Dancing on Air – III

Adam Young’s Inspirational Story of Dancing – Cystic Fibrosis & Drug Addiction Brings TEDx Audience to their Feet

The following is Part III of a series of interviews with Adam Young, a 33-year-old award- winning ballet, tap, jazz, and contemporary dancer from Riverside, California, who has cystic fibrosis and received a double lung transplant at UCLA in May 2013. His professional career was put on hold in 2006 when cystic fibrosis caused his lung capacity to fall below 40%. Adam’s determination to overcome an addiction to pharmaceutical drugs through a 12-step program in 2010 allowed him to receive his lung transplant in 2013, which has in turn given Adam the chance to return to the stage and continue pursuing his passion for dance. On October 16, 2014 Adam shared his inspirational story at TEDx Riverside, receiving a standing ovation. Tokyo Journal talked to Adam about the experience.

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Judge Albie Sachs

South African Freedom Fighter Exacts Soft Vengeance

Albie Sachs is one of South Africa’s most noted political activists and judges. Appointed by Nelson Mandela to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Albie was among the group of 11 judges who certified the country’s groundbreaking Constitution after the first democratic elections in 1994. Sachs, who holds a law degree from the University of Cape Town and a Ph.D. from Sussex University, began his legal career defending victims of apartheid’s repressive laws. His work with the freedom-fighting movement, resulted in him being put in solitary confinement for nearly six months without trial and later went into a 24-year exile in England and then Mozambique, where in April 1988 he lost his right arm and sight in one eye due to a car bomb. Sachs, who retired in 2009, has received multiple awards, including the Tang Prize for the Rule of Law. He continues to write, teach and speak internationally about the South African experience in healing divided societies. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with the eloquent freedom fighter Albie Sachs about his groundbreaking achievements and his views of the world today.

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2014年10月11日、X Japan は多くの日本人バンドにとっての長年の夢を達成した。レッド・ツェッペリンやザ・ローリング・ストーンズ、ザ・フー、

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X Japan Rocks New York’s Madison Square Garden

Japan’s Greatest Rock Band Takes a Bite out of the Big Apple

Interview by Anthony Al-Jamie

On October 11, 2014, X Japan did what most Japanese bands and performers have only dreamt of doing for decades. They played the most revered concert venue in the United States–Madison Square Garden–on the stage that has been graced by the likes of Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, The Who, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Michael Jackson. X Japan is one of the most successful Japanese rock bands in history with more than 30 million albums, songs and videos sold. They sold out the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome 18 times, and in fall of 2014, just prior to their historic Madison Square Garden concert, the band returned to their old stomping grounds for a two-night stint at Yokohama Arena. X Japan pioneered an entire musical genre known as visual kei, fusing glam rock, punk rock and heavy metal with wild hair, androgynous makeup and flamboyant costumes. Formed in 1982, X Japan was one of the first Japanese bands to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label. In their three-decade career, they have released five studio albums, six live albums, eleven compilation albums and numerous videos. They’ve had their share of drama with the tragic deaths of their beloved guitarist HIDE and bassist TAIJI. At HIDE’s funeral in 1997, more than 50,000 fans came out to mourn his passing. At the same time, lead singer Toshi was struggling with the beginning of a horrific 12-year experience of being abused and taken advantage of by his wife and her co-conspirator as described in his alltelling autobiographical book Brainwashed. After X Japan’s breakup in 1997 and reunion in 2007, fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting a new album and another world tour. What’s in store for X Japan? The following is a series of interviews carried out by Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie with X Japan, including a pre-Madison Square Garden New York interview with the entire band and pre- and post-MSG interviews with the individual band members. These interviews with bandleader Yoshiki (drums and piano), Toshi (vocals), PATA (guitar), HEATH (bass), and SUGIZO (guitar and violin) took place while the band members were in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo.

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Thelma Press, Southern California Sister Cities Co-Founder

Born to British parents in Darjeeling, India, Thelma Press attended Loreto College where one of her teachers was Mother Teresa. With this kind of influence, it’s not surprising that Thelma would go on to seek ways to promote peace. She has done just that as a Sister Cities International veteran since 1959, beginning with the establishment of the relationship between San Bernardino, California and Tachikawa, Japan. She has served on boards and in key positions for Sister Cities International, the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society, the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego’s Balboa Park, the Asian Arts Council of the San Diego Museum of Art, and the first Sino-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in Beijing. Thelma Press has received over 60 awards for her work in international relations and in 2012 was approved as a Global Envoy, the highest honor of Sister Cities International. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie visited with Thelma Press in San Diego, California.

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Japan’s Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, the Queen of Kawaii

Interview by Anthony Al-Jamie

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has caused a revolution in the J-pop world with her unique blending of kawaii [cuteness] with creepy chic. In 2012, the mayor of Shibuya named her the “Kawaii Ambassador” of Harajuku, and her success has mushroomed overseas. She’s gone on global tours, her breakthrough song “PONPONPON” was featured on “The Simpsons,” American pop idol Katy Perry has tweeted about Kyary’s music and in July 2014 she released her third studio album “Pika Pika Fantajin.” Tokyo Journal Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie interviewed the 21-year-old chart-topping singer about music, fashion and her future.

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The Man Behind Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch

“I Am Big Bird” screened at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival. Tokyo Journal talked with the co-director of the documentary, Dave LaMattina, and Caroll Spinney, the 80-year-old Emmy and Grammy Award-winning puppeteer behind the iconic “Sesame Street” characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. The two discussed the documentary as well as the legacy of the beloved TV program and its characters.

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Rock ’N’ Roll Samurai

From Legendary Rock and Roll Superstar to Business Warrior, Music Business CEO Gene Simmons Conquers All

Interview by Anthony Al-Jamie

Rock star, producer, publisher, actor, reality TV star, family man, professional sports team owner, entrepreneur and all-round marketing genius: what kind of steroids must one take to master so many ventures with dynamic energy and youthful enthusiasm for over 40 years? To find out, I drove to Gene Simmons’ Beverly Hills mansion. Meeting Gene Simmons was an educational experience from the get-go. Parking on the edge of the large circular driveway to this huge mansion – the kind you only see on a reality TV show – I looked up to see the towering KISS star on top of the staircase, yelling pinpoint directions to me about where to park. Before the interview; before I’d even parked the car, I knew this was a man who was in control. I couldn’t help but feel intimidated, but as I entered his palatial estate Simmons greeted me with a kind smile and, knowing that I had lived in Japan for many years, introduced himself in perfect Japanese using all the politest forms of the language. He offered me a cup of coffee and asked me to wait in his office, which doubles as a KISS museum. It includes literally thousands of unique KISS and Gene Simmons branded memorabilia – everything from motor scooters to pachinko machines!

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Dancing on Air II

Dancer, Adam Young, Defies the Odds, Battling Cystic Fibrosis

The following is Part II of a series of interviews with Adam Young, a 32-year old ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary dancer from California, who has cystic fibrosis (CF) and received a double lung transplant at UCLA in May 2013. He began dancing at the age of six in Riverside, California, and won national competitions in the United States and Australia at the age of 17, as well as the Kennedy Center Emerging Young Artist Award Scholarship at age 18. He was offered a full scholarship to the renowned Juilliard School and the Ailey School in New York but was unable to relocate due to CF complications. Graduating from the University of California, Irvine with honors on full scholarship as a dance major in 2003, he went on to dance with the Nashville Ballet for two seasons. He trained at the Conservatoire de Paris and has danced, judged and taught throughout the United States and performed internationally in France, Germany, Australia, Canada and Mexico. His professional career was put on hold in 2006 when cystic fibrosis caused his lung capacity to fall below 40 percent. Adam’s determination to overcome an addiction to pharmaceutical drugs through a 12-step program in 2010 allowed him to receive his lung transplant in 2013 – which has in turn given Adam a chance to return to the stage and continue pursuing his passion for dance. Tokyo Journal Executive Editor, Anthony Al-Jamie, talked to Adam about his inspirational story.

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Kyung-sook Shin

Interview with the Award-Winning Author

Kyung-sook Shin is a celebrated author in her native South Korea. She made her literary debut in 1985, winning the Munye Joongang New Author Prize for her novella Winter Fables. She recently came to international attention as a result of her latest book, “Please Look After Mom,” being translated into many languages and set for distribution in 33 countries. The book is about a mother who disappears and the family’s desperate search to find her. It won the prestigious Man Asian Literary Prize for 2011, the Asian equivalent of the Man Booker Prize. Both the first Korean and the first woman to win the prize, she beat celebrated Asian authors such as Haruki Murakami and Anuradha Roy. TJ’s Hong Kong correspondent David Nunan caught up with Ms. Shin at the recent Hong Kong International Literary Festival where she was a featured speaker.

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