Japanese Music Fans Discover Jagwar Twin

Putting on a Happy Face

Roy English, a U.S.-based songwriter, producer, and musician known by his moniker Jagwar Twin, started writing and developing music at a very young age. After multiple musical endeavors and years of releasing music, Jagwar Twin’s popularity reached unprecedented heights after two of his songs, “Happy Face” and “Loser,” were uploaded on YouTube with Japanese translations. Jagwar Twin became an overnight sensation in Japan. As of August 2022, “Happy Face” had crossed 43 million streams on Spotify, with Japan being in the top five global markets on all streaming platforms. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with Jagwar Twin about his experiences as an up-and-coming musician, as well as his connection to Japan.

MONDO GROSSO

Ready for the Big World

Shinichi Osawa is a DJ, musician, composer, and producer who formed the band Mondo Grosso in 1991. Th e group rose to fame for its work in acid jazz. From their 1993 debut album until their 1996 breakup, Mondo Grosso took the world by storm. After the breakup, Osawa continued making music using the Mondo Grosso name for his solo pursuits. In 2017, he partnered with singer and actress Hikari Mitsushima for the song “Labyrinth.” He and Mitsushima, along with composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto, also collaborated on the song “In Th is World,” featured in Mondo Grosso’s latest album, Big World, which was released in February 2022. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with Shinichi Osawa about his extensive career and newest album.

Dr. John W. Creswell

World-Renowned Mixed Methods Research Pioneer

Research Trailblazer Blazing New Trails in Japan

Over the decades, the United States and Japan have exchanged many significant gifts. An iconic example is the cherry blossom trees from Japan that circle the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. America’s latest gift to Japan is its leading academic and author known for his work in mixed methods research, Dr. John W. Creswell. Dividing his time between Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii, Creswell is one of the most prolific authors and leading authorities on mixed methods research design, an approach to research that combines both quantitative and qualitative methods. He is a former president of the Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA) and was a Senior Fulbright Scholar to South Africa and Thailand. Creswell developed best practices for mixed methods research in the health sciences for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2011 and co-founded SAGE Publishing’s Journal of Mixed Methods Research. A professor, researcher, and academic with a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, Creswell has authored many articles and 31 books. His books have been translated into numerous languages and are used by academics around the world. Creswell started his career in 1971 as a research assistant at the University of Iowa. Since then, he has held the Clifton Endowed Professor Chair at the University of Nebraska and served as director of the Mixed Methods Research Office. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health and is currently Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Family Medicine; Co-Director of the Michigan Mixed Methods Research and Scholarship program at the University of Michigan; and Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is also a member of the Global Council, an academic think tank made up of world-renowned researchers and documentary filmmakers who combine their strengths to impact the world. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with John W. Creswell about his career, expertise in research, and experience living in Japan.

Philip Kotler

The Father of Marketing

Philip Kotler has been hailed as “the world’s top expert on the strategic practice of marketing” by the Management Centre Europe. He earned an M.A. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1953 and a Ph.D. in the same subject from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) three years later. Kotler is Professor Emeritus of Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, where he held the S.C. Johnson & Son Professorship of International Marketing. During Professor Kotler’s 56 years at Kellogg, his research and teaching contributed significantly to the school’s success, which included being named Best Business School for six consecutive years in BusinessWeek’s survey of U.S. business schools and being named Best Business School for the Teaching of Marketing. Over the course of his career, he has written more than 150 articles and 80 books. He has also consulted for several major corporations, including IBM, AT&T, General Electric, Bank of America, and Merck. Kotler was the first recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Distinguished Marketing Educator Award, and he received the European Association of Marketing Consultants and Sales Trainers’ prize for marketing excellence. In 2013, he became the first recipient of the William L. Wilkie American Marketing Association Foundation’s Marketing for a Better World Award for significant contributions to marketing theory and practice. He was inducted into the Management Hall of Fame and was the first recipient of the Sheth Foundation Medal for Exceptional Contribution to Marketing Scholarship and Practice. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie asked Kotler to talk about his outstanding career and his experiences in Japan.

Pritzker Laureate Shigeru Ban

Creating Architecture for Humanity

Shigeru Ban is a Japanese architect who graduated from Cooper Union in 1984. As a child, he demonstrated a strong interest in architectural poetics, which influenced all of his later works. He designed a number of iconic buildings, including the Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Aspen Art Museum in the U.S. He is well known for his work in paper and cardboard architecture. He also assists many humanitarian relief efforts across the globe. In 2022, the Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN) and Shigeru Ban Architects provided the Paper Partition System (PPS) for shelters for the increasing number of refugees staying in the neighboring countries of Ukraine. These shelters are simple partition systems to ensure privacy for inhabitants, and they have been used in numerous evacuation centers in Japanese regions hit by disasters, such as the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), the Kumamoto Earthquake (2016), the Hokkaido Earthquake (2018), and the torrential rains in southern Kyushu (2020). In 2014, he received the Pritzker Architecture Prize for his work. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with Shigeru Ban about his achievements, work, and advice for aspiring architects.

Sushi Kimura

Tomoo Kimura, the Sushi Chef behind Singapore’s Michelin-starred Restaurant

Tomoo Kimura is an acclaimed Japanese sushi chef who runs the Michelin-starred restaurant Sushi Kimura. After graduating from Hattori Nutrition College in 1987, Kimura spent two decades mastering the art of sushi. He learned most of the craft working under a mentor at Tsukiji-Sushi Sei, an Edomae-style sushi restaurant in Tokyo founded in 1889. In 2012, he moved to Singapore to open Sushi Kimura, which became the only Japanese restaurant listed in the 2018 Michelin Guide for Singapore. At Sushi Kimura, the chef pays homage to his Japanese roots through the ingredients he uses, which he has shipped directly from Japan, from the rice and fi sh to the water used to wash and cook the rice. Tokyo Journal Editor-inChief Anthony Al-Jamie interviewed Chef Tomoo Kimura about his career and what it takes to open and run a successful sushi restaurant.

Shohei Ohtani

Japan’s Gift to America

When Shohei Ohtani entered Major League Baseball in 2017, America not only gained a unique and highly coveted player who can throw a fastball upward of 100 mph while hitting home run after home run, but America also gained a hero. Shohei Ohtani’s superiority on the mound, combined with his exceptional abilities at the plate, have not been seen in a century since the glory days of Babe Ruth and his multifaceted talents. The broad-shouldered Ohtani stands 6’4”, tall by Western standards, let alone Japanese, with superior speed, strength, and hand-eye coordination. He is not only a phenomenal pitcher and home-run hitter, but he is also a strong defensive player and an excellent base runner. He is a competitive yet courteous player who pays respect to others on the field, including his teammates, rivals, officials, and fans. He is a patient and unselfish player with exceptional sportsmanship and a charming and respectful demeanor. His conduct is outstanding, and he sets an example for young people by going out of his way to pick up any trash that blows on the field. The true gift that Japan gave America with Shohei Ohtani goes beyond his remarkable achievements as a pitcher and hitter with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It is the values he portrays in sportsmanship and diplomacy that will have the greatest impact on the game of baseball and America’s youth. To share with Tokyo Journal readers what the world of Major League Baseball has to say about Shohei Ohtani, I attended the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

The Queen of Kawaii Headlines Coachella

U.S. superstar Billie Eilish and Japanese pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu simultaneously headlined stages at the world-renowned Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, which was held over two weekends in May 2022. Kyary’s appearance at the festival gained her a new legion of fans, not only among Coachella concertgoers, but also among music lovers around the world who watched the live-streamed event. Kyary, known for her fusion of the kawaii (cute) and creepy-chic styles, became a Japanese cultural icon after her debut single in 2011. While in California, she performed a sold-out show at L.A.’s Fonda Theater and attended events to help promote local businesses in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. She even managed to sneak in an L.A. Angels of Anaheim baseball game to see Japan’s national treasure, Shohei Ohtani. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie sat down for his second interview with the J-pop star to talk about her trip to California and her career.

The World’s Greatest Athlete

How Olympic Decathlete’s Japanese Heritage Led Him to Gold

Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay is an Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, three-time World Champion, and four-time U.S. National Champion in the decathlon, ultimately earning himself the title of “World’s Greatest Athlete” at the 2008 Olympics. Clay was born in Austin, Texas to a Japanese mother and an African-American father who divorced when he was in elementary school. Raised in Hawaii, he moved to California after high school and eventually became a standout athlete on the Azusa Pacific University track team. Clay discussed his entrepreneurial ventures and his African-American/Japanese heritage with Tokyo Journal’s Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie.

Yoshie Kris, Making Performance Accessible to All

Inclusion in Tokyo’s Olympic Games

Yoshie Kris is a director of Slow Label, an innovative company based in Japan that creates art and creative opportunities to help diversify the community. She is also one of seven creative directors in charge of organizing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Kris is responsible for facilitating engagement between the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and for ensuring that the opening and closing ceremonies for both events are accessible to all attendees. She has taken inspiration for these tasks from personal experience. She was diagnosed with malignant fibrous histiocytoma (a type of malignant tumor) in 2010, which has cost her the use of her right leg; she has to walk with a crutch. Her passion for the inclusion of all people in society has led her to travel the world to learn about diversity everywhere. Her education and experience brings an innovative and unique perspective to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and the ceremonies that will reflect Japanese culture on a worldwide stage. Kris was interviewed by Tokyo Journal’s Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie. Kris now waits with the rest of the world for the Olympics to commence.