On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we’re talking with music journalist Patrick St. Michel. He’ll be telling us about Japanese pop music, Perfume, the city pop boom and one of his latest articles which focuses on the rise and fall and rise of eurobeat. About Patrick St. Michel Patrick St. Michel is a music journalist who specializes in …

 On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What are gyaru? Topics Discussed What the term gyaru/gal means/refers to About the word gyaru How the word gyaru was used in Dragonball by Master Roshi What a kogyaru/kogal is About the singer Namie Amuro and her role in popularizing the gyaru subculture About Ayumi Hamasaki’s influence on the gyaru subculture About the supposed …

COME ON BABY! AMERICA! There’s a new pop song that is all the craze in Japan, but it is not, as you might expect, a cookie cutter love song, instead, it’s a ridiculously cheesy and nonsensical  retro dance track dedicated to the U.S.A. Released on June 6, “U.S.A.” is a new single by the Japanese “boy band” Da Pump and …