How Peter Barakan became Japan's most recognizable English TV host

Meet Peter Barakan, who you may know from NHK's Weekend Japanology (Now called Japanology Plus). Peter has hosted various TV shows as well as radio broadcasts introducing all kinds of music to both Japan and overseas. After living in Japan for over 50 years, Peter shares his experience in the industry and what he's learned along the way, from working at record labels to hosting NHK's longest running English TV broadcast.

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0:00 Intro
0:53 Meet Peter
1:23 Introduction to Japan
8:48 How was Tokyo in the '70s
10:15 How was the language barrier in the '70s vs now
11:55 Japan’s Golden Age
12:45 Work culture in Japan in the '80s
14:52 Challenges of adapting to Japanese work and society
16:24 Negative parts about working for a record company
19:40 Discovering new music in '70s Japan
21:45 Moving on to work with Ryuichi Sakamoto and other big names
28:52 Getting into broadcasting
36:10 What makes a song worthy of being selected for broadcast
40:11 Influencing a generation’s music taste
41:08 What is production like for broadcast TV
42:02 Getting an NHK nationwide show
43:51 Living through Japan’s bubble burst
45:49 Starting Weekend Japanology
49:32 What is Japanology Plus now
49:54 Japanology’s production cycle
52:43 Favorite episodes of Japanology
55:30 Working with a film crew
58:32 Taboos that are off-limits for television
59:19 What are the biggest misconceptions about Japan foreigners have
1:00:46 Is Japanese media misrepresenting Japan to foreigners?
1:03:46 How has the media landscape changed in Japan
1:07:20 Barakan Beat Show
1:10:04 Lesser-known artist recommendations
1:11:51 How to find niche artists
1:14:01 What is audience interaction like
1:17:46 How is radio changing with streaming platforms
1:19:58 Most unexpected changes in the last 51 years in Japan
1:21:58 How to navigate an ever-changing industry
1:22:47 Advice for those who want to be on TV or in broadcasting in Japan

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Liked this episode? Check out our interview with Endigo, musical artist who has done vocal work in video games like FF7 and produces music with artists like Babybeard
youtu.be/-ReoKcl7_lo?si=eZ8o0ag03p9VlI6v

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Follow Peter:
peterbarakan.net
www.instagram.com/petebarakan/?hl=en
x.com/pbarakan
www.livemagic.jp/

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