Music Nov 19, 2021
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: The reluctant icon?
by Patrick St. Michel
For the better part of a 10-year career, the performer's aesthetic defined Japan's pop culture. Her latest album, “Candy Racer,” marks a fresh start.
Style & Design | ON: FASHION May 16, 2021
Kawaii, but make it subversive: Japan’s latest fashion is more than its frills
by Samuel Thomas
The country’s over-20s are embracing cute clothing in a subversive push against adulthood.
Music Mar 25, 2020
As COVID-19 cripples live music, hopeful promoters look ahead
by Patrick ST. Michel
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 ...
Music | Sound Off Jan 24, 2020
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Hatsune Miku help Coachella's Japan contingent to grow
by Patrick St. Michel
The California festival adds two Japanese pop heavyweights to its lineup, following a successful appearance by Perfume there last year.
Music | 2010S: DECADE IN REVIEW Dec 29, 2019
Looking back at the most influential Japanese songs of the 2010s
by Patrick St. Michel
Given how Japanese music takes time to receive widespread recognition, what gems would the kids of the 2040s unearth from the decade that just passed?
Stage Jul 4, 2019
The life of a professional Japanese doppelganger
by Andrew McKirdy
With his single sequined glove, sparkly jacket and sharp moonwalk dance moves, the man on stage could be no one else. Or could he? "The good thing about being a Michael Jackson impersonator is that I play a global superstar," says Kazushi Yabe, who has ...
Music Nov 15, 2018
The queen of kawaii: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu reflects on her reign
by Patrick St. Michel
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's trip to the Museum of Death in Hollywood proved to be a 2018 highlight for the 25-year-old J-pop star. "I thought it would be about murder and crime, but it was actually about everything related to death," she tells The Japan Times. ...
Music Jan 31, 2016
Kyary ride does its part for 'Cool Japan'
by Patrick St. Michel
"Cool Japan Heats Up" declares a sign welcoming visitors to an area of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) devoted to the country's hottest pop culture exports. Now in its second year, USJ's "Universal Cool Japan" event features special attractions that run until June 26. It promises ...
Music Nov 10, 2015
Review: Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
by Midori Nishida
The rainy weather last Sunday didn't stop throngs of concertgoers from attending the Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival, a three-day concert produced by talent agency Asobisystem that focuses on pop music and Japanese culture. And like last year, non-Japanese music fans were allowed into the ...
Style & Design | ON: FASHION Nov 7, 2015
From Kyary Pamyu Pamyu to Emoda, Japanese fashion aims to be accessible
by Misha Janette and Samuel Thomas
Emoda's student style Commercially strong Emoda from the mid-market Mark Styler stable of brands recently collaborated with the Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, Japan's best-known fashion education institution, by giving students the opportunity to submit sketches of garments that they wished were on sale at ...
Music Aug 21, 2015
Zedd pleases, D'Angelo scores at this year's Summer Sonic
by Patrick St. Michel
An important moment in the life of any music fan comes when they go to a festival they've been attending for several years and think — "Man, am I old?" For me, at 28, the 2015 edition of Summer Sonic marked this milestone (which came ...
Entertainment News Jul 13, 2015
Pop singer and fashion model Kyary Pamyu Pamyu gave a special live performance Saturday as part of a Japan Day event at the food-themed Expo Milano. The singer, an icon of Japan's kawaii (cute) culture, performed "Ninja Re Bang Bang" and "Tsukema Tsukeru," drawing cheers ...