MY AP STORIES 2023

MY AP STORIES 2023

My AP Stories for 2022 with links on the site to some earlier years.

My AP Story May 29, 2023 about the comic who poses naked but, don’t worry, is wearing … pants.

My AP Video and My AP Photos that go with My AP Story. Thanks to Tony for sharing his Story.

My AP Story, My AP Photos and My AP Video June 2, 2023 about Maholo, who is French and Japanese _ and a Kabuki star.

My AP Story June 1, 2023 about Toyota’s liquid hydrogen racing car.

And My AP Photos when I get close to Akio Toyoda aka Morizo, who drove the hydrogen racing car.

My AP Story May 27, 2023 about Le Mans to include hydrogen vehicles.

My AP Story May 30, 2023 about Toyota, Daimler Truck, Hino, Mitsubishi Fuso joining forces in ecological technology.

My AP Story May 20, 2023 about Toyota disclosing improper crash tests.

My AP Story May 18, 2023 about Japan’s prime minister meeting with chip makers.

My AP Story May 15, 2023 about the apology from the talent agency mired in a sex scandal.

My AP Story May 17, 2023 on Japan economic growth.

My AP Story May 11, 2023 on Nissan’s earnings.

My AP Story May 11, 2023 on SoftBank’s earnings.

My AP Story May 11, 2023 on Honda’s earnings.

My AP Story May 12, 2023 on a data breach on 2 million Toyota vehicles.

My AP Story May 10, 2023 on Toyota’s earnings results.

My AP Story May 2, 2023 on BYD EVs starting to crack the Japan market and My AP Photos.

My AP Story May 1, 2023 about Jack Ma being a professor at a Japanese university.

My AP Story April 26, 2023 on Honda outlining its EV strategy.

My AP Story April 21, 2023 in which Toyota’s new president vows to push ahead with EVs.

My AP Story April 21, 2023 on a verdict in the Olympic bribery trial.

My AP Story April 15, 2023 on Takeshi Kitano’s latest film headed to Cannes.

My AP Story April 14, 2023 in which I interview Makoto Shinkai about his filmmaking.

My AP Story April 12, 2023 on a former Johnny’s Junior alleging sexual abuse.

My AP Story April 11, 2023 on climate change in Japan.

My AP Story April 3, 2023, an Obit on Ryuichi Sakamoto.

My iPhone snapshot of Ryuichi Sakamoto during my interview.

My AP Story April 6, 2023 about the Olympic scandal and the Sapporo election.

My AP Story March 24, 2023 on Toshiba’s tender offer.

My AP Story March 19, 2023 on how the hit WBC pepper-grinder move is out in high school baseball.

My AP Story March 8, 2023 on how women prosecutors are fighting crime, gender inequality.

My AP Story March 6, 2023 and My AP Photo (below) on One Piece going Hollywood.

My AP Story March 7, 2023 on Roki Sasaki at the World Baseball Classic, which makes it into the Stars and Stripes.

My AP Story March 17, 2023 on business leaders from South Korea and Japan agreeing to work together.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story March 19, 2023 on a North Korean missile launch.

My AP Story March 14, 2023 on Trevor Bauer signing with a Yokohama club.

My AP Story Feb. 26, 2023 on a young Ukrainian making Japan his new home.

My AP Story and My AP Photos March 9, 2023 on Nissan’s electrification move.

My AP Story Feb. 28, 2023 about Dentsu and others getting charged in the Olympic bid-ridding scandal.

My AP Story March 9, 2023 about Japan’s economic growth staying flat.

My AP Story March 10, 2023 on the next central bank governor.

My AP Story Feb. 14, 2023 on a scholar being nominated to head Japan’s central bank.

My AP Story Feb. 27, 2023 about Nissan accelerating its shift toward electric vehicles.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Feb. 18, 2023 about North Korea firing yet another missile.

My AP Story Feb. 17, 2023 on an Olympic bribery scandal trial opening in Tokyo.

My AP Story Feb. 14, 2023, an Obit on Shoichiro Toyoda, the son of Toyota’s founder.

My AP Story Feb. 13, 2023 on Toyota’s new leadership team.

My AP Story Feb. 6, 2023 with Kelvin Chan in London about Nissan and Renault balancing their mutual shareholdings.

My AP Story Feb. 4, 2023 on the prime minister’s aide being forced to leave over discriminatory remarks.

My AP Story Feb. 8, 2023 on arrests, now in a bid-rigging investigation into the Olympics.

My AP Story Feb. 2, 2023 on Kadokawa promising better governance in the Olympic scandal.

My AP Story Feb. 2, 2023 on Honda’s hydrogen plans.

My AP Story Feb. 2, 2023 on Sony’s new managerial leadership.

My AP Story Jan. 30, 2023 on Nissan, Renault balancing out the shares they hold in each other.

My AP Story Jan. 20, 2023 on Japan’s inflation.

My bit on the Japanese minister is part of this AP Story Jan. 18, 2023 on the Davos World Economic Forum.

My AP Story Jan. 13, 2023 on Akio Toyoda talking about converting old cars into ecological ones.

My AP Story Jan. 26, 2023 on Toyoda stepping aside as CEO.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 6, 2023 on Samurai Japan at the World Baseball Classic.

I’m also a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 10, 2023 about a Rangers pitcher signing with SoftBank.

My AP Story Jan. 2. 2023 on the Emperor greetings well-wishers.

REPORTER AT WORK PORTRAITS

REPORTER AT WORK PORTRAITS Photos by my colleagues over the years that are evidence I do my best as a reporter.

AP Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

Photo during my interview of Japanese prosecutors for My AP Story March 8, 2023.

AP Photo by Itsuo Inouye

Photo during my interview of Yayoi Kusama for My AP Story Aug. 7, 2012.

At the FCCJ front row, brown hoodie for My AP Story April 12, 2023.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 in Tokyo, (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

Photo during my interview of Akio Toyoda for My AP Story March 6, 2013.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013 in Tokyo, (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)
Guitar player of Queen Brian May speaks during a interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 in Tokyo, (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

My AP Story Sept. 23, 2016, when I spoke with a rock legend, who kindly called me “AP’s journalist of conscience.”

Sometimes my sources are a bit mechanical but cute.

Sometimes the photographer and I end up in pretty abandoned areas like the no-go zone in Fukushima.

Monday, April 28, 2014 in Sagamihara, (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa)

And at other times, the photographer and I end up meeting extraordinary people who were hidden in their moments of glory.

We also do 360 video and end up being in that circle. This is from 2017 at a Toyota plant.

2018 Photo by Shizuo of Andy and myself interviewing a Nissan executive.

NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA: Meditation on an Under-Reported Catastrophe by a Poet _ now a film

Fukushima is the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. It will take decades and billions of dollars to keep the multiple meltdowns under control. Spewed radiation has reached as far as the American West Coast. Some 100,000 people were displaced from the no-go zone. But now, years later, the 3.11 story hardly makes headlines.
Journalist Yuri Kageyama turns to poetry, dance, theater, music and film, to remind us that the human stories must not be forgotten. Carla Blank, who has directed plays in Xiangtan and Ramallah, as well as collaborated with Suzushi Hanayagi and Robert Wilson, brings together a multicultural cast of artists to create provocative theater. Performing as collaborators are actors/dancers Takemi Kitamura, Monisha Shiva, Shigeko Sara Suga and musicians Stomu Takeishi, Isaku Kageyama, Kouzan Kikuchi and Joe Small. Lighting design by Blu. Video projected on the stage is by Yoshiaki Tago, who has turned the performance into an award-winning film.
NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA is a literary prayer for Japan.
It explores the friendship between women, juxtaposing the intimately personal with the catastrophic.
The piece debuted at La MaMa in New York in 2015, with music led by Melvin Gibbs. An updated version was presented at Z Space in San Francisco in July 2017. The film was completed in October 2018.

“A powerful reflection on the corruption and greed of men and their indifference to human life.” _ ISHMAEL REED

OUR “NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA” honored at festivals around the world:

OFFICIAL SELECTION Snow Leopard International Film Festival 2023.

OFFICIAL SELECTION LA Indie Film Festival 2023.

SEMI-FINALIST Montreal Arthouse Film Festival October 2022.

AWARD WINNER BEST NARRATIVE DOCUMENTARY Official Selection Bright International Film Festival August 2022.

FINALIST BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM Official Selection Indiefare International Film Festival August 2022. 

FINALIST Official Selection with online screening Crown International Film Festival August 2022.   

EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM Official Selection Multi Dimension Independent Film Festival Nov. 25 ~ 30, 2021.

BEST ART FEATURE FILM Official Selection Universe Multicultural Film Festival Oct. 29 ~ 31, 2021.

AWARD WINNER BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE Official Selection EdiPlay International Film Festival.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT Best Experimental Film Official Selection Swedish International Film Festival Oct. 28 ~ 31, 2021 online screening.

Official Selection International Migration & Environmental Film Festival Oct. 9 ~ 16, 2021 streaming online on Xerb TV.

Official Selection Los Angeles Asian Film Festival 2021.

Official Selection Jade Jaguar Cinema Festival in Brazil Aug. 22-31, 2021.

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE WRITER/SCRIPT DOCU-DRAMA FEATURE Official Selection WRPN Women’s International Film Festival Spring 2021.

FINALIST Official Selection New Year Film Festival February 2021.

FINALIST Official Selection Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival February 2021.

HONORABLE MENTION Official Selection London International Monthly Film Festival February 2021. 

BEST ECOLOGY DOCUMENTARY Official Selection Best Film Awards January 2021.

Official Selection FINALIST Beyond the Curve International Film Festival January 2021.

SEMI-FINALIST Official Selection Jelly Film Festival January 2021.  

Official Selection Vancouver Independent Film Festival January 2021.

Official Selection Toronto International Women Film Festival January 2021.

BEST DOCUMENTARY Official Selection Rome International Movie Awards January 2021.

FINALIST Official Selection Flixze Film Festival Jan. 5 ~ 6, 2021.

Official Selection Kalakari Film Festival May 15, 2021.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE WINNER Royal Wolf Film Awards December 2020. 

NOMINATED BEST DOCUMENTARY BIMIFF – Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival November 2020.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Madras Independent Film Festival October 2020 Edition.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL DOCUMENTARY Sicily Independent Film Awards August 2020. 

FINALIST Official Selection Montreal Independent Film Festival September 2020.

Official Selection Motion Pictures International Film Festival November 2020. 

Official Selection Silent River Film Festival in California August 2020.

Official Selection Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival June 2020.

SELECT SHOWCASE Official Selection at the Guam International Film Festival (2019~2020), aired on PBS Guam June 2020.

Official Selection ARTS X SDGS film festival New York April 2020.

Official Selection 2020 Oniros Film Awards in Italy.

GRAND FESTIVAL AWARD – CINE DANCE POEM and WORLD PREMIERE at the Berkeley Video & Film Festival SAT Nov. 2, 2019, 6 p.m. East Bay Media Center Performance Space.

FINALIST BEST ASIAN FEATURE FILM at the New Vision International Film Festival in Amsterdam September 2019.   

Online Screenings:

Screened online at the Swedish International Film Festival Oct. 28 ~ 31, 2021.

Screened online at the Japan Writers Conference Oct. 16, 2021. 

Screened online at the Toronto Film Channel Aug. 31, 2020.

Screened online at the Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival Dec. 9, 2020 through Dec. 15, 2020.

NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA Meditation on an Under-Reported Catastrophe by a Poet
Written by Yuri Kageyama | Directed by Carla Blank

Film directed by Yoshiaki Tago with camera work by Tago and Kate McKinley. Editing by Eri Muraki.

 “Yuri, you did a great job. Stay hard and blunt and don’t mince words. Yours was a powerful reflection on the corruption and greed of men and their indifference to human life.” _ Ishmael Reed.

Photo by  Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

 

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

 

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dofrman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dofrman

For the San Francisco performance, we had genuine Bon Daiko drum music performed by Isaku Kageyama with shakuhachi and fue by Kouzan Kikuchi, joined by Joe Small (taiko/percussion) and Stomu Takeishi (bass), delivering mesmerizing renditions of Bon and minyo from Fukushima, as well as other Japanese tunes. The Bon idea of the dead’s homecoming and the abstracted repetitive dancing in a circle serve as a symbol of the piece’s message of death, yearning for family and future generations, and gratitude for the harvest and peaceful everyday life. Juxtaposed with the experimental choreography by the director Carla Blank, incorporating collaborations with the performers, Takemi Kitamura, Monisha Shiva and Shigeko Sara Suga, Bon dance was transformed on the American stage, and presented as a dignified and artistic motif of modern movement. Bon Odori continues to bring people together in the Japanese American community _ and communities all over Japan.

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

From the director CARLA BLANK
“This performance is a collaboration among all its participants, some who have worked together since 2015, and some who in 2017 helped create this new development of the piece. Through email conversations and intensive rehearsals we arrived at our choices of the particular dramatic scenes, music, video, dances and other action you will see. The Bon Odori dances and music, which provide transitions between the scenes, are based on traditional celebrations that occur throughout Japan during the late summer to honor the ancestors: Soma Bon Uta and Aizu Bandaisan from Fukushima, Yagi Bushi from Tochigi and Gunma near Tokyo, and Tanko Bushi from Fukuoka, besides Tokyo Ondo, which continues throughout Bon Odori (The Death Dance). Great thanks to Takemi Kitamura, who taught us the four dances you will see and who also created the movement for the Prologue solo and Epilogue trio, inspired by a line dance from Aizu, the westernmost region of Fukushima, where annually it is offered in remembrance of 19 of the over 300 Byakkotai warriors , teen-age sons of samurai in the White Tiger Battalion who in 1868, during the Boshin Civil War, committed ritual disembowelment (seppuku or hara-kiri) because they mistakenly believed a fire had consumed their lord’s castle, which would mean their city had been captured and their families killed. For me, this dance particularly resonates because of where it comes from, how contemporary its formal choices appear, and how as the strokes of the blades go every which direction, it becomes a metaphor for the ways life can slice us also. It has been my great pleasure to realize Yuri Kageyama’s work with all these wonderful, dedicated performers.”

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

 

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

 

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Ishmael Reed came up with the title for the performance piece: “NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA: Meditation on an Under-Reported Catastrophe by a Poet.” As that suggests, the piece is about my vision as a poet. My spoken word pieces, delivered to accompaniment of various kinds of music, address racism, stereotyping, sexism and the search for love. They seek to address what society sees as “bigger” issues, such as the Fukushima accident, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and the journalistic mission. For me, they are all connected.

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

 

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

All those themes provide the driving force in my storytelling that has over the years always sought to bring closer to home the perennial repetition of people’s betrayal, selfishness and smallness.
The Fukushima disaster is the biggest story of my life _ both as poet and journalist, those sides of my writing identity which have in the past remained so painfully separate. They have now come together. We have all come together in this effort _ all of us, of different backgrounds, cultures and disciplines. We have become one. It is clear we have each done our best to share our talent, our passion and our lives, to raise questions, to connect _ and to bring hope.

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

What people are saying about NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA: MEDITATION ON AN UNDER-REPORTED CATASTROPHE BY A POET.

Yuri Kageyama, with her epic poem, has earned a place among the leading world poets. This work proves that the poet as a journalist can expose conditions that are ignored by the media. _ Ishmael Reed poet, essayist, playwright, publisher, lyricist, author of MUMBO JUMBO, THE LAST DAYS OF LOUISIANA RED and THE COMPLETE MUHAMMAD ALI, MacArthur Fellowship, professor at the University of California Berkeley, San Francisco Jazz Poet Laureate (2012-2016).

NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA is a commentary on what it means to be human in the 21st Century. While we are divided by race, ethnicity, language, geography and culture, the essence of our humanity remains constant. In NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA, the cast, director and playwright all come together to create a montage of courage, uncertainty and hope in the face of disaster. _ Basir Mchawi producer, community organizer and radio show host at WBAI Radio in New York, who has taught at the City University of New York, public schools and independent Black schools.

Awesome music and dancing! The haunting drumming, dazzling satire and the golden heart of a poet in protest. Nothing is under control when the environment is under siege. Aluta! _ Sandile Ngidi poet, Zulu/English translator, journalist and critic.

Her collage-like piece weaves together lyrical monologues, sword dance, film and live music that blends jazz, taiko drumming and minyo folks songs. In the Fukushima of 2017, goes one line late in the play, “the authorities say they are playing it safe, when no one really feels safe.” _ Lily Janiak writer for The San Francisco Chronicle.

A vital story of our times. Spoken word and music from a talented multicultural ensemble. A beacon of light in a darkening world. _ Paul Armstrong artistic director at International Arts Initiatives, a Vancouver-based nonprofit for cultural advancement through the arts and education.

I welcomed NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA _ into my consciousness, with deep gratitude, seeing it twice, two days in succession _ all the while marveling at the tough yet faithful production and its dedication to truth-telling. _ David Henderson poet, co-founder of Umbra and the Black Arts Movement, author of ‘SCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THE SKY. JIMI HENDRIX: VOODOO CHILD.

NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA echoes the mourning of Bon Odori dance to warn us again and again that the nuclear age of post-World War II Japan has never ended. _ Hisami Kuroiwa movie producer and executive for “The Shell Collector,” “”Lafcadio Hearn: His Journey to Ithaca,” “Sunday,” “Bent” and the Silver Bear-winning “Smoke.”

Strong threads of a woman’s point of view …. Excellent ….The issue of motherhood in looking at Fukushima is well done. And the candid shots of Obon in Japan are fantastic in the background. As are the shots of rows and rows of radioactive materials in plastic bags, just left in rows upon rows in Fukushima. I thought the production was very good, technically excellent, and very illustrative of a Japan we don’t hear about after the 2011 triple disaster. Go see it. _ Peter Kenichi Yamamoto poet in San Francisco and coordinator at the National Japanese American Historical Society.

NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA is a memorable performance with well-researched narratives that throws you into a quest for humanity. _ Midori Nishimura Stanford University professor and medical doctor.

A powerful message not to forget: Fukushima. _ David Ushijima San Francisco business professional in retail, mobile, sensor-based and connected devices, Internet of Things.

It’s the kind of piece that keeps this from being forgotten. With all the other things going on in this world, we can forget about this, and we have a distance from them. But this kind of piece can remind us to return to it and continually reconsider the choices we make in our society. _ Adam Hartzell writer at koreanfilm.org

Great music …. It left such an impression. A splendid performance. _ Seiko Takada musician, “Kaizoku” vocalist/guitarist.

NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA is a powerful artistic response to disaster, informing us and inspiring us to compassion. _ Ravi Chandra San Francisco-Bay Area poet, writer and psychiatrist.

A truly emotional experience. _ Liliana Perez child psychologist and Ph.D.

Fukushima: Excellent musical accompaniment to poignant poetry, with minimal yet imaginative staging and choreography. _ Nana pianist and New Yorker.

What a delight …. See this show and be transported magically. _ George Ferencz co-founder of the Impossible Ragtime Theater, resident director at La MaMa (1982-2008), who has also directed at the Actors’ Theater of Louisville, Berkeley Rep and Cleveland Playhouse.

News that enraptures and engages through Sound. A Poet sings of the unreported calamity at Fukushima. _ Katsumi a Japanese living in New York.

The arc of history in every nation has its sadly forgotten men, women and children. Hauntingly powerful, NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA draws our eyes and hearts back to an ongoing, under-reported tragedy. _ Curtis Chin Milken Institute fellow and former U.S. Ambassador.

Everyone who took part in this performance, and those who came to see it, although of different races and thinking, all felt clearly the existence of what we know is so important …. I have lived to see many people who hurt others out of selfishness, betrayed others without qualms, and then went on to hide what they had done. But in the end, what is desired is not achieved, leaving only hunger, and, because of that, the cycle gets repeated …. I pray more people will be able to feel love through seeing this performance. _ Toshinori “Toshichael Jackson” Tani dancer, member of TL Brothers and instructor.

“News From Fukushima” gave me shivers for an hour. _ Michael Frazier, poet and educator.  

A true masterpiece. _ Mitsuru, poet and author of “Akai Geisha.”

Bios of the artists in
NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA Meditation on an Under-Reported Catastrophe by a Poet

Cast, crew, filmmakers, director and writer of NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA

Cast, crew, filmmakers, director and writer of NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA

 

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dofrman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dofrman

THE PLAYWRIGHT
YURI KAGEYAMA
is a poet, songwriter, filmmaker, journalist and author of “The New and Selected Yuri” and “The Very Special Day.” Her spoken-word band the Yuricane features Melvin Gibbs, Eric Kamau Gravatt, Morgan Fisher, Pheeroan akLaff and Winchester Nii Tete. She is published in ”Breaking Silence,” “On a Bed of Rice,” “Pow Wow,” Cultural Weekly, Y’Bird, Konch and Public Poetry Series. http://yurikageyama.com/

 

Carla Blank

Carla Blank

THE DIRECTOR
CARLA BLANK
is a writer, editor, director, dramaturge and a teacher and performer of dance and theater for more than 50 years. She worked with Robert Wilson to create “KOOL _Dancing in My Mind,” inspired by Japanese choreographer Suzushi Hanayagi. She directed Wajahat Ali’s “The Domestic Crusaders” from a restaurant reading in Newark, California, to Off Broadway and the Kennedy Center. http://www.carlablank.com/bio.htm

THE ACTORS

Photo by Tennessee Reed

Photo by Tennessee Reed

TAKEMI KITAMURA, choreographer, dancer, puppeteer, Japanese sword fighter and actor, appeared in “The Oldest Boy” at Lincoln Center, “The Indian Queen” directed by Peter Sellars; “Shank’s Mare” by Tom Lee and Koryu Nishikawa V; “Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed” by Dan Hurlin and “Memory Rings” by Phantom Limb Co. She has worked with Nami Yamamoto, Sondra Loring and Sally Silvers. http://takemikitamura.com/

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

MONISHA SHIVA is an actor, dancer, choreographer and painter, appearing in “The Domestic Crusaders” and “The Rats,” for theater, and independent films such as “Small Delights,” “Carroll Park,” “Echoes” and “Ukkiya Jeevan.” A native New Yorker, she has studied classical Indian dance and Bollywood, jazz and samba dancing, and acting at William Esper Studios and Studio 5. http://www.monishashiva.com/Monisha/home.html

Shigeko Suga Sara. Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Shigeko Suga Sara. Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

SHIGEKO SARA SUGA, actress, director, artistic associate at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and Flamenco and Butoh dancer, has performed in 150 productions, including Pan Asian Rep.’s “Shogun Macbeth” and “No No Boy.” She dedicates her performance to her nephew Ryoei Suga, who volunteered in Kesennuma after the 2011 tsunami and now devotes his life there as a fisherman and monk. www.shigekosuga.com

THE MUSICIANS
STOMU TAKEISHI is a master of the fretless electric bass and has played and recorded in a variety of jazz settings with artists such as Henry Threadgill, Brandon Ross, Myra Melford, Don Cherry, Randy Brecker, Satoko Fujii, Dave Liebman, Cuong Vu, Paul Motian and Pat Metheny. He tours worldwide and performs at various international jazz festivals.

Kouzan Kikuchi (L) and Stomu Takeishi. Photo by Annette Borromeo Dofrman

Kouzan Kikuchi (L) and Stomu Takeishi. Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

KOUZAN KIKUCHI, shakuhachi player from Fukushima, studied minyo shamisen with his mother. A graduate of the Tokyo University of the Arts, he studied with National Treasure Houzan Yamamoto. He has worked with Ebizo Ichikawa, Shinobu Terajima and Motoko Ishii. In 2011, he became Tozanryu Shakuhachi Foundation “shihan” with highest honors.

Joe Small (L) and Isaku Kageyama. Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

Joe Small (L) and Isaku Kageyama. Photo by Annette Borromeo Dorfman

ISAKU KAGEYAMA is a taiko drummer and percussionist, working with Asano Taiko UnitOne in Los Angeles, film-scoring extravaganza “The Masterpiece Experience” and Tokyo ensemble Amanojaku. A magna cum laude Berklee College of Music graduate, he teaches at Wellesley, University of Connecticut and Brown. http://isakukageyama.com/

JOE SMALL is a taiko artist, who is a member of Eitetsu Hayashi’s Fu-un no Kai and creator of the original concert, “Spall Fragments.” He has apprenticed for two years with Kodo, researched Japanese music as a Fulbright Fellow and holds an MFA in Dance from UCLA. He teaches at Swwarthmore College. www.joesmalltaiko.com

THE LIGHTING DESIGNER
BLU lived in New York for 20 years and was resident designer at the Cubiculo and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. A Bessie Award winner, he was lighting designer for renowned dance theater artists such as Sally Gross, Eiko and Koma, Ping Chong, Donald Byrd, Nancy Meehan and Paula Josa Jones.

THE FILMMAKER
YOSHIAKI TAGO, whose video was part of the live performance, has made NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA into a film. Tago also directed “A.F.O.,” “Believer,” “Worst Contact,” “Meido in Akihabara.” His short “The Song of a Tube Manufacturer” won the runner-up prize at the Yasujiro Ozu Memorial Film Festival in 2013. He served as film adviser for Takashi Murakami, and has worked with Nobuhiko Obayashi, Takashi Miike and Macoto Tezuka. He is a graduate of the prestigious Tokyo film school founded by Shohei Imamura.

YOSHIAKI TAGO

YOSHIAKI TAGO

From the playwright YURI KAGEYAMA

“The two sides of who I am _ poet and journalist _ have long been separate. I am a poet, first and foremost, I felt, and reporting is what I do for my job. But the 2011 Fukushima disaster brought those two sides together in a way that was undeniable, imperative and honest. I am filled with gratitude toward my collaborators, who have turned my words and ideas into a moving, convincing and honorable piece of theater. In this work, we defy the boundaries of cultures, race, generations and genres to tell the story about how our world has created a catastrophe. We don’t pretend to have all the answers. But it’s an important story.”

Acknowledgements
Thanks to Akiyoshi Imazeki for photographs of Fukushima for video by Yoshiaki Tago for “Decontamination Ghosts;” Z Space, especially Drew Yerys, Minerva Ramirez, Wolfgang Wachaolovsky, Jim Garcia, Julie Schuchard and Andrew Burmester; Alex Maynard and Adam Hatch for the use of Starline Social Club for rehearsals; Mark Ong of Side by Side Studios for the poster design; Annette Borromeo Dorfman for program design and photographing the performance; Sally Gross, Ping Chong and Meredith Monk for help finding our cast; Ishmael Reed for ongoing support and Tennessee Reed for photography; Hisami Kuroiwa for her wise counsel, filmmaker Kate McKinley; LaMaMa Experiemental Theatre for showing the work in New York in 2015; Melvin Gibbs, Sumie Kaneko, Hirokazu Suyama and Kaoru Watanabe for the music at La MaMa; Bob Holman for presenting an initial reading at Bowery Poetry Club with Yuki Kawahisa, Pheeroan akLaff and Tecla Esposito; Makoto Horiuchi; Yoichi Watanabe and Hiromi Ogawa of Amanojaku taiko in Tokyo; all the members of the Yuricane spoken word band who inspired the poems and stories that developed into this work, and, last but not least, the people of Fukushima.

Yuri Kageyama reports from the no-go zone in Fukushima. Photo by Kazuhiro Onuki.

Yuri Kageyama reports from the no-go zone in Fukushima. Photo by Kazuhiro Onuki.

A World Premiere screening at the Berkeley Video and Film Festival Nov. 2, 2019.  From left to right: Festival founder and organizer Mel Vapour, director Carla Blank, writer/poet Yuri Kageyama and camera-person Kate McKinley. Photo by Tennessee Reed.

Accepting the award at the Berkeley Video and Film Festival Nov. 2, 2019. From left to right: Camera-person Kate McKinley, director Carla Blank, festival founder and organizer Mel Vapour and writer/poet Yuri Kageyama.
Photo by Tennessee Reed.

With director Yoshiaki Tago at the red carpet event.

In Amsterdam in September 2019 for the New Vision International Film Festival, where News From Fukushima was a Finalist Best Asian Feature Film.

more gala shots
News From Fukushima an Official Selection at the ARTS X SDGS festival

I talked about our film and all my great collaborators at the Silent River Film Festival, which screened NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA August, 2020.

https://www.facebook.com/SilentRiverFilmFestival/videos/644827306160921/

https://www.facebook.com/SilentRiverFilmFestival/videos/1021079638326778/

My AP Stories 2022

Here goes with My AP Stories in 2022. My AP Stories for 2021 and more links there for the previous years. My AP Stories for 2023.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story and My AP Photos Dec. 31, 2022 on New Year’s around the world.

I filed the Japan reaction for this AP Story Dec. 31, 2022 on Pope Emeritus Benedict’s death.

My AP Story Dec. 31, 2022 on a landslide in northern Japan.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Dec. 31, 2022 on North Korea’s missile firings.

My AP Story Nov. 28, 2022 on Toru Kubota, who was freed from a Myanmar prison.

My AP Story Nov. 25, 2022 on the widening investigation into Olympic corruption.

My AP Story Nov. 22, 2022 in which I interview Takashi Murakami on his collaboration with Post Malone.

My AP Story Nov. 17, 2022 on Japan’s trade data showing record high imports and exports.

My AP Story Nov. 16, 2022 on the new Toyota Prius.

My AP Story Nov. 15, 2022 on Japan’s economy.

My AP Story Nov. 11, 2022 on four of Japan’s biggest rock stars forming a band.

My AP Story Nov. 11, 2022 about Japan vying for “last chance” as major chips producer.

My AP Story Nov. 8, 2022 on the Americans convicted in Ghosn escape returning home.

My AP Story Nov. 9, 2022 on how Nintendo is counting on a new movie, theme parks and merchandising to keep growth going.

My AP Story Nov. 8, 2022 on Nintendo’s earnings for the fiscal first half.

My AP Story Oct. 22, 2022 on the husband of a former princess passing the NY bar.

My AP Story Oct. 25, 2022 about the push for My Number digital cards.

My AP Story Oct. 27, 2022 explaining the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy.

MY COVERAGE OF OLYMPIC CORRUPTION

My AP Story Oct. 19, 2022 on the widening Olympic bribery scandal.

My AP Story Oct. 4, 2022 on a publishing executive getting charged in the Olympic scandal.

My AP Story Aug. 17, 2022 on prosecutors making arrests on suspicion of bribery related to the Olympics.

My AP Story Sept. 6, 2022 on the scandal widening with more arrests, Takahashi formally charged.

MY STORIES FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS EARLIER THIS YEAR

My AP Story Oct. 21, 2022 on the new German CEO at Japan’s Olympus.

My AP Story Oct. 13, 2022 on the new EV company bringing together Sony and Honda.

My AP Story Oct. 8, 2022, an Obit for Toshi Ichiyanagi.

My AP Story Sept. 30, 2020 where I chat online with Digital Minister Taro Kono.

My AP Story and My AP Photos Oct. 10, 2020 about tourists from abroad returning.

My AP Story Oct. 5, 2022 on a U.S.-Japan workshop on bioethanol in Tokyo.

My AP Story Sept. 29, 2022 on the NBA in Japan and My AP Photos.

My AP Story Sept. 25, 2022 when Floyd Mayweather Jr. wins in a exhibition fight in Japan.

My AP Story Sept. 24, 2022 on his comments ahead of the exhibition.

My AP Story Sept. 3, 2022 on rescued dolphins swimming free from a sanctuary in Indonesia.

My joint byline AP Story Sept. 28, 2022 on Vice President Harris in town.

My AP Story and My AP Photos Sept. 23, 2022 about the protest against Shinzo Abe’s state funeral.

My AP Story Aug. 26, 2022 with My AP Photos and My AP Video on Japanese salarymen becoming TikTok superstars.

My AP Story Sept. 24, 2022 on another storm hitting Japan.

My AP Story Sept. 19, 2022 on the storm hitting southwestern Japan and traveling northward to Tokyo.

My AP Story and My AP Photos Sept. 1, 2022 on a robot that stocks shelves at a convenience store.

My AP Obit Aug. 18, 2022 on fashion designer Hanae Mori.

My AP Obit Aug. 9, 2022 on Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

My AP Obit Aug. 30, 2022 on Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera.

My AP Story Aug. 3, 2022 about Japanese journalist Toru Kubota’s friends demanding his release from detention in Myanmar.

My AP Story Sept. 2, 2022 on Nissan eager to leverage U.S. tax breaks on electric vehicles.

My AP Story Aug. 31, 2022 on Toyota investing in battery production in the U.S. and Japan.

My AP Story Aug. 29, 2022 about Honda and LG setting up a battery JV in the U.S.

My AP Story Aug. 2, 2022 on Hino falsifying emissions and mileage data for 20 years.

My AP Story July 27, 2022 about monkeys attacking a Japan city.

My AP Story July 18, 2022 on South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers talking to mend ties.

My AP Story and My AP Photos July 8, 2022 on a Japanese company stopping production of matchbooks. (I also did AP Video.)

My AP Story July 8, 2022 on how the attack on an ex-prime minister stuns Japan reputed for gun control.

My AP Story July 10, 2022 on how a homemade gun was used in the assassination.

My AP Story July 11, 2022 on how the Unification Church distanced itself from the assassination.

My AP Story July 29, 2022 on Sony’s profits rising despite waning interest in video games.

My AP Story July 28, 2022 on Nissan’s profits plunging on lockdown, chips shortage.

My AP Story July 8, 2022 on the death of Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of “Yu-Gi-Oh!”

My AP Story July 15, 2022 on how Toyota’s Japan flagship Crown is debuting on global markets.

My AP Story June 28, 2022 about Japan bracing for a return of tourists from abroad.

My AP Story and My AP Photos June 23, 2022 on a Japanese high court rejecting paternity harassment claims.

My AP Interview and AP Photos June 17, 2022 with Naomi Kawase about her Olympic films.

My AP Photos and AP Story June 19, 2022 on Juneteenth abroad to which I’m a Contributor.

My AP Story June 28, 2022 on Toshiba shareholders approving 13 nominations to the board.

My AP Story and My AP Photos June 12, 2022 on protests in Sapporo and Tokyo against bidding for the 2030 Winter Olympics.

My AP Story June 8, 2022 on boxing champion Naoya Inoue. My AP Interview from 2021.

My AP Story June 8, 2022 on Japan’s economy contracting, but at smaller rate than thought.

My AP Story June 7, 2022 an obit on former Sony chief Nobuyuki Idei.

My AP Story June 2, 2022, in which I interview poet Shuntaro Tanikawa.

My AP Video and My AP Story May 25, 2022 on how the declining yen is a blessing for some, burden to others.

My AP Story May 27, 2022 on a Kisho Kurokawa’s capsules coming down.

My AP Story May 30, 2022 on a territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan.

My AP Co-Byline Story today on the official Tokyo Olympics film on the athletes completed.

My AP Story May 13, 2022 on Nissan mulling a third auto plant in the U.S.

My AP Story May 11, 2022 about Wim Wenders making a film about fancy public restrooms in Japan.

My AP Story May 6, 2022 on musicians coming together in a video collaboration for Ukraine.

My AP Story April 27, 2022 on a Japan railway powered entirely by renewable energy.

My AP Story April 21, 2022 about U.S. drone company Zipline starting to deliver medicine in Japan.

My AP Story April 20, 2022 on an Ukrainian opera singer praying for peace through song.

My AP Story April 8, 2022 about “Tokyo Vice.”

My co-byline AP Story May 10, 2022 about an All Japan committee promoting the Sapporo Olympic bid.

My AP Story April 7, 2022 about famed directors denouncing sexual abuse in Japanese filmmaking.

My AP Story April 16, 2022 on American lawmakers meeting with Japan’s prime minister.

My AP Story April 12, 2022 on Honda’s electrification strategy.

My AP Story April 8, 2022 on Nissan developing a “game changing” battery for electric cars.

My AP Story June 3, 2022 on Toshiba considering going private as an option.

My AP Story March 24, 2022 on Toshiba shareholders voting down the latest restructuring plan.

My AP Story March 3, 2022 on the verdict for Greg Kelly, cleared on all counts except for charges in one of the eight contested years. He gets to go home because his sentence was suspended. The defense is appealing, asserting complete innocence.

My AP Story March 16, 2022 on the Tokyo prosecutors also appealing the verdict for Greg Kelly.

My AP EXPLAINER Story March 1, 2022 on the verdict for Greg Kelly, an American on trial in the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

My AP Story March 10, 2022 on the U.S. government seeking the two Americans in prison in Carlos Ghosn’s escape be allowed to serve the rest of their time in the U.S.

My AP Story Feb. 24, 2022 on how a Japanese woman influenced Jamaican music.

My AP Story March 24, 2022 about a widening scandal at top brokerage SMBC Nikko Securities.

My co-bylined AP Story March 16, 2022 on Sapporo’s bid for the 2030 Olympics.

My AP Story Feb. 28, 2022 on how Japanese manga has gone global.

My AP Story March 4, 2022 on Japan’s Honda, Sony joining forces on new electric vehicle.

My AP Story March 1, 2022 on Toshiba’s CEO stepping down amid restructuring efforts.

My AP Story Feb. 16, 2022 on Kirin selling its China venture to an investment fund.

My AP Story Feb. 8, 2022 on SoftBank turning to IPO for its stake in Arm.

My AP Story Jan. 24, 2022, our obit on French fashion designer Manfred Thierry Mugler.

My AP Story Jan. 28, 2022 on Toyota going to the moon.

My AP Story Jan. 7, 2022 on Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa speaking about his recent trip to outer space.

My AP Story Feb. 15, 2022 on the economy growing on the back of improved consumer spending and exports.

My AP Story Feb. 1, 2022 on Toyota apologizing for employee’s suicide after overwork and power harassment.

My AP Story Jan. 28, 2022 on a high-profile departure at SoftBank.

My AP Story Jan. 27, 2022 on the Renault-Nissan alliance investing in electric vehicles.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 25, 2022 on Japanese skateboarders.

I worked on this AP Story Jan. 22, 2022 on the Tonga volcanic eruption.

My AP Story Jan. 21, 2022 on the shortage of parts caused by the coronavirus pandemic further denting production at Toyota.

My AP Story Jan. 20, 2022 on Japan’s imports and exports reaching record highs.

My AP Story Jan. 18, 2022 on Japan expanding COVID measures.

My AP Story Jan 12, 2022 on Japanese Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa confident about balancing COVID controls with economic growth.

My AP Story Jan. 9, 2022 on the Japanese prime minister saying a deal has been reached on the U.S. military to stop COVID’s spread.

My AP Story Jan. 7, 2022 about Japan kicking in restrictions to curb COVID infections in Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima.

My AP Story Jan. 6, 2022 on Japan asking U.S. forces to stay on bases as COVID cases jump.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Jan. 5, 2022 on North Korea firing a suspected missile.

My AP Story Jan. 4, 2021 on Japan’s Prime Minister promising coronavirus boosters and new measures against the omicron.

My AP Story Jan. 1, 2022 on the emperor’s message for the New Year.

My AP Stories for 2021

My AP Stories for 2021 are below. Please click on the highlighted links to read my AP Stories, and to go to My AP Stories for 2020, and My AP Stories for 2019 and 2018:

My AP Story Dec. 31, 2021 on the suspect in a clinic fire dying.

My AP Story Dec. 14, 2021 on Toyota’s Akio Toyoda promising more pure electric models.

My AP Story Dec. 1, 2021 on Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue.

My AP Story Nov. 21, 2021 on Japan’s COVID policy of having sick people just stay at home.

My AP co-byline Story Nov. 29, 2021 on Sapporo wanting the 2030 Olympics.

My AP Story Nov. 29, 2021 on Nissan’s investing in electric vehicles and battery development.

My AP Story Nov. 21, 2021 an Obit on Oscar-winning Japanese costume designer Emi Wada.

My AP Story Nov. 19, 2021 on Japan’s record economic stimulus package.

My AP Story Nov. 14, 2021 on how a princess, who left the imperial palace to marry her college sweetheart, left with him to live in New York.

My AP Story Nov. 12, 2021 about how Toshiba is spinning off its energy and device units.

My AP Story Nov. 9, 2021 about Taiwan’s TSMC building its first Japan plant amid chips crunch.

My AP Story Nov. 4, 2021 about Mazda’s new cars stopping if driver suffers health problem.

My AP Story Nov. 1, 2021 on Kishidanomics and how many people still aren’t sure what it means.

My AP Story Oct. 29, 2021 on how tourists from abroad are nowhere to be seen in Tokyo tourist spots.

My AP Photos:

My AP Story Oct. 27, 2021 an Obit on Sunao Tsuboi, an atomic bomb survivor.

My AP Story Oct. 27, 2021 on the defense’s closing arguments in the case of Greg Kelly.

My AP Story Oct. 25, 2021 in which I interview director Keisuke Yoshida about his movies.

My AP Story Oct. 22, 2021 in which I interview Carlos Ghosn.

My AP Story Aug. 19, 2021 in which I interview Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive standing trial in the case of Carlos Ghosn.

My AP Story Sept. 29, 2021 on the prosecutors closing their case, asking for two years in prison.

My AP Story and My AP Photos Oct. 8, 2021 of a tour of Nissan’s “intelligent factory.”

My AP Story Oct. 25, 2021 on Toyota testing hydrogen combustion engines.

My AP Story Sept. 28, 2021 on Toyota adding Renovo to its Woven Planet team.

The AP Story Sept. 25, 2021, to which I am a Contributor, on the Quad summit at the White House.

My AP Story Aug. 20, 2021 an obituary on Sonny Chiba who played martial artists in many films, including “Kill Bill.”

My AP Story Aug. 17, 2021, an obit on the “Godfather of Sudoku.”

My AP Story Aug. 16, 2021 on Japan extending and expanding the coronavirus state of emergency.

My AP Story July 30, 2021 about the Tokyo Olympics collecting lots of spit in an effort to curb COVID.

A great “memory shot” by Kii Sato of where I did a video interview for The AP on the Olympic opening ceremony. It was just across the street but because of blocked off traffic I had to make a giant detour and was drenched in sweat when I finally got there. But Yes, I did the interview!

My AP Story Aug. 5, 2021 on what Japan’s “emergency” means during the Olympics.

My AP Explainer Story July 30, 2021 on Japan’s state of emergency.

My AP Story July 27, 2021 on Japan’s disbelief, support after Naomi Osaka’s elimination.

I interviewed the Blue Impulse pilot and the youngster who ran with the torch-runner for this AP Story July 30, 2021 about memories of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

My AP Story Aug. 29, 2021 on Japan aiming to fully vaccinate its people by October or November.

My AP Story Aug. 19, 2021 about Toyota scaling back production due to pandemic-related parts shortages.

My AP Story Aug. 18, 2021 on Japan’s trade data.

My AP Story Aug. 16, 2021 on Japan eking out growth in a gradual recovery from the pandemic.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story July 31, 2021 about the Japanese Olympic judo team.

My AP Story July 19, 2021 about the American father and son accused in the Carlos Ghosn escape getting sentenced to prison terms by a Japan court.

My AP Story July 19, 2021 about Toyota, a top Olympics sponsor, pulling Games-related TV ads.

My AP Story July 21, 2021 on Toyota adding to its technology partnership.

My AP Story and AP Photos July 18, 2021 on the protest against the Olympics and more.

My AP Story July 19, 2021 about the Japanese composer tendering his resignation.

My AP Story July 18, 2021 on the Japanese composer for the Tokyo Olympics apologizing for perpetrating abuse.

My AP Story Aug. 10, 2021 on SoftBank’s earnings.

My AP Story July 15, 2021 on Toyota investing in digital mapping.

My AP Story July 13, 2021 about Fujifilm finding new niches, record profits amid pandemic.

My AP Story July 7, 2021 on Nissan’s CEO testifying in court about Carlos Ghosn’s compensation.

My AP Story July 21, 2021 about Japan’s exports, imports zooming amid a pandemic recovery.

My AP Story July 5, 2021 about the Tokyo city assembly election amid pandemic Olympic fears.

My AP Story July 3, 2021 on the mudslide that tore through Atami.

My AP Story July 2, 2021 on the Americans accused in the escape of Carlos Ghosn. Michael Taylor, choking over tears, told the court: “I stand here today a man whose life has been destroyed because of this.”

My AP Story June 30, 2021 on SoftBank denying it’s pulling the plug on the Pepper robot.

My AP Story June 25, 2021 about Toshiba’s shareholders’ meeting.

My AP Story June 21, 2021 on the first day of the Japanese companies’ mass vaccination drive. I also did AP Video today.

My AP Story June 20, 2021 on the arriving Uganda Olympic team having a member test positive for COVID.

My AP Story June 15, 2021 about vaccine laggard Japan stepping up shots with company efforts.

My AP Story June 29, 2021 on the Taylors apologizing to the court.

My AP Story June 14, 2021 on the Taylors’ trial starting.

My AP Story June 13, 2021 on the trial of the two Americans suspected in Carlos Ghosn’s escape.

My AP Story June 7, 2021 on Toyota reaching a settlement over bullied engineer’s suicide.

My AP Story May 26, 2021 about Carlos Ghosn’s interview defending Greg Kelly on trial in Japan.

My AP Story May 23, 2021 about IOC’s Coates getting a backlash on his remark about the Olympics being held even in an emergency.

My AP Story May 21, 2021 when he made the remark.  

My AP Story May 20, 2021 about TV stars playing lovers really getting married.

My AP Story May 18, 2021 about Japan’s economy shrinking as pandemic dries up spending.

My AP Story May 14, 2021 on the petition demanding cancellation of the Olympics being submitted.

My AP Story May 12, 2021 on Greg Kelly testifying in his trial, saying he just worked for Nissan’s best interests.

My AP Story March 26, 2021 about how the Nissan-Renault rift is getting highlighted at the trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly.

My AP Story May 11, 2021 on Carlos Ghosn’s answers to prosecutors being read by the defense lawyer in the trial of former Nissan executive Greg Kelly.

My AP Story May 6, 2021 about a petition drive demanding the Olympics be canceled.

My AP Story May 3, 2021 about nurses dismayed by Tokyo Olympics’ request for help.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story May 19, 2021 about doctors asking to cancel the Games.

My AP Story May 6, 2021 on Nintendo profits booming as people staying home turn to games.

My AP Story May 1, 2021 on the torch relay detoured and other Tokyo Olympics developments.

My AP Story April 28, 2021 on June trial set in Japan for the Americans accused of helping Carlos Ghosn escape.

My AP Story April 27, 2021 on Toyota acquiring Lyft.

My AP Story April 14, 2021 on the president of Toshiba stepping down.

My AP Story April 13, 2021 on the late Nintendo president and his book.

My AP Story April 12, 2021 on Japan’s celebrating Hideki Matsuyama’s Masters win.

My AP Story April 15, 2021 about ruling party politicians expressing doubts about holding the Olympics.

My AP Story April 7, 2021 on Toshiba saying it had received a preliminary acquisition proposal.

My AP Story April 1, 2021 about the Bank of Japan survey showing optimism about a recovery.

My AP Story March 30, 2021 about how some medical experts aren’t convinced about holding the Olympics.

My AP Story March 21, 2021 on Hitachi acquiring GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion.

My AP Story March 24, 2021 on Toyota, Isuzu, Hino setting up tie-up in truck technology.

My AP Story March 23, 2021 on Japan spending billions on coronavirus tracking app for absent Olympic fans.

My AP Story March 22, 2021 about Japan charging two Americans in the escape of Carlos Ghosn.

My AP Photo and My AP Story March 5, 2021 and AP Interview with the chief defense lawyer for Greg Kelly on trial in Japan on charges related to Carlos Ghosn’s compensation.

My AP Photo and My AP Story March 4, 2021 about animation film “Demon Slayer” striking a chord with pandemic-era Japan.

My AP Story March 18, 2021 about the Tokyo Olympics being hit by another scandal over sexist comments.

My AP Story March 18, 2021 on Japan raising tariffs on U.S. beef after hitting import limit.

My AP Story March 12, 2021 on Japan’s post office tying up with Rakuten.

My AP Story March 2, 2021 explaining what might be ahead for the American father and son being extradited to Japan on suspicion of helping Carlos Ghosn skip bail and escape to Lebanon.

My AP Story March 1, 2021 on the prime minister’s PR chief resigning after lavish meal tied to broadcaster.

My AP Story Feb. 26, 2021 on Japan partially ending the state of emergency, while keeping it for the Tokyo area.

My AP Story Feb. 24, 2021 on Nissan’s former chief executive testifying in a criminal trial.

My AP Story Feb. 19, 2021 on Honda’s tapping a research expert as its new president.

My AP Story Feb. 14, 2021 on another protest in Tokyo against the military coup in Myanmar.

My AP Story Feb. 11, 2021 about thousands of people from Myanmar in Japan demanding democracy back home.

My AP Story Feb. 15, 2021 about Japan’s economy growing in the final quarter of 2020 in a gradual recovery from the pandemic slump.

My AP News Alert and Story Feb. 13 ~14, 2021 on the strong earthquake that hit northeastern Japan.

My AP Story Feb. 10, 2021 on Toyota’s earnings recovering from effects of the pandemic.

My AP Story Feb. 9, 2021 about Nissan staying in the red amid pandemic, Japan criminal trial.

My AP Story Feb. 9, 2021 on Honda’s profits rising despite pandemic damage.

My AP Story Feb. 8, 2021 on SoftBank’s profit zooming on lucrative investments.

My AP Story Feb. 8, 2021 is the Markets report for the day.

I’m a contributor to this AP Story Feb. 12, 2021, the day Mori is expected to officially resign.

I’m a contributor to this AP Story Feb. 4, 2021 about a Japanese Olympic official facing calls for resignation after a remark apparently belittling women.

My AP Story Feb. 3, 2021 on Sony’s profits booming on “Demon Slayer” hit.

My AP Story Feb. 1, 2021 on how Nintendo’s profits are soaring as people play games during the pandemic.

My AP Story Jan. 12, 2021 on the testimony of Nissan’s former COO on how the automaker sought to hide Carlos Ghosn’s pay.

My AP Story Jan. 7, 2021 on Japan declaring a state of emergency for Tokyo, and three nearby prefectures, after coronavirus cases surge.

My AP Story Jan. 8, 2021 on the first day for Japan under the state of emergency.

My AP Story Jan. 11, 2021 on the Japan material for The Latest on the virus.

My AP Story Jan. 10, 2021 on the Japan material for The Latest on the virus.

My AP Story Jan. 9, 2021 on the Japan material for The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic.

My AP Story Jan. 6, 2021 on coronavirus cases reaching a daily record in Tokyo.

My AP Story Jan. 4, 2021, a co-byline with our AP Sports Writer, on pandemic worries looming as the countdown clock for the postponed Tokyo Olympics hits 200 days to go.

My AP Story Jan. 1, 2021 on the emperor turning to video for his New Year’s Day message.

My AP Stories in 2020

I do stories and sometimes photos and video for The Associated Press, the world’s biggest and most trusted news organization. The link to all my stories in 2019 and 2018, and I’m starting anew here with all my AP Stories in 2020, the Year of the Mouse:

My AP Story Dec. 11, 2020 about Dentsu and the corporate sponsors behind the Tokyo Olympics.

My AP Story Nov. 16, 2020 about Walmart selling majority of its stake in Seiyu, retaining 15%.

My AP Story Nov. 16, 2020 on Japan’s pandemic-hit economy returning to growth.

My AP Story Nov. 13, 2020, a co-byline, on the growing skepticism about going ahead with the Tokyo Olympics. My AP Photo below:

My AP Story Nov. 13, 2020 on Nissan’s damages case against an absent Ghosn starting in Japan.

My AP Story Nov. 9, 2020 on actors playing the young and old Hokusai in the closing film of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

My AP Story Oct. 28, 2020 on my interview with Masaharu Take, the director of “Underdog,” the Tokyo film festival’s opening film.

My AP Story Oct. 23, 2020 about a Japanese youngster’s online message counseling.

My AP Story Oct. 14, 2020 on Japanese director known for single shots releasing Zoom film.

My AP Story Oct. 9, 2020 on judo in Japan getting scrutiny over abuse and violence.

My AP Story Oct. 23, 2020 on Japan, Britain signing a post-Brexit free trade deal.

My AP Story Sept. 25, 2020 about a civil lawsuit demanding damages from a Roman Catholic priest, bishop and the diocese in northeastern Japan.

My AP Story Oct. 19, 2020, about Japan’s trade data.

My AP Story Oct. 10, 2020 about a storm swerving to the south of Japan.

My AP Story Sept. 24, 2020 on the tiny Rubik’s Cube going on sale in Japan.

My AP Story Sept. 14, 2020 on Naomi Osaka, who just won the U.S. Open, and her Japanese corporate sponsors.

MY COVERAGE OF THE TRIAL OF GREG KELLY AND NISSAN:

My AP Story Nov. 11, 2020 on the defense starting to cross-examine the key prosecution witness.

My AP Story Sept. 29, 2020 about a Nissan employee testifying against Greg Kelly.

My AP Story Sept. 15, 2020 on the trial of Greg Kelly and Nissan opening in Tokyo.

My AP Story Sept. 6, 2020 on Nissan former executive Greg Kelly’s trial.

My AP Story Sept. 13, 2020 that’s a Q&A on the upcoming trial.

My AP Story Nov. 12, 2020, on Nissan reporting losses amid pandemic and the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

My AP Story Aug. 20, 2020 on reports about Carlos Ghosn’s undeclared personal income.

My AP Story July 30, 2020 about Greg Kelly’s trial set to start without Carlos Ghosn.

My AP Story Sept. 4, 2020 on Nissan’s new production technology to make
carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP, components, faster and better.

My AP Story Aug. 31, 2020, an obit on Osamu Masuko who used to head Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

My AP Story Aug. 28, 2020 on Japan’s “flying car” taking off with a person on board.

My “One Good Thing” AP Story Aug. 20, 2020 on how a museum portrays the pandemic through everyday things.

My AP Story Aug. 10, 2020 on Japan legacy of forced labor.

AP Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

My storytelling out of Tokyo is a part of this global AP Story July 14, 2020 on how small businesses are struggling to survive amid the pandemic.

My AP Story Sept. 17, 2020 on Netflix trying to grow in Japan.

My AP Story Sept. 8, 2020 on Japan’s economy shrinking in the April-June quarter even worse than initially estimated.

My AP Story Sept. 5, 2020 on Typhoon Haishen approaching.

My AP Story Sept. 2, 2020 that updates on the typhoon story.

My AP Story Sept. 1, 2020 on Typhoon Maysak bringing rain and wind to southern Japan.

My AP Story Aug. 17, 2020 on Japan’s economy shrinking at a record rate, slammed by the pandemic.

My AP Story Aug. 19, 2020 on Japan’s exports plunging amid crush from pandemic.

My AP Story Aug 19, 2020 on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying he just went for a checkup.

My AP Story Aug. 17, 2020 about Japan’s prime minister visiting a hospital, setting off speculation about his health.

My AP Story Aug. 4, 2020 on Sony’s profits up as people staying home play video games.

My AP Story Aug. 6, 2020 on Toyota’s profit plunging as pandemic halves sales.

My AP Story Aug. 5, 2020 on Honda reporting loss as virus hits sales.

AP Photo by Koji Sasahara

My AP Story July 15, 2020, on Nissan showing its first all-new major model, an electric crossover, since getting embroiled in the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

My “One Good Thing” series AP Story June 22, 2020 on how high school baseball players will be getting Koshien Stadium dirt in a memento from the professional Hanshin Tigers.

My AP Story June 14, 2020 on the Black Lives Matter march in Tokyo.

The Japan bit for this AP Story Aug. 1, 2020 is by yours truly.

The Japan bit for this AP Story July 31, 2020 is by yours truly.

I’m a contributor to this July 31, 2020 AP Story on the Tokyo Olympics by my colleague.

My AP Story July 1, 2020 on a Bank of Japan survey showing companies’ sentiments at lowest in more than a decade.

I contribute the Japan material for this AP Story July 28, 2020 on “whitening creams” around the world.

My AP Story July 28, 2020 on Nissan expecting second straight year of red ink amid outbreak fallout.

My AP Story July 27, 2020 on Mitsubishi Motors racking up losses on the pandemic pain.

My AP Story June 29, 2020 on Nissan executives facing angry shareholders after fiscal losses and the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

My AP Story July 29, 2020 on the commander of the U.S. Forces in Japan affirms U.S. support for Japan on China dispute.

My AP Story June 25, 2020 on SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son leaving the board of Alibaba.

My AP Story June 19, 2020 on the economy reopening cautiously, balancing health risks.

My AP Story July 3, 2020 on Japan formally filing the extradition request with the U.S. on two Americans arrested in Massachusetts and accused in his escape.

My AP Story June 11, 2020 as the saga of Carlos Ghosn returns as Japan seeks the extradition of two Americans, recently arrested in the U.S., and wanted in Japan on suspicion of having helped a criminal escape, meaning that extraordinary flight of Ghosn to Lebanon hiding in a box.

My AP Story June 12, 2020 on the high court upholding a lower court conviction on data manipulation for Mark Karpeles, who headed a Tokyo bitcoin exchange that collapsed.

My AP Story May 28, 2020 on how Nissan is closing auto plants, in Spain and in Indonesia, as it sinks into losses for the first time in 11 years.

My AP Story April 26, 2020 on how Japan is low-tech and challenged

My AP Story May 23, 2020 on the virus outbreak today.

My AP Story May 22, 2020 on the Bank of Japan helping provide lending to small and medium-size businesses amid pandemic hardships.

My AP Story April 11, 2020, an obit on Nobuhiko Obayashi, who devoted his works to depicting war’s horrors and singing the eternal power of movies.

My AP Story Jan. 23, 2020 with AP Photos by my colleague Jae C. Hong on the homeless of Tokyo and how they fear removal as the Olympics approach.

My AP Story May 6, 2020 on a 16-year-old who cared enough to come up with a free iPhone app to help people record their whereabouts to track possible virus infection.

My AP Story June 18, 2020 on money-losing Mitsubishi says executives will take pay cuts.

My AP Story May 18, 2020 on Japan sinking into a recession amid the pandemic.

My AP Story May 21, 2020 on how exports are plunging for recession-hit Japan in their worst fall in a decade.

My AP Story May 7, 2020 on how Nintendo profits rose as people stay home and play video games amid the pandemic.

My AP Story April 10, 2020 on Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda promising the Japanese auto industry will save jobs.

My AP Story April 2, 2020 on the workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

My AP Story April 3, 2020 on how the Athletes Village for the Tokyo Olympics could house virus patients.

My AP Story April 3, 2020 with My AP Photos on a paternity harassment case in Japan.

My AP Story April 2, 2020 on SoftBank ending its tender offer on WeWork.

My AP Story April 20, 2020 on Japan’s exports in March diving over the pandemic.

My AP Story March 8, 2020 of our daily virus story roundup, focusing on Italy’s quarantine of its northern areas.

My AP Sports Story March 2, 2020 on how the Japanese professional baseball season is in doubt.

My AP Story March 4, 2020 on a minister commenting about the Tokyo Olympics perhaps being postponed until later in the year.

My AP Story Feb. 15, 2020 with yet another photo by Jae C. Hong on how the U.S. Embassy says Americans aboard the quarantined ship will be flown home.

My AP Story Feb. 17, 2020 on 99 new cases confirmed on the Diamond Princess.

My AP Story Feb. 21, 2020 on how the virus outbreak may slash $29 billion from airlines’ revenue.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Feb. 17, 2020 on Americans getting flown out, off the cruise ship Diamond Princess.

My AP Story Feb. 17, 2020 on the Japanese economy sinking amid virus fears.

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Feb. 16, 2020 on the ongoing virus outbreak and reactions from the world, including Japan.

My AP Story Feb. 12, 2020 on how Guinness certifies a Japanese as the oldest man.

And My followup Story Feb. 25, 2020 that he died.

My co-byline AP Story Jan. 29, 2020, on how the new virus poses a threat to a fragile world economy.

I am a contributor to this AP Story Feb. 7, 2020, about how the flow of Chinese tourists has declined after the virus outbreak.

Mario like Mickey? My AP Story Jan. 31, 2020, on how Nintendo is banking on profits from characters.

My AP Story Jan. 30, 2020, on how Toyota’s global vehicle sales for last year trails Volkswagen’s.

My AP Story Feb. 25, 2020 on Japan ordering 20 more Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

My AP Story Jan. 27, 2020 on how Bryant’s death is drawing tributes from Asia.

THE YEAR STARTS OFF WITH MY COVERAGE OF CARLOS GHOSN

My AP Story Jan. 9, 2020 about how Ghosn as fugitive is bringing global attention to Japanese justice.

My AP Story Jan. 30, 2020 on how Japan is seeking the arrest of Ghosn and three Americans who allegedly helped his escape.

My AP Story Jan 4, 2020 on how Ghosn’s lawyer is as outraged by Japan’s legal system as by the escape.

My AP Story Feb. 13, 2020 on Nissan sinking into losses as vehicle sales plummet.

My AP Story Feb. 18, 2020 on Nissan’s shareholders’ meeting where some began shouting angrily about crashing stock prices, zero dividends and quarterly losses after the Ghosn scandal.

My AP Story Feb. 12, 2020 on Nissan suing Ghosn seeking damages.

My AP Story Jan. 12, 2020 how the lawyer tallied the questioning of his client without a lawyer present, found it averaged seven hours a day.

My AP Story Jan. 3, 2020 on what’s known and not known about Ghosn’s case after his escape.

My AP Story Jan. 7, 2020 on arrest warrant for Nissan ex-chair’s wife Carole and Nissan saying Ghosn is still responsible for “serious misconduct.

My AP Story Feb. 28, 2020 on Japan sending justice official to Lebanon.

My AP Story Jan. 5, 2020 on Japan saying Ghosn’s escape was inexcusable, and it has ordered an investigation

My AP Story Jan. 10, 2010 on Ghosn’s lawyer slamming Japanese justice minister’s gaffe about suspects having to “prove” innocence.

My AP Story Jan. 16, 2020 on Hironaka and his team quitting from Ghosn’s defense.

My AP Story Jan. 17, 2020 on Ghosn’s lawyers refuting Nissan’s take on what happened.

My AP Story Jan. 6, 2020 on Justice Minister Masako Mori telling reporters Japan will improve border checks, bail after Ghosn flight.

My AP Story Jan. 3, 2020 on how Ghosn made his escape on a chartered plane, a co-byline with my colleague in Turkey.

My AP Story Jan. 1, 2020 on how by jumping bail, fugitive Carlos Ghosn is burning bridges to Japan.

My AP Story Jan. 2, 2020 on how prosecutors are raiding Ghosn’s Tokyo home.

My recent stories for The Associated Press

MY RECENT STORIES FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, WHERE I WORK AS A REPORTER AND SOMETIMES ALSO DO PHOTOS AND VIDEO

Below are my AP stories for 2019 and 2018.

Please go to this site for my AP stories for 2020.

Please CLICK on the headlines below to jump to the full stories:

My AP Story Dec. 14, 2019 with My AP Photos about how cries of abuse in the Catholic Church are starting to be heard in Japan.

My AP Story Dec. 19, 2019 on Toyota’s upgraded humanoid robot.

My AP Story Dec. 8, 2019 on historical documents showing Japan’s role in WWII sex slaves.

My AP Story Nov. 25, 2019 on Iwao Hakamada, a former boxer who spent 48 years in prison for murders he says he didn’t commit, taking part in Pope Francis’ Mass at the Tokyo Dome. 

In this photo provided by Mario Marazziti, Iwao Hakamada sits in his seat at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo as he waits for Pope Frances’ Holy Mass on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. Hakamada, a former Japanese professional boxer who spent 48 years in prison for murders he says he did not commit was among some 50,000 people greeting Pope Francis as he entered Tokyo Dome stadium to celebrate Mass on Monday. (Mario Marazziti/Giovanna Ayako via AP)

My AP Story Oct. 28, 2019 on Japanese film director Nobuhiko Obayashi, I also did AP Photos.

My AP Story Nov. 19, 2019 on Toyota worker’s suicide ruled work-related after harassment.

 

My AP Story Oct. 9, 2019 on a Court hearing a case on paternity leave at a Japanese brokerage.

 

My AP Story Sept. 9, 2019 with My AP Photo on paternity harassment lawsuits in Japan highlighting plight of dads.

My AP Story Sept. 12, 2019 on the Asics case opening.

My AP Story Oct. 12, 2019 on the typhoon that hit Tokyo and surrounding areas.

 

My AP Story Oct. 15, 2019 on how Japan had not been prepared for the typhoon in a new era of climate change.

 

My AP Story Oct. 13, 2019 the day after the typhoon on the flooding and rescue efforts.

 

My AP Story Oct. 14, 2019, on the continued search for missing people. 

I’m a Contributor to this AP Story Dec. 5, 2019, about a Japanese doctor killed in a shooting in Afghanistan. 

My Story Dec. 8, 2019, on his body coming home.

My AP Story Sept. 12, 2019 about Yahoo Japan making a tender offer for retailer Zozo at $3.7 billion.

My AP Story Aug. 5, 2019 on Japan’s NEC showing its “flying car.”

 It flew substantially longer than another flying car from Japan demonstrated in 2017: 

 

 

My AP Story Sept. 13, 2019 on Pope Francis’ visit to Japan and Thailand set for November.

 

My AP Story Aug. 19, 2019 on the history behind the worsening ties between South Korea and Japan, a collaboration with my Seoul colleague Kim Tong Hyung.

My AP Story Aug. 21, 2019 on the US Marines chief being worried about deteriorating Japan-Korea ties with My AP Photos.

 

My AP Story June 5, 2019 on how in #MeToo era a Japanese woman slams #KuToo heels dress code.  

My AP Story Aug. 20, 2019, on documents showing Japan’s wartime emperor had deep regrets.

My AP Story July 22, 2019 on Olympic robots.

 

My AP Story May 25, 2019 on how trade is a big issue during President Donald Trump’s state visit, but the deficit problem is worse with neighboring China. 

My AP Story July 1, 2019, co-bylined with my colleague in Seoul Hyung-jin Kim, on Japan’s restrictions on exports to South Korea. 

My AP Story May 21, 2019 on how Trump’s checking out sumo during his state visit is proving a head-ache. 

 

 

My AP Story April 1, 2019 on Toyota’s robot that can’t slam dunk but shoots  mean 3-pointer.  

 

 

My AP Story and My AP Photos May 13, 2019 on the U.S. Agriculture Secretary’s barbecue to sell Japan on buying American beef. 

 

My AP Story May 17, 2019 on a court case looking at the legality of Taiji dolphin killing, made famous in the Oscar-winning film “The Cove.” 

My AP Story May 29, 2019 about Japan’s aid to Bangladesh during leader’s visit.  

My coverage of Carlos Ghosn

My AP Story Dec. 31, 2019 on how Ghosn says he is in Lebanon and left Japan because of “injustice.”

My AP Story Nov. 22, 2019 on a court allowing Carlos Ghosn to talk with his wife Carole, whom he has not been able to talk or meet with for eight months.

My AP Story Oct. 24, 2019 on how Carlos Ghosn’s defense team is asking charges be dismissed, alleging widespread prosecutorial misconduct will endanger his getting a fair trial.

My AP Story Aug. 6, 2019 on how Mrs. Carole Ghosn is protesting the restrictions on communicating with her husband.

My AP Story April 17, 2019, in which I interview Mrs. Carole Ghosn. She says her husband is ready for a fight but she fears he may not get a fair trial.

My AP Story June 1, 2019, in which I interview Takashi Takano, a lawyer for Carlos Ghosn who criticized the bail conditions that prevent his client from seeing his wife as violating human rights.    

My AP Story Dec. 10, 2019, on Japanese regulators recommending a $22 million fine on Nissan.

My AP Story Dec. 2, 2019, on the new CEO Makoto Uchida stressing the importance of the Renault alliance.  

My AP Story Sept. 9, 2019 on Nissan’s Saikawa tendering his resignation after receiving dubious payments.  

My AP Story Oct. 8, 2019 on Nissan picking head of the China business as Saikawa’s replacement. 

 

My AP Story Sept. 5, 2019 about Nissan’s chief saying he got dubious payments but didn’t know.

My AP Story Oct. 23, 2019 on the Tokyo Motor Show, which had futuristic technology galore but Ghosn was gone.

My AP Story Sept. 3, 2019 on the new Tokyo chief prosecutor defending his office’s handling of Ghosn’s case.  

My AP Story July 25, 2019 on Nissan slashing 12,500 jobs as it reports dismal earnings. 

My AP Story July 24 2019 on Nissan directors on governance promising reforms but say job cuts are also coming. 

 

My AP Story June 7, 2019, about how Nissan had no say but had the technology that drove the merger talks between Renault and Fiat Chrysler. 

My AP Story June 5, 2019, about how the merger talks had left Nissan out in the cold. 

My AP Story Oct. 24, 2019 about Nissan, eager to put Ghosn scandal behind it, shows technology.

My AP Story June 10, 2019 about my visit to the Tokyo Detention House, where Ghosn was held for 130 days.

 

My AP Story June 25, 2019 on Nissan’s shareholders meeting where they approve governance steps and keep Saikawa on its board. 

My AP Story June 12, 2019 on how proxy companies are advising Nissan shareholders against approving the reappointment of Hiroto Saikawa as a board director.

My AP Story May 29, 2019 on Renault talking with Nissan about the Fiat Chrysler merger proposal.  

 

My AP Story June 20, 2019 about Mitsubishi Motors shareholders approving the ouster of Ghosn.

 

 

My AP Story May 13, 2019 A takeout on Nissan without Ghosn.

 

My AP Story May 14, 2019 on Nissan’s earnings results, slammed by Ghosn’s arrest. 

My AP Story April 25, 2019, in which a court approves Ghosn’s release on bail for his rearrest, and Ghosn walks out of detention.

 

My AP Story April 9, 2019 on Carlos Ghosn’s video statement in which he says a “conspiracy” at Nissan led to his arrest.

 

 

My AP Story May 17, 2019 about Nissan proposing new board members including Renault’s Bollore.

My AP Story May 9, 2019 on court denying appeal on restrictions about Ghosn’s contact with his wife. 

 

 

My AP Story April 4, 2019 about the rearrest of Carlos Ghosn on fresh allegations despite his release on bail.

 

 

My AP Story April 24, 2019 on Nissan slashing profit forecast on Ghosn fallout. 

My AP Story April 8, 2019 on Nissan shareholders approving Ghosn’s outster from the company board.

My AP Story April 10, 2019 on Ghosn’s lawyers appealing to the Supreme Court over the latest detention.

 

My AP Story April 11, 2019 about his wife getting questioned in a Tokyo court.

My AP Story April 7, 2019 on his lawyer clarifying the conditions for his initial release on bail.

My AP Story April 12, 2019 about his detention being approved through April 22.

My AP Story April 5, 2019 about his detention being approved through April 14.

My AP Story April 3, 2019 about Carlos Ghosn saying he will hold a news conference April 11,  noting he is ready to tell the truth about what’s happening.

My AP Story March 27, 2019, on Nissan’s governance committee that says Ghosn had too much power.

My AP Story March 12, 2019 on how Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, with Ghosn gone, is forming a new alliance board.

My AP Story March 11, 2019 on a Tokyo court rejecting Ghosn’s request to go to a Nissan board meeting.

My AP Story March 8, 2019 on lawyer apologizing for Ghosn’s ‘disguise’ during his release.

My AP Story March 7, 2019 on the Japan reaction to Ghosn’s release.

My AP Story March 6, 2019 on Ghosn released from detention after more than 100 days.

My AP Story March 5, 2019 on the back and forth on the bail release.

My AP Story March 4, 2019 on Ghosn’s new lawyer Junichiro Hironaka hoping to gain release on bail.

My AP Story Feb. 13, 2019 on Carlos Ghosn tapping a lawyer famous for acquittals for his defense, replacing his previous attorney, a former prosecutor . 

My AP Story Feb. 15, 2019 on Ghosn’s new power defense: The high-profile cases by Junichiro Hironaka. Yoichi Kitamura, the attorney for Greg Kelly, who was arrested with Ghosn, was also on the defense team of Ichiro Ozawa, one of Hironaka’s acquittal wins.

My AP Story Feb. 28, 2019 on Ghosn’s new lawyers requesting release on bail. 

 

My reporting on Mr. Hironaka’s news conference April 2, 2019 is the bottom part of this AP Story out of Paris.

 

My AP Story Jan. 21, 2019 on Carlos Ghosn requesting bail and promising to live in Japan, wear an ankle tether and hire security, while asserting his innocence.

My AP Story Jan. 22, 2019 on bail being denied.

My AP Story Nov. 19, 2018 on the arrest of Carlos Ghosn, who led Nissan for nearly two decades. The arrest was on allegations he falsified his income reporting.

My AP Story Jan. 8, 2019, on Carlos Ghosn appearing in court to assert his innocence and question his detention nearly two months after his arrest.

Habeas corpus? In Japan, “hostage justice” My AP Story Dec. 23, 2018.

I am a contributor to this AP Story Feb. 8, 2019, with comments from Ghosn’s lawyer and spokeswoman about his Versailles wedding: Ghosn paid for all expenses, didn’t know the rental would be charged to Renault and offers to reimburse Renault.

Nissan CEO at the news conference in Yokohama headquarters. Photo by Shuji Kajiyama.

A COUP OR NOT A COUP? THAT IS THE QUESTION: My AP Story Dec. 13, 2018 on how the arrest of Nissan star Ghosn is raising such speculation

My AP Story Jan. 11, 2019 on Carlos Ghosn being charged with breach of trust, making his release unlikely for months to come.

My AP Story Jan. 18, 2019, on Mitsubishi Motors board considering new allegations against Ghosn.

My feet visible in the media huddle.

My AP Story Jan. 15, 2019, on Carlos Ghosn’s request for release on bail denied.

My AP Story Jan. 14, 2019 on how Carlos Ghosn’s wife slams detention as “draconian” in a letter.

My AP Story Jan. 11, 2019 on Carlos Ghosn coming down a fever and his wife issuing a statement.

My AP Story Dec. 5, 2018. I interview the Brazilian consul general in Tokyo, who says Carlos Ghosn is holding up, not worried about his plight and just asked he bring him thrillers next time, not the philosophy and history books he’d brought.

My AP Story Nov. 30, 2018 on the lawyer for the executive arrested with Ghosn, Greg Kelly, who says his client is innocent and abided by law and company policy.

My AP Story Dec. 31, 2018 about the court extending Ghosn’s detention by 10 days through Jan. 11.

The Tokyo Detention Center

My AP Story Dec. 3, 2018 on how Ghosn’s case highlights corporate governance failings in Japan

My AP Story Nov. 22, 2018 on Nissan’s board meeting voting unanimously to dismiss Ghosn as chairman.

My AP Story Nov. 27, 2018 on East-West auto alliances.

My AP Story Feb. 5, 2019 on Nissan board tapping Renault’s Senard and setting extraordinary shareholder’s meeting. 

My AP Story Jan. 30, 2019 on Nikkei’s interview with Ghosn in detention, quoting him as saying a “plot and treason” led to his arrest.

My AP Story Dec. 17, 2018 on how Nissan decides not to name a new chairman as a replacement for the ousted Ghosn.

My AP Story Nov. 26, 2018 on Mitsubishi Motors firing Ghosn as chairman.

My AP Story Dec. 10, 2018, on Ghosn getting charged by Tokyo prosecutors.

My AP Story Dec. 12, 2018 about Greg Kelly’s lawyers protesting prolonged detention

My AP Story Dec. 11, 2018 about Ghosn’s detention being extended through Dec. 20

My AP Story Jan. 9, 2019 on Nissan’s unveiling the new Leaf electric car after Ghosn’s arrest delayed it.

My AP Story Jan. 9, 2019 on Tokyo court turning down Ghosn’s appeal of long detention.

My AP Story Dec. 7, 2018, on Nissan disclosing more dubious inspections.

My AP Story Jan. 12, 2019, on Jose Munoz resigning from Nissan, the first high-profile departure publicly acknowledged as related to Ghosn’s arrest.

My AP Story Jan. 5, 2019 on a Nissan executive going on leave for tasks related to Ghosn’s arrest.

My AP Story Jan. 30, 2019 about global auto sales for Toyota, Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi versus Volkswagen.

More recent stories:

 

My AP Story June 5, 2019, about Mark Karpeles starting a blockchain business while fighting for exoneration.  

 

My AP Story March 29, 2019 about Mark Karpeles, former head of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, appealing the ruling.

My AP Story March 15, 2019 about Karpeles’ getting a suspended sentence, avoiding jail time, on data manipulation but cleared of other charges.

 

 

My AP Story May 9, 2019 about Toyota and Panasonic combining their housing businesses in Japan.

My AP Story March 9, 2019 about Guinness naming Japanese woman as oldest person at 116.

My story about architect Arata Isozaki awarded the Pritzker

 

My AP Story March 6, 2019 on Isozaki being honored with architecture’s highest award.

My coverage of Shinya Tsukamoto, a legendary filmmaker

My AP Story on Shinya Tsukamoto’s new film “Killing,” inspired by the masters, horror of violence

And My AP Interview with the director Shinya Tsukamoto from last year.

My coverage of Okinawa and Gov. Denny Tamaki

My AP Story March 1, 2019 when Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki talks about his meeting with the prime minister on the referendum that rejected the Henoko relocation plan.

Denny Tamaki

My AP Interview with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki Oct. 31, 2018.

My AP Story Feb. 25, 2019 on the referendum on the U.S. base plan.

My AP Story Feb. 24, 2019 on the referendum on the U.S. base plan. 

Denny Tamaki

My AP Story Oct. 1, 2018 when Denny Tamaki, critic of U.S. bases on Okinawa, won the election

My AP Story Oct. 2, 2018 on how the new Okinawa chief embodies the complexity of Japan’s U.S. bases

My reporting on the Mayweather exhibition fight in Japan

My AP Story Dec. 31, 2018, on how Mayweather stopped Nasukawa in the first round, flooring him three times.

My AP Story Dec. 29, 2018 when Mayweather arrives at last for the fight.

My AP Story Dec. 18, 2018 on how opponent Tenshin Nasukawa is looking for a real fight.

My AP Story on how the fight is on again Nov. 18, 2018.

My AP Stories on Naomi Osaka

My AP Story Jan. 24, 2019 on how Nissin drops Osaka ad after complaints but star remains focused on the game.

Naomi Osaka and Citizen

Naomi Osaka headed for big money with Japan, global appeal

Naomi Osaka and Nissan

The latest in my Godzilla coverage

godzilla

My AP Story and My AP Photo on Godzilla Oct. 31, 2018.

More recent stories:

Japan’s minister of cybersecurity has never used computer. My AP Story Nov. 15, 2018.

My AP Story July 26, 2019 on SoftBank announcing $108 billion Vision Fund 2.

Japan’s SoftBank invests in US office space-sharing WeWork. My AP Story Nov. 15, 2018.

SoftBank mobile unit to go for IPO raising some $20 billion, My AP Story Nov. 12, 2018.

Japanese Actor Koji Yakusho says his is a solitary craft in My AP Story Sept. 29, 2018.

softbank

SoftBank decries journalist’s death, defends Saudi fund

princess wedding

My AP Story Oct. 29, 2018 about a princess marrying a “salaryman”

india

My AP Story Oct. 28, 2018 about India’s prime minister visiting Japan

philip morris 2

philip morris

My AP Story Oct. 23, 2018 about Philip Morris in Japan

My coverage of the move from Tsukiji to Toyosu

AP Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

My AP Story Oct. 11, 2018

New fish market opens with tradition: the tuna auction

AP Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

Toyosu

A related AP story Oct. 5, 2018

Famed Tsukiji fish market uneasy over move to new site

AP Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

My AP Story and My AP Photo Oct. 16, 2018.

Official: Move of Japan fish market could have been better

My coverage of the Zozo CEO and his trip to the moon on Elon Musk’s rocket

zozo

My AP Story Oct. 9, 2018

Japanese tycoon going on SpaceX rocket says he trusts Elon Musk

And My AP Story with more background on MZ when he first announced the moon trip Sept. 19, 2018

SpaceX’s first traveler is moonstruck Japanese fashion tycoon

My visit to a nursery school that uses digital technology in their program

preschool

My Story Sept. 26, 2018

Japan preschool using tablets to prep tots for digital age

prschool 2

OTHER RECENT STORIES

My AP Story Feb. 1, 2019, on Nintendo seeking growth outside games.

My AP Story Jan. 22, 2019.

Toyota, Panasonic announce venture for green car batteries.

My AP Story March 28, 2019 on Honda and Hino joining the mobility service venture.

My AP Story Oct. 4, 2018

Toyota, SoftBank setting up mobility services joint venture

My AP Story Sept. 19, 2018

Will flying cars take off? Japan’s government hopes so

My AP Story Aug. 24, 2018

AP Interview: Japan official says Trump misunderstands trade

3D mapping

My AP Story June 14, 2018

Japan banks on 3D mapping deemed crucial for driverless cars

manufacturing

My AP Story June 8

manufacturing

As trade fears grow, US states reach out to companies

manufacturing

paternity

My AP Story June 7, 2018

Dad takes Japan Inc. to court alleging paternity harassment

My AP Story April 26, 2018

nintendo

Nintendo taps new president; profit improves on Switch sales

My AP Story April 20, 2018

nursing

Woman’s win of nursing home money a rarity in aging Japan

My AP Story April 12, 2018

Takata acquired by Key Safety Systems, president resigns

Isao Takahata

My AP Story April 6, 2018

Studio Ghibli co-founder, director Isao Takahata dies at 82

My AP Story March 28, 2018

Japan embracing cryptocurrencies despite big theft cases

My AP Story March 23, 2018

Nissan not changing autonomous drive tests over Uber crash

My AP Story March 3, 2018

Kobe Steel chief steps down over massive fake data scandal

esports

My AP Story Feb. 11, 2018

Esports officially arrives in Japan, home of game giants

My AP Story Feb. 2, 2018

Sony taps CFO as new president, replacing Hirai

AN ELEGY FOR JOURNALISM A Poem by Yuri Kageyama

A Pen in the Sky I am a Writer

A Pen in the Sky
I am a Writer

AN ELEGY FOR JOURNALISM
_ a poem by Yuri Kageyama

Stories killed, stories buried,
Stories untold, stories denied,
Robert and Dori Maynard
Woodward and Bernstein
Margaret Bourke-White
Howard Imazeki
Gary Webb
Robert Capa
Anja Niedringhaus
Gerald Vizenor
Gwen Ifill
Joe Oyama
Gordon Parks
Do we write to live or live to write?
Do we write to remember or do we write to forget?
Do we write to remember or do we write to be remembered?
Do we write so we don’t kill or do we write so we don’t kill ourselves?
Do we make movies to live or live to make movies?
Do we make music to live or live to make music?
Do we write to live or live to write?
Do we live?
Do we live?
Do we live?

The poem is a part of my performance piece “NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA: Meditation on an Under-Reported Catastrophe by a Poet,” directed by Carla Blank, presented at ZSpace in San Francisco last year, debuting in an earlier version, without this poem, at LaMaMa in New York in 2015. This version combines what I wrote several weeks ago with what I wrote several years ago. I like this what this poem has become.

THE MANY LIVES OF YURI KAGEYAMA _ THE POET IN ME AND THE JOURNALIST IN ME

I get such a nice write-up by Tim Hornyak in No. 1 Shimbun, the publication of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo, I can’t believe it is really about me.
It’s called The Many Lives of Yuri Kageyama.
And it brings together the sides of me I usually like to keep separate _ the poet in me and the journalist in me.

“The prose is unvarnished, unflinchingly personal and adroit in quickly juggling themes of child abuse, racism and sexuality while maintaining a narrative flow,” he writes.

“Kageyama’s poems have addressed stereotypes about race and gender roles. They’re made even more powerful when Kageyama recites them with collaborators such as Ghanaian percussionist Winchester Nii Tete on African drums and Keiji Kubo on didgeridoo. Against the backdrop of a traditional Noh stage, it’s a heady, globalized mix of words and music.”

Thanks to Tim. Thanks to all the musicians who have helped my poetry. Thanks to the poets, the literary publishers, the songwriters, the photographers, the filmmakers. Thanks to all the people of Fukushima who have shared their stories with me. Thanks, above all, to all the honorable, creative and dedicated colleagues I have at The Associated Press.

A POEM FOR JOURNALISM by Yuri Kageyama

Joe Oyama in an Online California Archives photo, as he stands in the New York headquarters of the Common Council for American Unity. Joe was assistant editor of the Japanese American daily in Los Angeles before he was interned, in Santa Anita Assembly Center and Jerome Relocation Center, where both he and his wife Sami worked as journalists. After moving to New York in 1944, he was editor of the News Letter of the Japanese American Committee for Democracy. He and his wife were also both actors. They moved to Berkeley in their later years. I got to know him and Sami and their two children, who are also great artists. Joe was always supportive of my poetry:

Joe Oyama in an Online California Archives photo, as he stands in the New York headquarters of the Common Council for American Unity. Joe was assistant editor of the Japanese American daily in Los Angeles before he was interned, in Santa Anita Assembly Center and Jerome Relocation Center, where both he and his wife Sami worked as journalists. After moving to New York in 1944, he was editor of the News Letter of the Japanese American Committee for Democracy. He and his wife were also both actors. They moved to Berkeley in their later years. I got to know him and Sami and their two children, who are also great artists. Joe was always supportive of my poetry: “Like champagne,” he said once. This poem is for Joe and all the other great journalists. May the legacy live on.

A Poem for Journalism
By Yuri Kageyama

A Tree, a Story, a Drum
Circles carved times over,
Coded rhythms of continents
Animal skin stretched, carefully nailed,
So our heartbeat is not lost _
The snare, congas, kpanlogo, tabla, taiko,
Talking drums speaking faraway tongues _
Stories killed, stories buried,
Stories denied, stories untold,
Perhaps we were just not stopped before
When our stories were not dangerous
But the Reporter is still here.
Hear the words
And see what they have seen:
Robert and Dori Maynard
Woodward and Bernstein
Margaret Bourke-White
Howard Imazeki
Gary Webb
Robert Capa
Anja Niedringhaus
Gerald Vizenor
Gwen Ifill
Joe Oyama
Gordon Parks
Hear that Music in the Skin,
Feel that Story in the Tree,
Banned by slave owners,
The Drum holds the Message,
The Pow Wow stirs in starlit nights
The Slap-Tone conviction that comes to us
The Dance cannot be silenced; listen:
Printers rumble, digital pages scroll, newspapers turn,
Borders fade into illusory walls,
Starving children, covered up documents, the ravages of war
The Voice through the centuries
Asking Questions
Even if no one cares to hear the Answers,
Accurate, objective, fast, ethical
No matter what they say,
I am deranged but I am not deranged
I am fake but I am not fake
I am afraid but I am not afraid
I am the Drum, the Tree, the Story.