Yumi Nootenboom, or Yumi Nu, is a Japanese-American model, singer-songwriter and creator of the Blueki fashion brand. She is the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of Vogue Japan and the first plus-size Asian on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Her Blueki brand reflects her advocation for plus-size models. As a singer, she has released five singles since 2021. The granddaughter of Rocky Aoki — founder of the Benihana restaurant chain — and the niece of Devon and Steve Aoki, her expanding list of accolades and achievements are reaching a growing audience. In this interview with Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie, she dives into her heritage and career.

The Bay City Rollers performed in Japan for the first time in December 1976. This was at the height of their worldwide fame when the Scottish band consisted of Derek Longmuir, Ian Mitchell, Stuart “Woody” Wood, Les McKeown and Eric Faulkner. They were responsible for hit records in England like Saturday Night and several No. 1 songs in the United States. The band was especially popular among teenage girls, who were drawn to their boyish charm and freshness. The hordes of passionately screaming girls at their shows led to their events being dubbed “Rollermania,” thus making the Bay City Rollers the only other band to have a “mania” added to their name after the Beatles.

Fran Rubel Kuzui is a film director, writer, producer and distributor. For 25 years, she has served as co-president of Kuzui Enterprises alongside her husband, Kaz Kuzui. Th e company revolutionized the marketing and distribution of independent and art films in Japan. Considered the “grandparents” of hip-hop culture in Japan, they featured hip-hop artists, break-dancers and rappers in their films, which helped bridge the Japanese and American film cultures of the 1980s, while also helping establish hip-hop’s prominence in Japan. Fran entered the spotlight by writing and directing Tokyo Pop, a hit at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. Tokyo Pop follows bleach-blonde-wannabe-rocker Wendy (the late Carrie Hamilton) as she explores Tokyo’s vibrant pop culture, while dreaming of making it as a singer. The film has been recently restored in 4K by IndieCollect, in association with the Academy Film Archive with funding from Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett (mother of Tokyo Pop actress Carrie Hamilton), the HFPA Trust and donors to IndieCollect’s Jane Fonda Fund for Women Directors. Fran shares in an interview with Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony AI-Jamie her inspiration for the film, the behind-the-scenes’ hustle and the luck involved in bringing this 80s American independent film to life.

Tokyo Journal sent Japanese singer, TV celebrity and movie actor Diamond Yukai to check out two of Hollywood’s top hotels. Diamond Yukai (Tokyo Pop, Lost in Translation) is top of the charts on Ameblo.jp in the J-pop/rock category.

Since discovering her love for music at the age of eight after singing the American national anthem for the first time at a local sporting event, Ava August has gone on to make her mark on the music industry. Ava auditioned for The Voice, a singing reality television show, when she was 12 years old, and then for American Idol at 15, becoming the youngest to ever compete in both shows. After American Idol, she released critically-acclaimed singles like “Move On,” “Miss You,” and “Beauty Queen.” She has sung at sold-out stadiums for professional sports teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Dodgers and Rams. This successful artist sat down with Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie to discuss her experience in the music industry from a young age and her time on American Idol.

The East Coast of the United States and Canada boasts a treasure trove of historic, cultural and natural wonders waiting to be explored. From the hallowed streets of Washington, D.C., to the vibrant neighborhoods of New York, the charming colonial alleys of Philadelphia, the intellectual charm of Boston, the alpine beauty of Stowe, Vermont, to the European flair of Montreal, each destination offers its own unique tapestry of experiences.

Yuya Yagira

From Cannes Best Actor Winner to Disney+ Horror Sensation

Yuya Yagira, the youngest winner of the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s drama Nobody Knows, stars in the Disney+ seven-episode original horror series Gannibal in Japan. Released on December 28, 2022, Gannibal follows Yagira’s character, Daigo Agawa, as a police officer who relocates from the big city to the remote village of Kuge after a traumatizing event leaves his daughter mute. The show garnered massive local attention, and became the most locally watched produced original series on Disney+ in Japan, which further established Yagira as one of Japan’s biggest actors. Tokyo Journal Editor-in-Chief Anthony Al-Jamie sat down with Yuya Yagira to discuss his work on Gannibal.

Hiroyuki Suzuki Reveals the Beauty of New York’s East Side Access in The Next Level

Photographs Inspiring Beauty within the Bleak Realities of Construction

Written by Ingrid Lee

Not all stories are pretty. That’s the premise that Japanese photographer Hiroyuki Suzuki had when he set out to tell the story of an extension to the New York transit system through “The Next Level: East Side Access Photographs.” In addition to this exhibition, Suzuki describes the photographs in his book, The Next Level.

No Longer Simple Stock Food Japan’s Kanzume Culture

In Europe, Japan, and the United States, the most popular kanzume, or canned good, is arguably tuna. But a wealth of unique canned goods can be found in grocery stores around the world that reflect the food culture of each country and its people. Japan is no exception. It has everything from canned goods with the ingredients used in traditional Japanese food to those that contain dishes made from restaurant reci- pes. In recent years, izakayas ( Japanese bars or pubs) have been serving canned food and premium-quality, expensive canned products. The negative perception of canned products as a poor-tasting shelf stocker is certainly waning. We explored more about this new kanzume culture as it surprises even the local Japanese.