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July 08, 2025
 

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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 / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 18, 2020
When jumping on the social media bandwagon to score political points backfires
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe jumped into the fire by joining J-pop star Gen Hoshino's YouTube challenge.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 18, 2020
It’s 2020: Time for Japan to end its reliance on PET bottles
Japan's intricate approach to packaging — matryoshka-like, within layers of plastic and paper — used to seem charming. In 2020, however, it now just feels annoying and wasteful.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Apr 17, 2020
'Lofi hip-hop — beats to study to' genre also provides an escape from coronavirus mania
While the world succumbs to COVID-19 panic, some musicians are keeping things calm with a range of live and recorded output aimed at retaining a level or normality.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 13, 2020
Pikotaro turns viral hit into anti-virus anthem
During tumultuous times, sometimes the best advice comes from toddlers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 11, 2020
Japan's streaming situation improved just in time to self-isolate
Doing your part to flatten the coronavirus curve by staying home? Luckily, the streaming situation has improved over the past few years so you don't have to be bored. And with local options, maybe you can pick up some Japanese while you catch up on pop culture?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 11, 2020
Mos Burger goes vegan with its Plant-based Green Burger
This March, Mos Burger debuted a vegan “Mos Plant-based Green Burger” in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures. But does this veggie burger's flavor live up to the chain's original beef offering?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2020
Shizuoka's Rainbow Disco Club to stream online
On April 18, Rainbow Disco Club will host a 12-hour paid-streaming party featuring artists performing sets from Izu.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 10, 2020
Celebrities and influencers using social media platforms to keep people at home
A handful of well-known personalities have been out in front of the pandemic on social media.
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 6, 2020
Episode 45: Ken Shimura — Japan loses a comedy legend
On March 29, Ken Shimura, one of Japan's most celebrated comedians, passed away after testing positive for COVID-19. JT entertainment writeru00a0Patrick St. Michelu00a0discusses Shimura's life and death with host Oscar Boyd.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 4, 2020
Navigating the murky waters of social media in a pandemic
The frequent occurrence of disasters in Japan has ensured that netizens are constantly on the lookout for online hoaxes. Following any large earthquake or typhoon, social media is typically flooded with all kinds of misleading posts and doctored images. Some are posted in a deliberate attempt to stoke...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Apr 3, 2020
Ensuring live music survives the pandemic
While the COVID-19 pandemic has all but shut down Japan's live music scene, innovative acts and labels are still reaching fans in the country.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 30, 2020
Ken Shimura’s entertainment legacy spans generations
Entertainer Ken Shimura didn’t belong to any single generation. Following news that the 70-year-old comedian had died on Sunday from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, TV broadcasters on Monday featured both Shimura’s contemporaries and much younger personalities visibly upset over his passing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 28, 2020
Chocolate, chips and coffee: The ideal snack combination?
Chocolate-covered potato chips aren’t a new idea. It’s a tried-and-true combination that has proven to be a delight over the years. How do you improve on that?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 28, 2020
Postponement of 2020 Olympics sends social media into a frenzy
It was only a matter of time before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to change tack. After months of speculation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday night that the games would be postponed until 2021.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 26, 2020
Making sure you're prepared for a Japan-wide lockdown
With a lockdown looming, it has never been a better time to update your emergency earthquake kit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 25, 2020
As COVID-19 cripples live music, hopeful promoters look ahead
This year’s edition of the Japan Nite event at the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) was going to be special. It would have marked the event’s 25th anniversary of showcasing Japanese artists to fans in Austin, Texas, with a North American tour to follow.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Mar 25, 2020
When a cartoon crocodile dies, give us time to mourn
While people on social media have largely been preoccupied with the pandemic, the most buzzed-about happening online in Japan involves a crocodile — don’t roll your eyes just yet — which, at some point, transformed into a commentary on the follies of capitalism and its drive for continuous growth....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 21, 2020
Have an at-home hanami with these cherry blossom-flavored sweets
This year's hanami season is shaping up to be a weird one. The beginning of spring rarely forces people to choose between having a good time under the cherry blossoms and grappling with a pandemic, but that's where we’re at in 2020.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 19, 2020
Nariaki Obukuro offers optimism with latest album, 'Piercing'
Nariaki Obukuro has been living in London for a little over a year now, and the Japanese singer-songwriter says the city routinely gets his imagination going.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 14, 2020
The Sugar Forest's macaron sandwiches: Tokyo's next South Korean-inspired dessert trend?
So far, The Sugar Forest's cute and colorful mega-stuffed macaron sandwiches have avoided the limelight. But these sweets won't stay off the radar for long...
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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