Mike Sunda, 36, is a creative strategist and co-founder of the studio Push Japan. A former writer for The Japan Times, he served as executive producer on the award-winning music video for Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi."
1. What was your relationship to Japanese culture in your younger years? Even growing up in a diverse city like London, Japanese culture wasn’t nearly as ubiquitous or as visible as it is today. My exposure came from niche fragments that I discovered either serendipitously or just through a general curiosity: Takashi Miike films on late-night cable TV; Mad Capsule Markets music videos on MTV2; puroresu (pro wrestling) DVDs I ordered online.
2. Can you share a highlight from your academic pursuits? I was lucky to study under many great teachers, but the most influential was professor David Slater at Sophia University. He gave me the opportunity to research buraku caste discrimination at the Shinagawa slaughterhouse, which turned into two of my most referenced articles for The Japan Times and the BBC.
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