DEEP DIVE Jul 23, 2021
Episode 92: The long road to the Tokyo Olympics — Part 2
In Part 2 of this two-part look at the long and tumultuous road to the Olympics, we discuss heat, corruption and the endless run of scandals.
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.
For Patrick St. Michel's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
DEEP DIVE Jul 21, 2021
Episode 91: The long road to the Olympic Games — Part 1
In Part 1 of a two-part look at the long and tumultuous road to the Olympics, we look at Tokyo’s initial bid for the Olympics in 2011, how the city won that bid in 2013, and the ups and downs that accompanied the story ...
DEEP DIVE / RECULTURED Dec 24, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 4: Rebuild
Two anime films — ”Demon Slayer” and “Violet Evergarden” — offer a dash of optimism to end 2020, as Japanese pop culture moves towards the beginning of a new era.
DEEP DIVE / RECULTURED Dec 23, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 3: Adapt
Pop group NiziU’s “Make You Happy” became the song of this very strange summer and the government changed its tone from stay home to Go To.
DEEP DIVE / RECULTURED Dec 22, 2020
How has COVID-19 changed Japan's pop culture? Episode 2: Isolate
When COVID-19 brought about a stay-at-home spring, Animal Crossing provided us with a digital island escape. In Episode 2 of Recultured, we look at what happened when the world was made to stay at home, and how one game from Nintendo provided us an escape ...
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 writer Patrick St. Michel discusses Shimura's life and death with host Oscar Boyd.
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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. For those proactively ...