Patrick St. Michel

Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.

For Patrick St. Michel's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japanese pop culture in China: It’s complicated.

DEEP DIVE Oct 26, 2022

Japanese pop culture in China: It’s complicated.

Japan and China recently celebrated 50 years of relations and, since then, Japanese art, film and music has had a major impact on Chinese society. Recently, however, the Chinese market has become increasingly difficult to navigate.

Week 2 at the Tokyo Olympics: A marathon in the heat

DEEP DIVE Aug 6, 2021

Week 2 at the Tokyo Olympics: A marathon in the heat

We take a look back at the second week of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim share a gold medal in the high jump, skateboarding is dominated by more incredible Japanese teenagers, and it continues to be incredibly hot at these Olympic ...

Week 1 at the Tokyo Olympics: Gold, Covid and Naomi Osaka

DEEP DIVE Jul 30, 2021

Week 1 at the Tokyo Olympics: Gold, Covid and Naomi Osaka

We take a look back at the first week of Olympic madness in Tokyo. From the opening ceremony to Naomi Osaka and Simon Biles' shock exits, it's been a busy week at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Read more: Biracial representation, game soundtracks and shiny pecs: bright ...