YOSHIKI Cements His Place in Hollywood History

The First Japanese Star to Cement His Handprints at the TCL Chinese Theatre

Japanese legendary rockstar YOSHIKI joined many of Hollywood’s biggest stars when his handprints and footprints – and a pair of his drumsticks – were set in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 14, 2023. YOSHIKI holds the distinction of being the first artist from Japan to be immortalized at Hollywood’s most iconic landmark, joining legends like Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Robert Downey, Jr.

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.