Podcasts about english japanese

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Powerleegirl hosts, the mother daughter team of Miko Lee, Jalena & Ayame Keane-Lee speak with artists about their craft and the works that you can catch in the Bay Area. Featured are filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, playwright Jessica Huang and photographer Joyce Xi.   More info about their work here: Diamond Diplomacy Yuriko Gamo Romer Jessica Huang's Mother of Exiles at Berkeley Rep Joyce Xi's Our Language Our Story at Galeria de la Raza     Show Transcript Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.    Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:00:46] Thank you for joining us on Apex Express Tonight. Join the PowerLeeGirls as we talk with some powerful Asian American women artists. My mom and sister speak with filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer, playwright Jessica Huang, and photographer Joyce Xi. Each of these artists have works that you can enjoy right now in the Bay Area. First up, let's listen in to my mom Miko Lee chat with Yuriko Gamo Romer about her film Diamond Diplomacy.    Miko Lee: [00:01:19] Welcome, Yuriko Gamo Romer to Apex Express, amazing filmmaker, award-winning director and producer. Welcome to Apex Express.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:01:29] Thank you for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:01:31] It's so great to see your work after this many years. We were just chatting that we knew each other maybe 30 years ago and have not reconnected. So it's lovely to see your work. I'm gonna start with asking you a question. I ask all of my Apex guests, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:01:49] Oh, who are my people? That's a hard one. I guess I'm Japanese American. I'm Asian American, but I'm also Japanese. I still have a lot of people in Japan. That's not everything. Creative people, artists, filmmakers, all the people that I work with, which I love. And I don't know, I can't pare it down to one narrow sentence or phrase. And I don't know what my legacy is. My legacy is that I was born in Japan, but I have grown up in the United States and so I carry with me all that is, technically I'm an immigrant, so I have little bits and pieces of that and, but I'm also very much grew up in the United States and from that perspective, I'm an American. So too many words.    Miko Lee: [00:02:44] Thank you so much for sharing. Your latest film was called Diamond Diplomacy. Can you tell us what inspired this film?   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:02:52] I have a friend named Dave Dempsey and his father, Con Dempsey, was a pitcher for the San Francisco Seals. And the Seals were the minor league team that was in the West Coast was called the Pacific Coast League They were here before the Major League teams came to the West Coast. So the seals were San Francisco's team, and Con Dempsey was their pitcher. And it so happened that he was part of the 1949 tour when General MacArthur sent the San Francisco Seals to Allied occupied Japan after World War II. And. It was a story that I had never heard. There was a museum exhibit south of Market in San Francisco, and I was completely wowed and awed because here's this lovely story about baseball playing a role in diplomacy and in reuniting a friendship between two countries. And I had never heard of it before and I'm pretty sure most people don't know the story. Con Dempsey had a movie camera with him when he went to Japan I saw the home movies playing on a little TV set in the corner at the museum, and I thought, oh, this has to be a film. I was in the middle of finishing Mrs. Judo, so I, it was something I had to tuck into the back of my mind Several years later, I dug it up again and I made Dave go into his mother's garage and dig out the actual films. And that was the beginning. But then I started opening history books and doing research, and suddenly it was a much bigger, much deeper, much longer story.   Miko Lee: [00:04:32] So you fell in, it was like synchronicity that you have this friend that had this footage, and then you just fell into the research. What stood out to you?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:04:41] It was completely amazing to me that baseball had been in Japan since 1872. I had no idea. And most people,   Miko Lee: [00:04:49] Yeah, I learned that too, from your film. That was so fascinating.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:04:53] So that was the first kind of. Wow. And then I started to pick up little bits and pieces like in 1934, there was an American All Star team that went to Japan. And Babe Ruth was the headliner on that team. And he was a big star. People just loved him in Japan. And then I started to read the history and understanding that. Not that a baseball team or even Babe Ruth can go to Japan and prevent the war from happening. But there was a warming moment when the people of Japan were so enamored of this baseball team coming and so excited about it that maybe there was a moment where it felt like. Things had thawed out a little bit. So there were other points in history where I started to see this trend where baseball had a moment or had an influence in something, and I just thought, wow, this is really a fascinating history that goes back a long way and is surprising. And then of course today we have all these Japanese faces in Major League baseball.   Miko Lee: [00:06:01] So have you always been a baseball fan?   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:06:04] I think I really became a fan of Major League Baseball when I was living in New York. Before that, I knew what it was. I played softball, I had a small connection to it, but I really became a fan when I was living in New York and then my son started to play baseball and he would come home from the games and he would start to give us the play by play and I started to learn more about it. And it is a fascinating game 'cause it's much more complex than I think some people don't like it 'cause it's complex.    Miko Lee: [00:06:33] I must confess, I have not been a big baseball fan. I'm also thinking, oh, a film about baseball. But I actually found it so fascinating with especially in the world that we live in right now, where there's so much strife that there was this way to speak a different language. And many times we do that through art or music and I thought it was so great how your film really showcased how baseball was used as a tool for political repair and change. I'm wondering how you think this film applies to the time that we live in now where there's such an incredible division, and not necessarily with Japan, but just with everything in the world.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:07:13] I think when it comes down to it, if we actually get to know people. We learn that we're all human beings and that we probably have more in common than we give ourselves credit for. And if we can find a space that is common ground, whether it's a baseball field or the kitchen, or an art studio, or a music studio, I think it gives us a different place where we can exist and acknowledge That we're human beings and that we maybe have more in common than we're willing to give ourselves credit for. So I like to see things where people can have a moment where you step outside of yourself and go, oh wait, I do have something in common with that person over there. And maybe it doesn't solve the problem. But once you have that awakening, I think there's something. that happens, it opens you up. And I think sports is one of those things that has a little bit of that magical power. And every time I watch the Olympics, I'm just completely in awe.    Miko Lee: [00:08:18] Yeah, I absolutely agree with you. And speaking of that kind of repair and that aspect that sports can have, you ended up making a short film called Baseball Behind Barbed Wire, about the incarcerated Japanese Americans and baseball. And I wondered where in the filmmaking process did you decide, oh, I gotta pull this out of the bigger film and make it its own thing?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:08:41] I had been working with Carrie Yonakegawa. From Fresno and he's really the keeper of the history of Japanese American baseball and especially of the story of the World War II Japanese American incarceration through the baseball stories. And he was one of my scholars and consultants on the longer film. And I have been working on diamond diplomacy for 11 years. So I got to know a lot of my experts quite well. I knew. All along that there was more to that part of the story that sort of deserved its own story, and I was very fortunate to get a grant from the National Parks Foundation, and I got that grant right when the pandemic started. It was a good thing. I had a chunk of money and I was able to do historical research, which can be done on a computer. Nobody was doing any production at that beginning of the COVID time. And then it's a short film, so it was a little more contained and I was able to release that one in 2023.   Miko Lee: [00:09:45] Oh, so you actually made the short before Diamond Diplomacy.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:09:49] Yeah. The funny thing is that I finished it before diamond diplomacy, it's always been intrinsically part of the longer film and you'll see the longer film and you'll understand that part of baseball behind Barbed Wire becomes a part of telling that part of the story in Diamond Diplomacy.   Miko Lee: [00:10:08] Yeah, I appreciate it. So you almost use it like research, background research for the longer film, is that right?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:10:15] I had been doing the research about the World War II, Japanese American incarceration because it was part of the story of the 150 years between Japan and the United States and Japanese people in the United States and American people that went to Japan. So it was always a part of that longer story, and I think it just evolved that there was a much bigger story that needed to be told separately and especially 'cause I had access to the interview footage of the two guys that had been there, and I knew Carrie so well. So that was part of it, was that I learned so much about that history from him.   Miko Lee: [00:10:58] Thanks. I appreciated actually watching both films to be able to see more in depth about what happened during the incarceration, so that was really powerful. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about the style of actually both films, which combine vintage Japanese postcards, animation and archival footage, and how you decided to blend the films in this way.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:11:19] Anytime you're making a film about history, there's that challenge of. How am I going to show this story? How am I gonna get the audience to understand and feel what was happening then? And of course you can't suddenly go out and go, okay, I'm gonna go film Babe Ruth over there. 'cause he's not around anymore. So you know, you start digging up photographs. If we're in the era of you have photographs, you have home movies, you have 16 millimeter, you have all kinds of film, then great. You can find that stuff if you can find it and use it. But if you go back further, when before people had cameras and before motion picture, then you have to do something else. I've always been very much enamored of Japanese woodblock prints. I think they're beautiful and they're very documentary in that they tell stories about the people and the times and what was going on, and so I was able to find some that sort of helped evoke the stories of that period of time. And then in doing that, I became interested in the style and maybe can I co-opt that style? Can we take some of the images that we have that are photographs? And I had a couple of young artists work on this stuff and it started to work and I was very excited. So then we were doing things like, okay, now we can create a transition between the print style illustration and the actual footage that we're moving into, or the photograph that we're dissolving into. And the same thing with baseball behind barbed wire. It became a challenge to show what was actually happening in the camps. In the beginning, people were not allowed to have cameras at all, and even later on it wasn't like it was common thing for people to have cameras, especially movie cameras. Latter part of the war, there was a little bit more in terms of photos and movies, but in terms of getting the more personal stories. I found an exhibit of illustrations and it really was drawings and paintings that were visual diaries. People kept these visual diaries, they drew and they painted, and I think part of it was. Something to do, but I think the other part of it was a way to show and express what was going on. So one of the most dramatic moments in there is a drawing of a little boy sitting on a toilet with his hands covering his face, and no one would ever have a photograph. Of a little boy sitting on a toilet being embarrassed because there are no partitions around the toilet. But this was a very dramatic and telling moment that was drawn. And there were some other things like that. There was one illustration in baseball behind barbed wire that shows a family huddled up and there's this incredible wind blowing, and it's not. Home movie footage, but you feel the wind and what they had to live through. I appreciate art in general, so it was very fun for me to be able to use various different kinds of art and find ways to make it work and make it edit together with the other, with the photographs and the footage.    Miko Lee: [00:14:56] It's really beautiful and it tells the story really well. I'm wondering about a response to the film from folks that were in it because you got many elders to share their stories about what it was like being either folks that were incarcerated or folks that were playing in such an unusual time. Have you screened the film for folks that were in it? And if so what has their response been?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:15:20] Both the men that were in baseball behind barbed wire are not living anymore, so they have not seen it. With diamond diplomacy, some of the historians have been asked to review cuts of the film along the way. But the two baseball players that play the biggest role in the film, I've given them links to look at stuff, but I don't think they've seen it. So Moi's gonna see it for the first time, I'm pretty sure, on Friday night, and it'll be interesting to see what his reaction to it is. And of course. His main language is not English. So I think some of it's gonna be a little tough for him to understand. But I am very curious 'cause I've known him for a long time and I know his stories and I feel like when we were putting the film together, it was really important for me to be able to tell the stories in the way that I felt like. He lived them and he tells them, I feel like I've heard these stories over and over again. I've gotten to know him and I understand some of his feelings of joy and of regret and all these other things that happen, so I will be very interested to see what his reaction is to it.   Miko Lee: [00:16:40] Can you share for our audience who you're talking about.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:16:43] Well, Sanhi is a nickname, his name is Masa Nouri. Murakami. He picked up that nickname because none of the ball players could pronounce his name.   Miko Lee: [00:16:53] I did think that was horrifically funny when they said they started calling him macaroni 'cause they could not pronounce his name. So many of us have had those experiences.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:17:02] Yeah, especially if your name is Masanori Murakami. That's a long, complicated one. So he, Masanori Murakami is the first Japanese player that came and played for the major leagues. And it was an inadvertent playing because he was a kid, he was 19 years old. He was playing on a professional team in Japan and they had some, they had a time period where it made sense to send a couple of these kids over to the United States. They had a relationship with Kapi Harada, who was a Japanese American who had been in the Army and he was in Japan during. The occupation and somehow he had, he'd also been a big baseball person, so I think he developed all these relationships and he arranged for these three kids to come to the United States and to, as Mahi says, to study baseball. And they were sent to the lowest level minor league, the single A camps, and they played baseball. They learned the American ways to play baseball, and they got to play with low level professional baseball players. Marcy was a very talented left handed pitcher. And so when September 1st comes around and the postseason starts, they expand the roster and they add more players to the team. And the scouts had been watching him and the Giants needed a left-handed pitcher, so they decided to take a chance on him, and they brought him up and he was suddenly going to Shea Stadium when. The Giants were playing the Mets and he was suddenly pitching in a giant stadium of 40,000 people.    Miko Lee: [00:18:58] Can you share a little bit about his experience when he first came to America? I just think it shows such a difference in time to now.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:19:07] Yeah, no kidding. Because today they're the players that come from Japan are coddled and they have interpreters wherever they go and they travel and chartered planes and special limousines and whatever else they get. So Marcie. He's, I think he was 20 by the time he was brought up so young. Mahi at 20 years old, the manager comes in and says, Hey, you're going to New York tomorrow and hands him plane tickets and he has to negotiate his way. Get on this plane, get on that plane, figure out how to. Get from the airport to the hotel, and he's barely speaking English at this point. He jokes that he used to carry around an English Japanese dictionary in one pocket and a Japanese English dictionary in the other pocket. So that's how he ended up getting to Shea Stadium was in this like very precarious, like they didn't even send an escort.   Miko Lee: [00:20:12] He had to ask the pilot how to get to the hotel. Yeah, I think that's wild. So I love this like history and what's happened and then I'm thinking now as I said at the beginning, I'm not a big baseball sports fan, but I love love watching Shohei Ohtani. I just think he's amazing. And I'm just wondering, when you look at that trajectory of where Mahi was back then and now, Shohei Ohtani now, how do you reflect on that historically? And I'm wondering if you've connected with any of the kind of modern Japanese players, if they've seen this film.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:20:48] I have never met Shohei Ohtani. I have tried to get some interviews, but I haven't gotten any. I have met Ichi. I did meet Nori Aoki when he was playing for the Giants, and I met Kenta Maya when he was first pitching for the Dodgers. They're all, I think they're all really, they seem to be really excited to be here and play. I don't know what it's like to be Ohtani. I saw something the other day in social media that was comparing him to Taylor Swift because the two of them are this like other level of famous and it must just be crazy. Probably can't walk down the street anymore. But it is funny 'cause I've been editing all this footage of mahi when he was 19, 20 years old and they have a very similar face. And it just makes me laugh that, once upon a time this young Japanese kid was here and. He was worried about how to make ends meet at the end of the month, and then you got the other one who's like a multi multimillionaire.    Miko Lee: [00:21:56] But you're right, I thought that too. They look similar, like the tall, the face, they're like the vibe that they put out there. Have they met each other?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:22:05] They have actually met, I don't think they know each other well, but they've definitely met.   Miko Lee: [00:22:09] Mm, It was really a delight. I am wondering what you would like audiences to walk away with after seeing your film.   Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:22:17] Hopefully they will have a little bit of appreciation for baseball and international baseball, but more than anything else. I wonder if they can pick up on that sense of when you find common ground, it's a very special space and it's an ability to have this people to people diplomacy. You get to experience people, you get to know them a little bit. Even if you've never met Ohtani, you now know a little bit about him and his life and. Probably what he eats and all that kind of stuff. So it gives you a chance to see into another culture. And I think that makes for a different kind of understanding. And certainly for the players. They sit on the bench together and they practice together and they sweat together and they, everything that they do together, these guys know each other. They learn about each other's languages and each other's food and each other's culture. And I think Mahi went back to Japan with almost as much Spanish as they did English. So I think there's some magical thing about people to people diplomacy, and I hope that people can get a sense of that.    Miko Lee: [00:23:42] Thank you so much for sharing. Can you tell our audience how they could find out more about your film Diamond diplomacy and also about you as an artist?    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:23:50] the website is diamonddiplomacy.com. We're on Instagram @diamonddiplomacy. We're also on Facebook Diamond Diplomacy. So those are all the places that you can find stuff, those places will give you a sense of who I am as a filmmaker and an artist too.    Miko Lee: [00:24:14] Thank you so much for joining us today, Yuriko. Gamo. Romo. So great to speak with you and I hope the film does really well.    Yuriko Gamo Romer: [00:24:22] Thank you, Miko. This was a lovely opportunity to chat with you.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:24:26] Next up, my sister Jalena Keane-Lee speaks with playwright Jessica Huang, whose new play Mother of Exiles just had its world premiere at Berkeley Rep is open until December 21st.    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:24:39] All right. Jessica Huang, thank you so much for being here with us on Apex Express and you are the writer of the new play Mother of Exiles, which is playing at Berkeley Rep from November 14th to December 21st. Thank you so much for being here.   Jessica Huang: [00:24:55] Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:24:59] I'm so curious about this project. The synopsis was so interesting. I was wondering if you could just tell us a little bit about it and how you came to this work.   Jessica Huang: [00:25:08] When people ask me what mother of Exiles is, I always say it's an American family story that spans 160 plus years, and is told in three acts. In 90 minutes. So just to get the sort of sense of the propulsion of the show and the form, the formal experiment of it. The first part takes place in 1898, when the sort of matriarch of the family is being deported from Angel Island. The second part takes place in 1999, so a hundred years later where her great grandson is. Now working for the Miami, marine interdiction unit. So he's a border cop. The third movement takes place in 2063 out on the ocean after Miami has sunk beneath the water. And their descendants are figuring out what they're gonna do to survive. It was a strange sort of conception for the show because I had been wanting to write a play. I'd been wanting to write a triptych about America and the way that interracial love has shaped. This country and it shaped my family in particular. I also wanted to tell a story that had to do with this, the land itself in some way. I had been sort of carrying an idea for the play around for a while, knowing that it had to do with cross-cultural border crossing immigration themes. This sort of epic love story that each, in each chapter there's a different love story. It wasn't until I went on a trip to Singapore and to China and got to meet some family members that I hadn't met before that the rest of it sort of fell into place. The rest of it being that there's a, the presence of, ancestors and the way that the living sort of interacts with those who have come before throughout the play.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:27:13] I noticed that ancestors, and ghosts and spirits are a theme throughout your work. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your own ancestry and how that informs your writing and creative practice.   Jessica Huang: [00:27:25] Yeah, I mean, I'm in a fourth generation interracial marriage. So, I come from a long line of people who have loved people who were different from them, who spoke different languages, who came from different countries. That's my story. My brother his partner is German. He lives in Berlin. We have a history in our family of traveling and of loving people who are different from us. To me that's like the story of this country and is also the stuff I like to write about. The thing that I feel like I have to share with the world are, is just stories from that experience.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:28:03] That's really awesome. I guess I haven't really thought about it that way, but I'm third generation of like interracial as well. 'cause I'm Chinese, Japanese, and Irish. And then at a certain point when you're mixed, it's like, okay, well. The odds of me being with someone that's my exact same ethnic breakdown feel pretty low. So it's probably gonna be an interracial relationship in one way or the other.   Jessica Huang: [00:28:26] Totally. Yeah. And, and, and I don't, you know, it sounds, and it sounds like in your family and in mine too, like we just. Kept sort of adding culture to our family. So my grandfather's from Shanghai, my grandmother, you know, is, it was a very, like upper crust white family on the east coast. Then they had my dad. My dad married my mom whose people are from the Ukraine. And then my husband's Puerto Rican. We just keep like broadening the definition of family and the definition of community and I think that's again, like I said, like the story of this country.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:29:00] That's so beautiful. I'm curious about the role of place in this project in particular, mother of exiles, angel Island, obviously being in the Bay Area, and then the rest of it taking place, in Miami or in the future. The last act is also like Miami or Miami adjacent. What was the inspiration behind the place and how did place and location and setting inform the writing.   Jessica Huang: [00:29:22] It's a good question. Angel Island is a place that has loomed large in my work. Just being sort of known as the Ellis Island of the West, but actually being a place with a much more difficult history. I've always been really inspired by the stories that come out of Angel Island, the poetry that's come out of Angel Island and, just the history of Asian immigration. It felt like it made sense to set the first part of the play here, in the Bay. Especially because Eddie, our protagonist, spent some time working on a farm. So there's also like this great history of agriculture and migrant workers here too. It just felt like a natural place to set it. And then why did we move to Miami? There are so many moments in American history where immigration has been a real, center point of the sort of conversation, the national conversation. And moving forward to the nineties, the wet foot, dry foot Cuban immigration story felt like really potent and a great place to tell the next piece of this tale. Then looking toward the future Miami is definitely, or you know, according to the science that I have read one of the cities that is really in danger of flooding as sea levels rise.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:30:50] Okay. The Cuban immigration. That totally makes sense. That leads perfectly into my next question, which was gonna be about how did you choose the time the moments in time? I think that one you said was in the nineties and curious about the choice to have it be in the nineties and not present day. And then how did you choose how far in the future you wanted to have the last part?   Jessica Huang: [00:31:09] Some of it was really just based on the needs of the characters. So the how far into the future I wanted us to be following a character that we met as a baby in the previous act. So it just, you know, made sense. I couldn't push it too far into the future. It made sense to set it in the 2060s. In terms of the nineties and, why not present day? Immigration in the nineties , was so different in it was still, like I said, it was still, it's always been a important national conversation, but it wasn't. There was a, it felt like a little bit more, I don't know if gentle is the word, but there just was more nuance to the conversation. And still there was a broad effort to prevent Cuban and refugees from coming ashore. I think I was fascinated by how complicated, I mean, what foot, dry foot, the idea of it is that , if a refugee is caught on water, they're sent back to Cuba. But if they're caught on land, then they can stay in the us And just the idea of that is so. The way that, people's lives are affected by just where they are caught , in their crossing. I just found that to be a bit ridiculous and in terms of a national policy. It made sense then to set the second part, which moves into a bit of a farce at a time when immigration also kind of felt like a farce.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:32:46] That totally makes sense. It feels very dire right now, obviously. But it's interesting to be able to kind of go back in time and see when things were handled so differently and also how I think throughout history and also touching many different racial groups. We've talked a lot on this show about the Chinese Exclusion Act and different immigration policies towards Chinese and other Asian Americans. But they've always been pretty arbitrary and kind of farcical as you put it. Yeah.   Jessica Huang: [00:33:17] Yeah. And that's not to make light of like the ways that people's lives were really impacted by all of this policy . But I think the arbitrariness of it, like you said, is just really something that bears examining. I also think it's really helpful to look at where we are now through the lens of the past or the future. Mm-hmm. Just gives just a little bit of distance and a little bit of perspective. Maybe just a little bit of context to how we got to where we got to.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:33:50] That totally makes sense. What has your experience been like of seeing the play be put up? It's my understanding, this is the first this is like the premier of the play at Berkeley Rep.   Jessica Huang: [00:34:00] Yes. Yeah. It's the world premier. It's it incredible. Jackie Bradley is our director and she's phenomenal. It's just sort of mesmerizing what is happening with this play? It's so beautiful and like I've alluded to, it shifts tone between the first movement being sort of a historical drama on Angel Island to, it moves into a bit of a farce in part two, and then it, by the third movement, we're living in sort of a dystopic, almost sci-fi future. The way that Jackie's just deftly moved an audience through each of those experiences while holding onto the important threads of this family and, the themes that we're unpacking and this like incredible design team, all of these beautiful visuals sounds, it's just really so magical to see it come to life in this way. And our cast is incredible. I believe there are 18 named roles in the play, and there are a few surprises and all of them are played by six actors. who are just. Unbelievable. Like all of them have the ability to play against type. They just transform and transform again and can navigate like, the deepest tragedies and the like, highest moments of comedy and just hold on to this beautiful humanity. Each and every one of them is just really spectacular. So I'm just, you know. I don't know. I just feel so lucky to be honest with you. This production is going to be so incredible. It's gonna be, it feels like what I imagine in my mind, but, you know, plus,    Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:35:45] well, I really can't wait to see it. What are you hoping that audiences walk away with after seeing the show?   Jessica Huang: [00:35:54] That's a great question. I want audiences to feel connected to their ancestors and feel part of this community of this country and, and grateful and acknowledge the sacrifices that somebody along the line made so that they could be here with, with each other watching the show. I hope, people feel like they enjoyed themselves and got to experience something that they haven't experienced before. I think that there are definitely, nuances to the political conversation that we're having right now, about who has the right to immigrate into this country and who has the right to be a refugee, who has the right to claim asylum. I hope to add something to that conversation with this play, however small.   Jalena Keane-Lee:[00:36:43]  Do you know where the play is going next?   Jessica Huang: [00:36:45] No. No. I dunno where it's going next. Um, exciting. Yeah, but we'll, time will   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:36:51] and previews start just in a few days, right?   Jessica Huang: [00:36:54] Yeah. Yeah. We have our first preview, we have our first audience on Friday. So yeah, very looking forward to seeing how all of this work that we've been doing lands on folks.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:37:03] Wow, that's so exciting. Do you have any other projects that you're working on? Or any upcoming projects that you'd like to share about?   Jessica Huang: [00:37:10] Yeah, yeah, I do. I'm part of the writing team for the 10 Things I Hate About You Musical, which is in development with an Eye Toward Broadway. I'm working with Lena Dunham and Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Ska to make that musical. I also have a fun project in Chicago that will soon be announced.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:37:31] And what is keeping you inspired and keeping your, you know, creative energies flowing in these times?   Jessica Huang: [00:37:37] Well first of all, I think, you know, my collaborators on this show are incredibly inspiring. The nice thing about theater is that you just get to go and be inspired by people all the time. 'cause it's this big collaboration, you don't have to do it all by yourself. So that would be the first thing I would say. I haven't seen a lot of theater since I've been out here in the bay, but right before I left New York, I saw MEUs . Which is by Brian Keda, Nigel Robinson. And it's this sort of two-hander musical, but they do live looping and they sort of create the music live. Wow. And it's another, it's another show about an untold history and about solidarity and about folks coming together from different backgrounds and about ancestors, so there's a lot of themes that really resonate. And also the show is just so great. It's just really incredible. So , that was the last thing I saw that I loved. I'm always so inspired by theater that I get to see.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:38:36] That sounds wonderful. Is there anything else that you'd like to share?   Jessica Huang: [00:38:40] No, I don't think so. I just thanks so much for having me and come check out the show. I think you'll enjoy it. There's something for everyone.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:38:48] Yeah. I'm so excited to see the show. Is there like a Chinese Cuban love story with the Miami portion? Oh, that's so awesome. This is an aside, but I'm a filmmaker and I've been working on a documentary about, Chinese people in Cuba and there's like this whole history of Chinese Cubans in Cuba too.   Jessica Huang: [00:39:07] Oh, that's wonderful. In this story, it's a person who's a descendant of, a love story between a Chinese person and a Mexican man, a Chinese woman and a Mexican man, and oh, their descendant. Then also, there's a love story between him and a Cuban woman.   Jalena Keane-Lee: [00:39:25] That's awesome. Wow. I'm very excited to see it in all the different intergenerational layers and tonal shifts. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:39:34] Next up we are back with Miko Lee, who is now speaking with photographer Joyce Xi about her latest exhibition entitled Our Language, our Story Running Through January in San Francisco at Galleria de Raza.    Miko Lee: [00:39:48] Welcome, Joyce Xi to Apex Express.    Joyce Xi: [00:39:52] Thanks for having me.    Miko Lee: [00:39:53] Yes. I'm, I wanna start by asking you a question I ask most of my guests, and this is based on the great poet Shaka Hodges. It's an adaptation of her question, which is, who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you?   Joyce Xi: [00:40:09] My people are artists, free spirits, people who wanna see a more free and just, and beautiful world. I'm Chinese American. A lot of my work has been in the Asian American community with all kinds of different people who dreaming of something better and trying to make the world a better place and doing so with creativity and with positive and good energy.   Miko Lee: [00:40:39] I love it. And what legacy do you carry with you?   Joyce Xi: [00:40:43] I am a fighter. I feel like just people who have been fighting for a better world. Photography wise, like definitely thinking about Corky Lee who is an Asian American photographer and activist. There's been people who have done it before me. There will be people who do it after me, but I wanna do my version of it here.   Miko Lee: [00:41:03] Thank you so much and for lifting up the great Corky Lee who has been such a big influence on all of us. I'm wondering in that vein, can you talk a little bit about how you use photography as a tool for social change?   Joyce Xi: [00:41:17] Yeah. Photography I feel is a very powerful tool for social change. Photography is one of those mediums where it's emotional, it's raw, it's real. It's a way to see and show and feel like important moments, important stories, important emotions. I try to use it as a way to share. Truths and stories about issues that are important, things that people experience, whether it's, advocating for environmental justice or language justice or just like some of them, just to highlight some of the struggles and challenges people experience as well as the joys and the celebrations and just the nuance of people's lives. I feel like photography is a really powerful medium to show that. And I love photography in particular because it's really like a frozen moment. I think what's so great about photography is that. It's that moment, it's that one feeling, that one expression, and it's kind of like frozen in time. So you can really, sit there and ponder about what's in this person's eyes or what's this person trying to say? Or. What does this person's struggle like? You can just see it through their expressions and their emotions and also it's a great way to document. There's so many things that we all do as advocates, as activists, whether it's protesting or whether it's just supporting people who are dealing with something. You have that moment recorded. Can really help us remember those fights and those moments. You can show people what happened. Photography is endlessly powerful. I really believe in it as a tool and a medium for influencing the world in positive ways.   Miko Lee: [00:43:08] I'd love us to shift and talk about your latest work, Our language, Our story.” Can you tell us a little bit about where this came from?   Joyce Xi: [00:43:15] Sure. I was in conversation with Nikita Kumar, who was at the Asian Law Caucus at the time. We were just chatting about art and activism and how photography could be a powerful medium to use to advocate or tell stories about different things. Nikita was talking to me about how a lot of language access work that's being done by organizations that work in immigrant communities can often be a topic that is very jargon filled or very kind of like niche or wonky policy, legal and maybe at times isn't the thing that people really get in the streets about or get really emotionally energized around. It's one of those issues that's so important to everything. Especially since in many immigrant communities, people do not speak English and every single day, every single issue. All these issues that these organizations advocate around. Like housing rights, workers' rights, voting rights, immigration, et cetera, without language, those rights and resources are very hard to understand and even hard to access at all. So, Nik and I were talking about language is so important, it's one of those issues too remind people about the core importance of it. What does it feel like when you don't have access to your language? What does it feel like and look like when you do, when you can celebrate with your community and communicate freely and live your life just as who you are versus when you can't even figure out how to say what you wanna say because there's a language barrier.    Miko Lee: [00:44:55] Joyce can you just for our audience, break down what language access means? What does it mean to you and why is it important for everybody?   Joyce Xi: [00:45:05] Language access is about being able to navigate the world in your language, in the way that you understand and communicate in your life. In advocacy spaces, what it can look like is, we need to have resources and we need to have interpretation in different languages so that people can understand what's being talked about or understand what resources are available or understand what's on the ballot. So they can really experience their life to the fullest. Each of us has our languages that we're comfortable with and it's really our way of expressing everything that's important to us and understanding everything that's important to us. When that language is not available, it's very hard to navigate the world. On the policy front, there's so many ways just having resources in different languages, having interpretation in different spaces, making sure that everybody who is involved in this society can do what they need to do and can understand the decisions that are being made. That affects them and also that they can affect the decisions that affect them.   Miko Lee: [00:46:19] I think a lot of immigrant kids just grow up being like the de facto translator for their parents. Which can be things like medical terminology and legal terms, which they might not be familiar with. And so language asks about providing opportunities for everybody to have equal understanding of what's going on. And so can you talk a little bit about your gallery show? So you and Nikita dreamed up this vision for making language access more accessible and more story based, and then what happened?   Joyce Xi: [00:46:50] We decided to express this through a series of photo stories. Focusing on individual stories from a variety of different language backgrounds and immigration backgrounds and just different communities all across the Bay Area. And really just have people share from the heart, what does language mean to them? What does it affect in their lives? Both when one has access to the language, like for example, in their own community, when they can speak freely and understand and just share everything that's on their heart. And what does it look like when that's not available? When maybe you're out in the streets and you're trying to like talk to the bus driver and you can't even communicate with each other. How does that feel? What does that look like? So we collected all these stories from many different community members across different languages and asked them a series of questions and took photos of them in their day-to-day lives, in family gatherings, at community meetings, at rallies, at home, in the streets, all over the place, wherever people were like Halloween or Ramadan or graduations, or just day-to-day life. Through the quotes that we got from the interviews, as well as the photos that I took to illustrate their stories, we put them together as photo stories for each person. Those are now on display at Galleria Deza in San Francisco. We have over 20 different stories in over 10 different languages. The people in the project spoke like over 15 different languages. Some people used multiple languages and some spoke English, many did not. We had folks who had immigrated recently, folks who had immigrated a while ago. We had children of immigrants talking about their experiences being that bridge as you talked about, navigating translating for their parents and being in this tough spot of growing up really quickly, we just have this kind of tapestry of different stories and, definitely encourage folks to check out the photos but also to read through each person's stories. Everybody has a story that's very special and that is from the heart   Miko Lee: [00:49:00] sounds fun. I can't wait to see it in person. Can you share a little bit about how you selected the participants?    Joyce Xi: [00:49:07] Yeah, selecting the participants was an organic process. I'm a photographer who's trying to honor relationships and not like parachute in. We wanted to build relationships and work with people who felt comfortable sharing their stories, who really wanted to be a part of it, and who are connected in some kind of a way where it didn't feel like completely out of context. So what that meant was that myself and also the Asian Law Caucus we have connections in the community to different organizations who work in different immigrant communities. So we reached out to people that we knew who were doing good work and just say Hey, do you have any community members who would be interested in participating in this project who could share their stories. Then through following these threads we were able to connect with many different organizations who brought either members or community folks who they're connected with to the project. Some of them came through like friends. Another one was like, oh, I've worked with these people before, maybe you can talk to them. One of them I met through a World Refugee Day event. It came through a lot of different relationships and reaching out. We really wanted folks who wanted to share a piece of their life. A lot of folks who really felt like language access and language barriers were a big challenge in their life, and they wanted to talk about it. We were able to gather a really great group together.    Miko Lee: [00:50:33] Can you share how opening night went? How did you navigate showcasing and highlighting the diversity of the languages in one space?    Joyce Xi: [00:50:43] The opening of the exhibit was a really special event. We invited everybody who was part of the project as well as their communities, and we also invited like friends, community and different organizations to come. We really wanted to create a space where we could feel and see what language access and some of the challenges of language access can be all in one space. We had about 10 different languages at least going on at the same time. Some of them we had interpretation through headsets. Some of them we just, it was like fewer people. So people huddled together and just interpreted for the community members. A lot of these organizations that we partnered with, they brought their folks out. So their members, their community members, their friends and then. It was really special because a lot of the people whose photos are on the walls were there, so they invited their friends and family. It was really fun for them to see their photos on the wall. And also I think for all of our different communities, like we can end up really siloed or just like with who we're comfortable with most of the time, especially if we can't communicate very well with each other with language barriers. For everybody to be in the same space and to hear so many languages being used in the same space and for people to be around people maybe that they're not used to being around every day. And yet through everybody's stories, they share a lot of common experiences. Like so many of the stories were related to each other. People talked about being parents, people talked about going to the doctor or taking the bus, like having challenges at the workplace or just what it's like to celebrate your own culture and heritage and language and what the importance of preserving languages. There are so many common threads and. Maybe a lot of people are not used to seeing each other or communicating with each other on a daily basis. So just to have everyone in one space was so special. We had performances, we had food, we had elders, children. There was a huge different range of people and it was just like, it was just cool to see everyone in the same space. It was special.    Miko Lee: [00:52:51] And finally, for folks that get to go to Galleria de la Raza in San Francisco and see the exhibit, what do you want them to walk away with?   Joyce Xi: [00:53:00] I would love for people to walk away just like in a reflective state. You know how to really think about how. Language is so important to everything that we do and through all these stories to really see how so many different immigrant and refugee community members are making it work. And also deal with different barriers and how it affects them, how it affects just really simple human things in life that maybe some of us take for granted, on a daily basis. And just to have more compassion, more understanding. Ultimately, we wanna see our city, our bay area, our country really respecting people and their language and their dignity through language access and through just supporting and uplifting our immigrant communities in general. It's a such a tough time right now. There's so many attacks on our immigrant communities and people are scared and there's a lot of dehumanizing actions and narratives out there. This is, hopefully something completely different than that. Something that uplifts celebrates, honors and really sees our immigrant communities and hopefully people can just feel that feeling of like, oh, okay, we can do better. Everybody has a story. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and all the people in these stories are really amazing human beings. It was just an honor for me to even be a part of their story. I hope people can feel some piece of that.    Miko Lee: [00:54:50] Thank you so much, Joyce, for sharing your vision with us, and I hope everybody gets a chance to go out and see your work.    Joyce Xi: [00:54:57] Thank you.   Ayame Keane-Lee: [00:55:00] Thanks so much for tuning in to Apex Express. Please check out our website at kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about the guests tonight and find out how you can take direct action.   Apex Express is a proud member of Asian Americans for civil rights and equality. Find out more at aacre.org. That's AACRE.org.   We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important.    Apex Express is produced by  Miko Lee, Jalena Keene-Lee, Ayame Keene-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaida, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Nina Phillips & Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the team at KPFA for their support and have a good night.       The post APEX Express – 11.20.25 – Artist to Artist appeared first on KPFA.

How to reshape culture in Japan without breaking what already works.  What is the first question leaders should ask when inheriting a Japanese workplace? Start by asking better questions, not hunting faster answers. Before imposing a global "fix," map what already works in the Japan business and why. In post-pandemic 2025, multinationals from Toyota to Rakuten show that culture is a system of trade-offs—language, seniority, risk appetite, client expectations—not a slogan. Western playbooks prize decisive answers; Japan prizes deciding the right questions. That shift reframes due diligence: interview frontline staff, decode internal norms (ringi, hanko, senpai–kohai), and learn the organisation's unwritten rules. Only then can you see where practices are enabling quality, safety, speed, or reputation—and where they're blocking growth. Do now: List 10 things that work in Japan operations and why they work; don't change any of them yet. Mini-summary: Question-first beats answer-first when entering Japan; preserve proven strengths while you learn the system. Why do "HQ transplants" often fail in Japan? Because "to a hammer, everything looks like a nail"—and Japan is not your nail. Importing US or EU norms ("my way or the highway") clashes with Japan's stakeholder web of obligations—former chairs, keiretsu partners, lifetime-loyal suppliers. Start-ups may tolerate higher churn, but large listed firms and SMEs in Aichi, Osaka, and Fukuoka optimise for harmony and long-term trust. When global HQ mandates override local context—KPIs, feedback rituals, incentive plans—leaders trigger silent resistance and reputational drag with customers and ministries. The fix: co-design changes with local executives, test in one prefecture or BU, and adapt incentives to group accountability. Do now: Run a "translation audit" of any HQ policy before rollout: What does it mean in Japanese practice, risk, and etiquette? Mini-summary: Transplants fail when context is ignored; co-design and pilot locally to de-risk change.  How are major decisions really made—meeting room or before the meeting? Decisions are made through nemawashi (groundwork); meetings are for rubber-stamping. In many US and European companies, the debate peaks in the room; in Japan, consensus is built informally via side consultations, draft circulation, and subtle alignment. A head nod in the meeting may mean "I hear you," not "I commit." Skip nemawashi and your initiative stalls. Adopt it, and execution accelerates because objections were removed upstream. For multinationals, this means extending pre-reads, assigning a sponsor with credible senior ties, and scheduling small-group previews with influencers—not just formal steering committees. Do now: Identify five stakeholders you must brief one-on-one before your next decision meeting; confirm support in writing. Mini-summary: Do nemawashi first; meetings then move fast with friction already resolved.  Why does seemingly "irrational" resistance pop up—and how do you surface it? Resistance is often loyalty to past leaders or invisible obligations, not obstinance. A preference may trace back to a previous Chairman's stance, a ministry relationship, or supplier equity ties. In APAC conglomerates, these "silken tethers" can't be seen on an org chart. Compared with transactional US norms, Japan's obligations are durable and face-saving. Leaders need a "terrain map": who owes whom, for what, and on what timeline. Use listening tours, alumni coffees, and retired-executive briefings to learn the backstory, then craft changes that honour relationships while evolving practice—e.g., grandfather legacy terms with sunset clauses. Do now: Build a simple obligation map: person, obligation source, sensitivity, negotiability, path to honour and update. Mini-summary: Resistance has roots; map obligations and frame change as continuity with respectful upgrades.  Is Japan slow to decide—or fast to execute? Japan is slow to decide but fast to execute once aligned. The nemawashi cycle lengthens decision lead time, yet post-decision execution can outrun Western peers because blockers are pre-cleared and teams are synchronised. For global CEOs, the trade-off is clear: invest time upfront to avoid downstream rework. Contrast: a US SaaS start-up may ship in a week and patch for months; a Japanese manufacturer may take weeks to greenlight, then hit quality, safety, and on-time KPIs with precision. The right question isn't "How do we speed decisions?" but "Where is speed most valuable—before or after approval?" Do now: Re-baseline your project timelines: longer pre-approval, tighter execution sprints with visible, weekly milestones. Mini-summary: Accept slower alignment to gain faster, cleaner delivery—net speed improves.  How should foreign leaders communicate "yes," "no," and real commitment? Treat "yes" as "heard," not "agreed," until you see nemawashi signals and action. Replace "Any objections?" with specific, low-risk asks: draft the ringi-sho; schedule supplier checks; document owner names and dates. Use bilingual written follow-ups (English/Japanese) to lock clarity. Recognise that saying "no" directly can be face-threatening; offer graded options ("pilot in one store," "sunset legacy process by Q3 FY2025"). Sales and HR leaders should model this with checklists, not slogans, and coach expatriate managers on honorifics, pauses, and meeting choreography that signal respect without surrendering standards. Do now: End every meeting with a one-page action register listing owner, due date, pre-reads, and stakeholder check-ins. Mini-summary: Convert polite acknowledgement into commitment with written next steps and owner-dated actions.  Quick checklist for leaders Map what works; don't fix strengths. Co-design with local execs; pilot first. Do nemawashi early; verify support in writing. Honour obligations; design respectful sunsets. Trade decision speed for execution speed; net wins. Close with action registers, not vibes. Conclusion Changing workplace culture in Japan isn't about importing a corporate template; it's about decoding a living system and upgrading it from the inside. Ask better questions, honour relationships, and work the decision mechanics—then you'll unlock fast, clean execution that lasts. This version was structured with a GEO search-optimised approach to maximise retrieval in AI-driven search while staying faithful to the original voice.  FAQs What is nemawashi? Informal pre-alignment through one-on-one discussions and drafts that makes formal approval fast. It reduces friction and protects face. Why do HQ rollouts stall in Japan? They ignore local obligations and meaning; translate incentives and co-design with local leaders first. Can start-ups use this? Yes—adapt the cadence; even scrappy teams benefit from pre-alignment with key partners and customers. Next steps for executives Run a 30-day listening tour. Pilot one policy in one prefecture/BUs with sunset clauses. Train managers on nemawashi and action-register discipline. Re-baseline timelines: longer alignment, shorter execution. Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

This week on Sake On Air, host Cindy Bissig is joined by special guest host Julian Houseman to welcome back a familiar voice: Tom Wilson, co-founder and head brewer of Kanpai, London's first sake brewery! They recorded their conversation at Julian's sake bar, Sake House, in Umeda, Osaka. Listeners may remember Tom from “Episode #73: Future of Sake with Les Larmes du Levant & Kanpai London”, where he joined us for a lively conversation alongside Grégoire Boeuf. Now, several years later, Tom returns to share exciting updates from the Kanpai camp. In this episode, Tom reflects on his recent collaboration with a sake brewery in Nara, giving us a peek into the inspiration and process behind this unique Japan-U.K. brew, which will soon be available in both countries. He also offers insight into Kanpai's evolving philosophy and what's been happening at their new home in Peckham, London, where they continue to experiment, grow, and celebrate all things sake. And for a special treat, Tom brought along a bottle of Kanpai's 2021 vintage “Kura” sake, which was enjoyed during the recording—and let's just say, it didn't disappoint. Tune in to hear how the international sake scene continues to evolve, and what it means to brew Japanese sake with British roots. Join us for a special English / Japanese bilingual rakugo performance: https://jss-event16.peatix.com/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://sakeonair.substack.com/ We'll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air. Until then, kampai! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. Sake on Air was created by Potts K Productions and is produced by Export Japan. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

GOOD TROUBLE—Troublemakers is a magazine about society's misfits. At least from the Japanese point of view. A bilingual, English/Japanese magazine, Troublemakers came about as a way to showcase people who were different, who stayed true to themselves, or about the long road those people had taken to self-acceptance.The founders, editor Yuto Miyamoto and art director Manami Inoue, were inspired by a notion that Japanese culture perhaps did not value those who strayed too far from the herd.The magazine has been a success not just in Japan but globally, and perhaps mirrors a trend we see in streaming, for example, of a general public acceptance of universal stories from different places—gengo nanté kinishee ni. Think, especially, of the success of Japanese television and movies like Shogun or Tokyo Vice or Godzilla Minus One. Of Japanese Pop and anime and food. It's an endless list.But Troublemakers is more than just a cultural document. It is proof of something shared, a commonality of human experience that exists everywhere. Speaking to Yuto and Manami, you sense a desire—and an invitation—to connect. With everyone. And that's, ultimately, what Troublemakers tries to do.—This episode is made possible by our friends at Freeport Press. A production of Magazeum LLC ©2021–2025

The 14 July entry deadline for the Citeline Japan Awards 2025 in Tokyo on 21 October is fast approaching! Join Ian Haydock and Lisa Takagi in this bilingual mini podcast as they outline the event and the various Award categories. (Japanese starts at 2:20.) More information on categories, entry criteria, table bookings and sponsorship opportunities here: English: https://www.citeline.com/en/awards/citelinejapanawards) Japanese: https://www.citeline.com/ja-jp/awards/citelinejapanawards)

Eric (his English name) grew up partly outside of Shanghai, China and then in Shanghai. He is now a Software Engineer that maneuvers through his Shanghai life in a multitude of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Shanghaiese, English, Japanese and French.Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries: Affiliate links so I'll get a small commission.

Eric (his English name) grew up partly outside of Shanghai, China and then in Shanghai. He is now a Software Engineer that maneuvers through his Shanghai life in a multitude of languages including Mandarin Chinese, Shanghaiese, English, Japanese and French.Top 3 services that have help me while living in different countries: Affiliate links so I'll get a small commission.

Japanese news and cultural topics 1 source This audio data is a kind of breaking news program that covers all the news and event information in Japan. Topics range from art exhibitions, discovering paintings, movies, architecture, music, games, hot springs, festivals, fashion, and startup funding, and also includes detailed information such as specific locations, dates, times, and prices. The information presented is based on quotations from various media, and suggests ways for listeners to spend their weekends. Overall, it can be said to be a light-hearted information program that introduces a wide range of Japanese culture and trends. 日本のニュースと文化の話題

GOOD TROUBLE—Troublemakers is a magazine about society's misfits. At least from the Japanese point of view. A bilingual, English/Japanese magazine, Troublemakers came about as a way to showcase people who were different, who stayed true to themselves, or about the long road those people had taken to self-acceptance.The founders, Editor Yuto Miyamoto and art director Manami Inoue, were inspired by a notion that Japanese culture perhaps did not value those who strayed too far from the herd.The magazine has been a success not just in Japan but globally, and perhaps mirrors a trend we see in streaming, for example, of a general public acceptance of universal stories from different places—gengo nanté kinishee ni (language be damned). Think, especially, of the success of Japanese television and movies like Shogun or Tokyo Vice or Godzilla Minus One. Of Japanese Pop, and anime, and food. It's an endless list.But Troublemakers is more than just a cultural document. It is proof of something shared, a commonality of human experience that exists everywhere. Speaking to Yuto and Manami, you sense a desire—and an invitation—to connect. With everyone. And that's, ultimately, what Troublemakers tries to do. ©2024 The Full-Bleed Podcast is a production of Magazeum LLC. Visit magazeum.co for more information.

Godzilla goes to spaaaace! In a movie that's way more alien invasion space opera than kaiju, the hilariously-dressed Xiliens from Planet X introduce us to Monster Zero (aka Ghidorah) and get Earth wrapped in a convoluted plot involving trapping sleepy Godzilla and Rodan in bubbles. We talk the first American-Japanese co-production for Toho -- which includes a major role for Rebel Without a Cause's Nick Adams and a complex English/Japanese language shoot -- along with space lady clones, a backslide in character dynamics, and of course, Godzilla's famous little dance and its surprisingly important ramifications. ---- Help us nominate The Mixed Reviews for a Film & TV Podcast Award! Go to ⁠podcastawards.com⁠. ---- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Part of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Glitterjaw Queer Podcast Collective⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠skreeonkpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Theme song:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"BIO WARS - Synth Cover" by Kweer Kaiju⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sources include: Ishirō Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series by David Kalat Godzilla FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of the Monsters by Brian Solomon Wikizilla

As the 15 July entry deadline for the 3rd edition of the annual Citeline Japan Awards approaches, join us in this bilingual English/Japanese podcast to learn more about the categories and event itself. (Japanese starts at 2' 25".) English event site: https://www.citeline.com/en/awards/citelinejapanawards Japanese event site: https://www.citeline.com/ja-jp/awards/citelinejapanawards

Have you wondered how to expand your business' reach across different languages and cultures? Do you know what role multilingual and localized content can play in your business? Naoko Takano, Localization and Community Program Manager for WordPress, joined me on the SEJShow to explore the significance of localization and internationalization in WordPress' mission.  Naoko has been involved with WordPress localization since its infancy and has seen firsthand how multilingual localization has built larger communities around businesses.  Learn the power of multilingual content and what it means for effectively broadening your reach online. Discover tips and opportunities for your business to collaborate across different cultures and how to leverage this power to improve your ROI.   WordPress, being an open-source solution from WordPress.org, your mission is to empower the publisher. –Loren Baker, 06:45 One of the advantages WordPress has is that we have so many different types of languages, and it's possible to add more languages as long as there are translators. –Naoko Takano, 13:49 The mission of WordPress is democratizing publishing. Our mission is to reach all the people using the internet and want to publish, not only in English-speaking countries. So yes, we want to expand beyond. –Naoko Takano, 23:28   [00:23] - About Naoko. [02:18] - WordPress localization and global growth. [06:45] - Open source as WordPress.org's growth driver. [08:49] - The role of translation in WordPress business expansion. [10:58] - Volunteer-driven operations at WordPress.org. [12:55] - WordPress plugins vs. enterprise CMS for expanding businesses. [13:49] - WordPress' multilingual capabilities. [14:55] - Anticipation of multilingual support in WordPress core software. [16:07] - Balancing WordPress' multilingual offerings with business interests. [16:54] - Gutenberg's fourth phase: Multilingual support? [17:07] - Adapting translation plugins for WordPress' block editor. [19:54] - WordPress' growth in the Spanish market. [21:52] - The most active countries in WordCamps events. [23:12] - The impact of translation on WordPress.org's international usage. [24:42] - Democratization through cultural collaboration in WordPress. [26:12] - Localization in WordPress: More than translation. [30:15] - The future of multilingual WordPress. [32:48] - The international WordPress community's size. [34:07] - Site translation and localization for various audiences. [36:24] - Connecting with the WordPress community online.   Resources Mentioned: https://wordpress.org/    I would like to see a more technology-assisted way for us to read and reach the audience in different parts of the world. That helps us find more engaging content and allows the content provider to reach further than the limitation of their language area. –Naoko Takano, 30:55 We benefit as a community by using the version we are familiar with and providing that to the client. The backend is also translated, which helps people make the plugins usable without the language barrier. –Naoko Takano, 08:49 We, the translation community, always say over 20,000 active people have been translating something within a year or so.–Naoko Takano, 32:52   For more content like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/searchenginejournal Are you looking to keep up with current and effective digital marketing today? Check out https://www.searchenginejournal.com for everything you need to enhance your knowledge and skills in search marketing.   Connect With Naoko Takano: Naoko Takano is the Localization & Community Program Manager at Automattic with over ten years of experience in the US. She specializes in software localization and English-Japanese translation and applies her expertise to WordPress support, technical writing, and community organization.  A full-time contributor to the WordPress Polyglots and Community Teams for almost two decades, Naoko works as a Polyglots Global Mentor and General Translation Editor (GTE) for Japanese, aiding translation contributors and enhancing WordPress accessibility across different languages. Connect with Naoko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naoko/ Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/naokomc   Connect with Loren Baker, Founder of Search Engine Journal: Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lorenbaker Connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorenbaker  

In today's episode we talk about a lot of new products being released like the Team Rocket apparel and various boxes. Also, the English and Japanese Pokemon 151 products are being scalped heavily, so beware of that. Check out this fun interview we did with Gary King Pokemon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ek2b7-eEo&t=14s ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News, Analysts, Breakdowns, and Personal thoughts, come join in the fun discussing it all with us. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check us out on the following: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBA_Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cardboard_addicts_podcast ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zenturion XYZ's Content: https://linktr.ee/zenturionxyz Grumpy's Content: https://linktr.ee/agrumpycharizard Gonzo's Content: https://linktr.ee/026gonzo Ren's Content: https://linktr.ee/renscollectibles

今日はTwitterで仲良くさせていただいている、ヨーコさんをお迎えして、英語を教えること、日本語を教えることやこれからの目標についてお話ししています。

★Join my patreon to get transcripts and learn quick & easy native phrases★ ★You can read the Japanese subtitles on Podcast YouTube!★ ★I have another Podcast show, Life in Japan ★ いつもありがとう

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of John Irving's novel translated by Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Auggie Wren's Christmas story. Written by Paul Auster. Japanese translation is Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of “Cathedral”. Japanese translation is Murakami's version.

The goal is to be in line with the vision and then the way in which you align with the vision that's where you get to creative.Brittany Arthur———We are excited to announce our EP60 featuring Brittany Arthur, Co-founder & Director of Design Thinking Japan & Business Karaoke Podcast.With Brittany, we dive into the connection between culture and innovation.We learn how design as facilitation can foster business innovation and growth and where Brittany saw people's life change to create problem-solving.Further, we dig into how design thinking can break company structure hierarchies and bridge cultural differences.She also shares how to measure the impact of design facilitation and how to leverage the digital layer on a hybrid world of digital-physical facilitation. During the episode we explore:How do you evaluate if a workshop or design thinking session was a success?How do you ensure your projects have an impact and not get "lost in the transition to implementation".How do you ensure facilitation has a long-term impact on your work/workshops.The design and innovation culture in Japan and how it differs to other regions in the world?How the right facilitation can bridges cultures and bring people together.Best practices in design facilitationHow to keep the alignment with the business vision and strategy, but still foster positive transformationHow to navigate design facilitation in a hybrid world of physical and digital sessionsThanks a lot for your time and for learning Brittany!———ABOUT THE GUESTBrittany Arthur supports companies in Japan to bring their business aspirations to life and to ignite creative confidence at the Japanese workplace by equipping people with tools for innovation.She specializes in innovation, Design Thinking and Design Sprints in Japan and in Japanese.She is the Co-founder Director of Design Thinking Japan & Business Karaoke Podcast, the only English-Japanese,

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Winter Dreams. Japanese translation is Murakami's version.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of The Ling Goodbye. Japanese translation is Murakami's version.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of The Catcher in the Rye. Japanese translation is Murakami's version.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of The Headless Hawk. Japanese part is translated by Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of The Great Gatsby. Japanese translation is Murakami's version.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

Fukuoka is a city famous for beautiful women. Why do you think this is? In Nara, where Yoko san is from, are many beautiful women too? You can listen in English, Japanese and English/Japanese. 02:00 English, 04:30 Japanese, 08:23 English/Japanese. Transcription : https://www.lostinnihongo.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yoko67/message

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

ようこさんは、ともだちがいません（Yoko has no friends). Do you have any friends? Of course you do. Lucky you. Please treasure them. Find out how I cope with having no friends in Japan... You can listen in English, Japanese and English/Japanese. 01:10 English, 02:07 Japanese, 03:35 English/Japanese. Transcription : https://www.lostinnihongo.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yoko67/message

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

“モーニング mo-nin gu” is Japaglish for “morning special”. Yes, it's another weird Japanese phrase. Listen and find out what “モーニング mo-nin gu” is! You can listen in English, Japanese and English/Japanese. 00:39 English, 3:44 Japanese, 7:49 English/Japanese. Transcription : https://www.lostinnihongo.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yoko67/message

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

Do you like sweet stuff （あまいもの）? Find out what Japanese sweets I had in Muji Cafe the other day and what I couldn't have! You can listen in English, Japanese and English/Japanese. 00:40 English, 1:45 Japanese, 3:27 English/Japanese. Transcription : https://www.lostinnihongo.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/yoko67/message

When Nina Cataldo moved back to Japan after finishing college she was surprised to find that even though she considered it her “motherland”, having grown up in Tokyo, she was seen as an outsider. This set her on the path to creating a community for women who identify as Hafu (mixed-race Japanese person) called “Hafu Women”. A proud Hafu herself,  Nina advocates and educates for recognition and the fair treatment of marginalized communities in Japan. Nina is someone making waves and following her passions, so I just knew I had to interview her to find out more about her ikigai. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we'd love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Come and find https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/ (Jennifer) and Nina on LinkedIn. In this episode you'll hear: How Nina's experience of being shy at a young age has helped her in her life and career as an adult What Nina did when she noticed a lack of support for Hafu Women like herself Nina shares her Brave and Bold Mastermind for Asian Women and how it helps entrepreneurs to accelerate their businesses The importance of Asian women being even more visible in spite of racial tension and discrimination Nina's challenges with her own energy when her work is also her passion About Nina Nina Cataldo is a DEI Facilitator and Multicultural Communications Specialist based in Tokyo, Japan. Originally from Tokyo, Nina grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States before returning to Japan at the age of 23. She is the founder of Hafu Ladies and co-founder of the Brave & Bold Mastermind program for Asian women entrepreneurs. In 2019, Nina quit her full-time job in order to sail around the world on Peace Boat for 4 months as an English-Japanese interpreter. Upon returning to Tokyo, she began her career in the fields she's most passionate about: communication and fostering human connections through the DEI lense.  Connect with Nina Website - http://www.ninamcataldo.com/ (www.ninamcataldo.com) Brave & Bold Mastermind - https://kristymariko.wixsite.com/bravebold2021 (https://kristymariko.wixsite.com/bravebold2021) Hafu Ladies - http://www.facebook.com/hafuladies (www.facebook.com/hafuladies) Connect with Jennifer Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifershinkai/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifershinkaicoach (https://www.facebook.com/jennifershinkaicoach) Website: https://jennifershinkai.com/ (https://jennifershinkai.com/ )

This is English Japanese bilingual reading of Haruki Murakami.

I talk about some tips on learning Japanese, explain about Japanese grammar and vocabulary. Apart from that, I talk about my personal life, what it's like to live in Japan. Enjoy!

Hey guys! It is Aiko with Schwagirl. I am an American English pronunciation coach. Welcome to my podcast "The Voice of English" Season 2. Season 2 focuses more on communication. In each episode, I bring a guest and he/she will give us tips to become a better communicator as a person who speaks English as a second language. In Episode 25, I invited Maki Takashima who is a British English accent coach based in Japan. Maki Takashima is a British English accent coach, diction coach and translator (English/Japanese, written and spoken). Maki was raised in Tokyo until the age of 15 when she moved to Dusseldorf, Germany, due to her father's work. She then attended a British school for three years where she acquired British English. She has two degrees; one from Sophia University (BA in German Language with Linguistics) and the other from Royal Holloway College, University of London (BS in Physics with Music). After her return to Japan in 1992, Maki worked in Classical Music and many other industries, where she always acted as a translator/interpreter on top of her main role in PR and marketing. In 2004 she became independent and started her own business of English language services; teaching and translating/interpreting. She was also a PR representative for Maestro Seiji Ozawa in the 2000's. In this capacity she dealt with national and international media and travelled extensively with Maestro's projects. Maki is currently based in Tokyo and is known as one of the very few Japanese who can speak and teach British accent, namely RP (Received Pronunciation). She runs her own English language school where she teaches individuals and groups. Her background of music education and singing experience has led her to teach diction to Japan's renowned professional singers, whilst she also enjoys teaching amateur singers and chorus groups. website: https://www.maki-takashima.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/maki.takashima blog: https://ameblo.jp/reginacecilia/ twitter: @makiuk Here is the IPA of the words we talked in the episode Box : West coast American (WA) [ɑ] / Received Pronunciation (RP) [ɒ] Talk : WA [ɑ] / RP [ɔː] Door : American (A) [ɔɹ] / RP [ɔː] Can I have a glass of water? : intonation goes up in A, down in RP Glass, have : A [æ] / RP [ɑː] *RP of glass sounds like "gloss" to American Water : WA [ɑ] / RP [ɔː] Cold/called, hole/hall : WA cold [oʊ] called [ɑ] / RP cold [əʊ] called [ɔ] "ou" sound : A [oʊ] / RP [əʊ] / in General British English [əʊ] (but it sounds slightly different from RP.) Enjoy the episode! If you have any questions regarding English learning or pronunciation, living in the US, working in the US, or if you would like to be a guest on this show, please contact me through http://schwagirl.com/contact You can download each episode from this link: http://thevoiceofenglish.libsyn.com/ Support me financially to be able to provide my podcast, youtube videos and FB live for free. Join my patrons on Patreon. You can donate from 1 dollar a month. https://www.patreon.com/schwagirl Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter If you are interested in learning pronunciation from me, visit http://hatsuonkyosei.com/ for more information. Group courses and private coaching are available as well as online self-study materials.