After 10 Chaotic Years, YOSHIKI’s Music and His Way of Life Became a Ray of Light for the World

YOSHIKI is a composer, pianist, rock drummer, and the leader of Japanese rock bands X JAPAN and THE LAST ROCKSTARS. Consequence calls YOSHIKI “one of the most influential musicians and composers in Japanese history,” and Billboard says he is “a musical innovator.”

In this interview, we asked him how he continues to take on challenges at a time when hope is hard to see.

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I LIVE IN JAPAN / Nic Flynn / English Teacher and photographer

August 2023 (VOL.190) Nic Flynn What do you do in Japan? I work a few different jobs in Japan, including as a part-time English teacher, photographer, and media assistant, while working on my own side projects with photography and video work. What is the distinctive lifestyle difference between your country and Japan? The difference that sticks out to me the most is how the two cultures perceive their space.   In America, people don’t like others getting too close to them as we see them as not only possibly a threat, but we just aren’t comfortable with that.  I don’t know…

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I LIVE IN JAPAN / Matt Shannon / Public High School Teacher

JULY 2023 (VOL.189) Matt Shannon What do you do in Japan? I’m a licensed public school teacher in Japan.  Like many people, I came to try a year or two away from my home country and found language education being a direct fit for my studies at university.  Yes, I was an ALT when I first started.  However, I did take my job seriously and settled on becoming a qualified curriculum developer for schools.  I took online courses, took chances to work with publishers and NPOs to get relevant experience, and specialized in some specific, standardized educational programs.  Ultimately, I…

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I LIVE IN JAPAN / Maria / Project manager, coordinator, interpreter, and translator

MAY 2023 (VOL.187) Maria What do you do in Japan? I have been involved in different projects in my 8 years of living in Japan.  My recent experience, for example, was working for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Right now, I am working in an international team, leading and coordinating projects, as well as interpreting and translating. What aspect of Japanese culture is interesting to you? I like everything about Japanese culture, but since I am interested in history, I like learning about Japanese history.  I have also learned about kimono and how to wear it, have been…

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I LIVE IN JAPAN / Zak Holt / Translator, Project Manager

APRIL 2023 (VOL.186) Zak Holt Were you hesitant to relocate to Japan? No, I wasn’t.  I’ve been to Japan a few times beforehand, and I knew I didn’t want to stay in the UK, so I was rather excited to move to Japan.  For the most part, even if you don’t know Japanese, or have limited knowledge of Japanese, you can still get around and enjoy yourself a bit. What do you do in Japan? I work as head translator and project manager for Peak Japan, a crowdfunding team based in Tokyo, Japan.  We take mainly made-in-Japan and Japanese-designed projects…

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