oozes from the speakers. The Kyoto-based duo crafts narcotized songs built around unfolding electronics and slow, dreamy vocals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 1, 2014
Leftfield J-pop, '70s influenced rock and shadowy R&B: Our favorite albums of 2014 (so far)
In his Strange Boutique column last week, Ian Martin wrote about the need for a canon in Japanese music in order for newcomers to the scene — especially those writing about it — to gain some context into what is being released.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 17, 2014
Japan won't let 'Frozen' go
At first blush, the Japanese success of the animated film "Frozen" seems easy to explain. In a country where people pack Tokyo Disneyland on weekdays, of course a new princess-centric cartoon from Disney would succeed, but "Frozen" has been a phenomenon all its own. It's on pace to be the second-highest-grossing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 17, 2014
Left Right Arms makes a bedroom escape
Sleepy solitude is a frequent theme in the dream-pop songs made by Tokyo-based artist Left Right Arms. The solo artist's first EP, self-released last year, was titled "A Sleep," while his second EP out a few months later included delicate songs such as "Out Of Bed" and "Cocoon," the latter of which is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jun 12, 2014
We are the World Cup: anthems from pitches past
Japan plays its first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, against Côte d’Ivoire this weekend. Although the tournament kicks off two days earlier in São Paulo, for many the Samurai Blue’s opening game ushers in the event, along with the activities that would normally raise eyebrows but get a pass...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2014
Especia takes a road less traveled by idol acts
The eldest member of six-member idol unit Especia was born in 1989, so when I ask them about life during Japan's early '90s bubble era they can only imagine what it was like.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 20, 2014
Qrion reaches for softer EDM
Qrion "Sink" (SenSe)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 20, 2014
Not Yet aren't ready to take the AKB48 crown
Not Yet "Already" (Nippon Columbia)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 13, 2014
Country boy Jonny Fritz set for a wander in the big city
Jonny Fritz is used to being out of his element. The Montana-born country music performer has spent a good chunk of the past decade touring, but his stops aren't the usual destinations for someone calling Nashville home. He has played every state in America, as well as shows across Europe, Argentina...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 29, 2014
Meishi Smile brings anime-influenced sounds to Japan
Over the past two decades, Japanese pop culture has made major inroads abroad, thanks mainly to interest in video games and anime.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 15, 2014
E-Girls "Colorful Pop"
E-Girls are a 28-member-strong idol pop collective constructed by Avex. The "E" stands for "Exile," as in this is the female version of greased-up R&B doofs Exile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 15, 2014
Yoshino Yoshikawa "Yumetatsu Glider"
Tokyo producer Yoshino Yoshikawa has often described his work as "ultrapop," and for a while that term made perfect sense. Yoshikawa created busy, buzzing songs in the mold of Yasutaka Nakata. With names such as "Kawaii Candy," they were a colorful rush of synthesizers and digitally manipulated vocals....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 15, 2014
Record Store Day finds its groove in Japan
It won't be business as usual at Big Love Records this Saturday, April 19. The store, one of the best places to shop for records in Tokyo's trendy Harajuku neighborhood, will be selling limited-edition music from various artists, including film director David Lynch. Meanwhile, shadowy beatmaker Sapphire...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 8, 2014
Datafruits brings netlabel talent to a wider audience
It was a bit of good timing for Tony Miller when two underground music scenes he liked intersected in 2011.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Apr 6, 2014
Teaching tricks of the trade for the new school year
Spring means the new school year has arrived in Japan, and for Assistant Language Teachers and non-Japanese English instructors it also signals a lot of changes. Some will find themselves in entirely new school assignments, while those staying put will welcome new classes of students.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 18, 2014
Japan acts rock on at this year's SXSW
After somersaulting through a shallow puddle, the lead singer of Osaka's Vampillia stared intently at a nearby taco truck. As his band plowed through a noisy, violin-assisted song on the third afternoon of the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference And Festival, he scaled the vehicle and screamed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 18, 2014
Babymetal "Babymetal"
It's not surprising that Babymetal has gone viral. The trio, bringing the seemingly disparate worlds of idol pop and heavy metal together, is a visually striking project perfect for the "weird Japan" fans on the Internet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2014
NYC fans of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu share 'zest for life'
Two hours before the doors even opened, the line outside New York's Best Buy Theater snaked around several streets in the middle of Times Square. Fans lined up early for pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's second-ever New York concert, the finale to her recent North American tour.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 9, 2014
Clarify your role, prepare before a disaster strikes
When she first arrived in Japan from Ireland in 2008, Sarah Hickey was mostly concerned with adjusting to her new life in Fukushima Prefecture. The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme placed her in Iwaki, which is itself a large city, but she found herself near the coast in less metropolitan...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2014
AKB48 "Tsugi no Ashiato"
No Japanese music group has been more interesting these past two years than AKB48, but "interesting" doesn't always mean "good." Several of the 89-members-and-growing outfit's most notable moments have been ugly (the Minami Minegishi head-shaving scandal tops that list), but the idol group has also made...
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

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