News « Yuri Kageyama

My AP Stories for 2026

My AP Stories for 2025. My AP Stories for 2024. The links for 2023 and My AP stories from past years.

My AP Stories for 2026

My AP Story April 25, 2026 on Japan’s love for boxing as anticipation grows for the Inoue-Nakatani bout.

And the boxer I interviewed for the story at a Tokyo boxing gym. Really nice guy. And may you keep winning!

My AP Story April 28, 2026 about the Bank of Japan holding the key rate steady.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story April 23, 2026 by Matt O’Brien on a robot.

My AP Story April 22, 2026 about Japan’s trade data.

My AP Story April 12, 2026 about economic vulnerabilities to “oil shocks.”

My AP Story April 10, 2026 about the art being passed down over generations in Kabuki theater.

Always an honor, even if you just did your very small part, to be part of the Best of AP Honorable Mention awarded in February 2026, for this AP Story about an explosion at U.S. Steel.

My AP Story April 1, 2026 on the Bank of Japan’s “tankan.”

Throughout the year, I filed a lot of Markets stories, so many there are no links here.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story March 19, 2026 on how Asian nations are responding to the energy crunch.

My AP Story March 18, 2026 about Japan’s trade data.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story March 14, 2026 about North Korea firing a missile. 　

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Feb. 24, 2026 about China’s export restrictions.

My AP Story and My AP Photos Feb. 20, 2026 about the kimono and sustainability.

My AP Story Feb. 18, 2026 on Japan’s trade data.

My AP Story Feb. 16, 2026 about Japan’s economic growth.

My AP Story Feb. 6, 2026 on Toyota naming a new chief as profits decline.

My AP Story Feb. 12, 2026 about SoftBank Group thriving on the OpenAI boom.

My AP Story Feb. 12, 2026 about troubled Nissan promising it’s on the right track.

My AP Story Feb. 10, 2026 about Honda’s profits being hurt by Trump’s tariffs and EV policies.

My AP Story Feb. 5, 2026 on Sony’s earnings.

My AP Story Feb. 4, 2026 about heavy snow in Japan.

My AP Story Jan. 22, 2026 about Japan’s trade data.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 4, 2026 about North Korea firing missiles.

My AP Story Jan. 2, 2026 about the emperor and his family greeting well-wishers at the palace for New Year’s.

I usually start the New Year by covering a countdown event for our roundup story. I send a bunch of material but, by the end of the global day, it becomes one line, if even that. It’s a great way to start out the new year as a reporter, a humbling but comforting reminder that we just do our jobs. I am a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 1, 2026.

A Podcast about my writing

A Podcast about my writing

Also on Apple Podcast

And on Amazon Podcast

And a Video on LinkedIn

Haiku Today

Haiku Today by Yuri Kageyama

The birds are man and wife

Arrows gliding floating fluttering

Leave me with envy

^ ___ <

In youth art was all

But love is so much bigger

And our son was born

The Anniversary April 23, 2026

The Anniversary April 23, 2026

by Yuri Kageyama

Proud to have survived a whole year

A numb blur at first

And that is nothing

Compared to all the

Laughing in love, suffering in love, worrying in love

We had together

That time, so long and only so clear now

Because when we were living it

It was just a day at a time

But I will start to remember them,

A year at a time, a day maybe at a time,

Like turning the pages of a beloved book

Starting with the rock song that was a big hit then

And you just told me you will enlighten me

With better music like John Coltrane

IT IS OK a poem by Yuri Kageyama

IT IS OK a poem by Yuri Kageyama

it is OK

to idealize

he is now

an angel

at least that’s

what they say

he never laid eyes on another

he always brought home the pay check

he never broke anything

and he never snored

it is OK to believe

all those things

and think he was, will be

perfect

This piece came about as part of the Poetry Challenge, a group in Tokyo that shares work on a given theme. The theme was “Dreamtime.” I’m sharing it here because it turned out nicely, if I may say so, with the title “It Is OK.” That’s what a family member who used AI to make it into a song called it:

My poetry an honorable mention in “The Terrible Fives”

My poetry an honorable mention in “The Terrible Fives”

This isn’t coming out until November 2026, but I am thrilled to get an honorable mention in “The Terrible Fives,” the upcoming book by Ishmael Reed, my longtime mentor since my Berkeley days.

YOUR MUSIC a poem by Yuri Kageyama

Your Music a poem by Yuri Kageyama

He loved me

More than he loved

His Music

And his Music is

Huge

Because

When you play

That kind of Music

The Music

Is about Everybody

Each Player

Even the listener

But especially the Music

Not just then and there

But all the Music

That went Before

You knew that

So you just smiled

When I said

It wasn’t your Music

And I didn’t even think or know

How much you loved me

Because our love was bigger

Than all that

Music

a link to a sweet musical version on SoundCloud

Gordy with Duke in San Francisco 1979. Photo by Bob Hsiang.

I now know it’s all the same thing, love and music. Or the poem, flower arrangement or any other pursuit. It’s about connecting with all that went before you, in all their trials and tribulations, everything. And love is a part of that, your connecting with that person you love. Maybe your friend, your mother, your partner for life. It might get complicated if you are trying to connect with the past, while at the same time trying to connect with that individual, who in turn may also be connecting with the musical or theatrical greats who went before him or her. But, hey, it’s all the same thing. It is how you live and how you choose to connect. And it is definitely a lifelong effort. Worth every second. Filling you with joy and meaning about having known those special connections, and that special person. So do not mourn. Just rejoice. Keep playing, writing, creating and loving.

Poetry Challenge Part Two

The Poetry Challenge 2026 has now become a weekly. And so here goes. The first theme for the group is “Water.” More themes follow by the week below:

WATER

by Yuri Kageyama

You’re instructed to do less

Be invisible

Although no one is watching

You’re a threat just by being you

So be quiet and be still

Pretend you don’t exist

Don’t even breathe too hard

People can tell you can play

By just hearing a note

People can tell you can write

By just reading one line

And who needs that from you

When you aren’t even there

James McBride wrote “The Color of Water”

But you are neither white nor black

So you just aren’t there; OK?

And already totally forgotten

Midnight

by Yuri Kageyama

A sliver

Of a crack

Dividing

Tomorrow

From

Today

Slip through

A free fall

The other Side

Invisible

What Death

Feels like

Long lost lovers

Wait for you

That’s why

Midnight

Has that eerie feel

The moment

When eternity

Hits

A whisper

A breath

A nothing

BIRD SONG

by Yuri Kageyama

Plum blossoms warble

A flutter of green

Nightingales tell us spring is here

Gliding reflections

Elegance of white

Swans remind us of Tchaikovsky

Caught in a cage

Silent fluff of yellow

The Canary who’s forgotten to sing

SHAPE I’M IN

by Yuri Kageyama

Being not white

You get racism

Being a woman

You get sexism

You’d think with time

Race, gender maybe

Will matter less

Well well well

No no no

Being old

You get agism

And that’s together

With all you got before

LIES

by Yuri Kageyama

You are beautiful

People call them lies

I’m so in love with you

Those promises for forever

You are the only one

But some lies are allowed

In sickness or in health

They become truth in love

Till death doth us part

MISTAKE

by Yuri Kageyama

Waiting for Godot

Ice cream

Rock ‘n’ roll

A good night’s sleep

Waking up after that

Soft sunlight through the window

Michelangelo

A joke that makes everyone laugh

Pink lipstick

Pink roses

Pink bubble gum

A gorgeous sunset

Winning but knowing it’s OK to lose

Losing but knowing you might win next

Landing a job

Getting paid

Going out to dinner

Going out dancing

Burritos

Birthdays

The smell of evergreen

A fireplace

A walk on the beach

Holding hands

The John Coltrane Quartet

Jimi Hendrix

This is a list of things I love

Have loved

Will love forever

Remember

No mistake

Our baby’s first cry

Our baby now a man

Pride and joy

Peace on earth

The caress of your kiss

DREAMTIME

by Yuri Kageyama

it is OK

to idealize

he is now

an angel

at least that’s

what they say

he never laid eyes on another

he always brought home the pay check

he never broke anything

and he never snored

it is OK to believe

all those things

and think he was, will be

perfect

a link to the poem as a song below, courtesy Isaku (I changed the second-to-the-last line to match the musical version _ and because I like the new line better):

Walk On

by Yuri Kageyama

Dionne Warwick sang “walk on by”

About someone who said goodbye

Paul Griffin plays piano on that track

Do you remember or care to look back?

He recorded with hundreds of musicians

Bob Dylan, the Isley Brothers, Van Morrison

We must keep going and walk on

Not passing and forgetting, walk on

Dark Side

by Yuri Kageyama

Smart people say

William Blake believed

Good and evil are

Side by side

But I heard different

Like a child

Pure and clear

That voice:

“Mommy I love you”

Heart and mind and flesh

For all eternity

That is

Good

The side

To know and stay

Blessed are we all

For those memories of good

Even those we no longer

Really remember

But I know

For sure

We do

Get

Choose

To live by good

And die by good

And not walk over

To the dark side

Which is somewhere else

And we don’t have to be all that smart

To be different

From that other side,

Twisted and gnarled

Hateful of others’ joys,

Just hissing and snarling

First Contact

by Yuri Kageyama

You sent me pink flowers

It’s been a year since he died

A whole year

“Sending big hugs your way”

You wrote in a message

I hear a happier voice

Than some time ago

When you said

“I can’t give you grandchildren”

Though I replied quickly, firmly

“You don’t have to give me grandchildren”

I will try to remember that happier voice

Like when we went to hear Jharis Yokley

Rhythms resonate in a tiny Tokyo hall

It doesn’t matter

We can’t remember what we said

The first time we met

My Ikenobo Ikebana No. 12

My Ikenobo Ikebana No. 12

Today’s ikebana was fun because my teacher Mr. Okada, a man of many talents who can do backflips, allowed me to come up with own ideas. In the assignment, the yellow flowers were supposed to be the main elements, but I wanted to make the sweet peas the main elements, in the same way that the sidekick may steal the show from the lead actor. I also made the ivy into a circle. The link to my last ikebana with the link that leads to more previous ikebana links.

Kita Kamakura Writers’ Workshop

the online invite we got, courtesy Simon Scott, who read his found poem at the workshop

Kita Kamakura Writers’ Workshop

Delighted I got invited to take part in the Kita Kamakura Writers’ Workshop March 21, 2026. I climbed a lot of beautiful green hills (giving my legs an enormous workout) to get to the home of Duncan Whom (aka D Whom, a performance artist, filmmaker and dancer), filled with bottles of perfume because his partner, Neil Chapman, is a scent specialist. We also got taken on another walk around the area, uphill much of the way, to finally see a lake, which had been hidden. Although not articulated, it was part of the workshop to do all this obviously, to feel through our muscles that nothing comes without work. As a reward, we got very nice food, including couscous I hadn’t had in a while, but was marvelous with salad with cheese, and wine.

Last but not least, I got to read my essay, “Why Butterfly Should Stop Committing Literary Harakiri,” published in “Bigotry on Broadway,” Baraka Books, 2021. I hadn’t looked at that piece in a while, and of course never shared it. I have finally come to terms with what I have written, feel and want to tell the world _ everyone _ and our legacy. Racism is wrong, no matter what. But the fight can be meaningful, creative, even redemptive. I was filled with gratitude toward the hosts, the other writers who were there and shared their work, as well as to Ishmael Reed and Carla Blank, who put together the book, in which my work was published. And to the world of artists in general.