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July 13, 2025
 

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Samuel Thomas

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Samuel Thomas
Samuel Thomas is a fashion writer and lecturer in fashion media at Bunka Gakuen University. He regularly contributes to The Japan Times, among other publications, and provides consultancy services to industry clients.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 17, 2023
Japanese fashion can no longer afford to play hard to get
Is Japan’s air of aloof mystique still enough to convince foreign audiences to invest in Japanese fashion?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 6, 2023
AI will revolutionize Japanese fashion — just not right now
ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence engines are coming for everyone and everything, but the whims of the fashion world might be an unlikely bulwark.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Mar 11, 2023
March’s biggest fashion drops are mired in nostalgia
When fashion isn't just cyclical but unimaginative, it's a sign of a deeper issue.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Feb 11, 2023
Now in NYC, 2nd Street is banking big on old becoming new again
Another year of subdued New Year sales; another retro fashion retailer expanding overseas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 7, 2023
Will Japan's pop culture and fashion spheres ever find common ground?
Japanese fashion and pop culture and both international forces, so why can't they seem to walk in step together?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Dec 10, 2022
At 2022’s close, all quiet on the crypto fashion front
Digital currencies have had a difficult end to 2022, but what does that spell for fashion brands who pushed them all year?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 5, 2022
Japanese bra-makers place bigger spotlight on smaller sizes
Japanese women's breast sizes are increasing, but undergarment options for those on the smaller side remain low.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Oct 8, 2022
Mending fashion’s threadbare relationship with sustainability
Another season gone and another round of promises from designers the world over to become more eco-friendly dashed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 10, 2022
As fashion giants pass, the new guard prepares to pick up the torch
Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori have left big shoes to fill, but it's not yet clear who might take up the mantle of the next face of Japanese fashion.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Aug 13, 2022
Dog days of summer bring grab bag of fashion fixtures
A departed legend, gaming deals and disrupted shows — summer's end is full of news for fashion watchers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jul 9, 2022
To catch a counterfeiter, Japan's fashionistas turns to Fake Busters
With hundreds of thousands on the line, it pays to know if your jewelry is authentic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 11, 2022
Can unlikely friendships kickstart fashion’s lackluster recovery?
Breaking down brand barriers may be the only way forward for Tokyo's couturiers
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 14, 2022
Fashion’s retail revolution: What’s old is new again
As pandemic precautions appear to ease, retail fashion grapples with a return to business as usual.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Apr 9, 2022
Tokyo fashion week not as fashion-forward as hoped
Not even a who's who of Japanese designers could overcome the uneven adoption of emerging tech at Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Mar 12, 2022
Online status: If you build a virtual world of fashion, will they come?
Brands are seeking to replicate traditional models of scarcity in a metaverse where true abundance is possible.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Feb 19, 2022
Expressing gender: Fresh approaches to unisex collections
A diverse fashion market is one that is broad enough to include everyone.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 29, 2022
NFT fashion collaborations: Virtual fashion, real demand
Consumers experiment with an NFT project that taps into Harajuku nostalgia from the 1990s.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Dec 11, 2021
Retail therapy: Fashion outlets in battle to fight fatigue
Stores adopt a few innovative measures in a bid to prize open the wallets of domestic shoppers with overseas customers still shut out of Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 14, 2021
Shop to your heart’s content, without a staff member in sight
If you've ever felt Japan's customer service was too much, contactless shopping is on the rise. Meanwhile, pop culture-capsule collaborations vie for the title of “most shocking.”
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Oct 10, 2021
Anime aesthetics blur the line between real and virtual fashion
As some brands dip their toes into NFTs, others turn to nostalgia-with-shock-value to sell both real and virtual clothing.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.

Podcast

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

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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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