Nick meets Georgie Ichikawa. Georgie was born 1982 in Tokyo, and moved to UK when he was 16. He later graduated from University of Arts London ( London College of Fashion ) MA Fashion Design Technology with scholarship. At age of 25 he became head designer for PUMA x Alexander McQueen . In 2018 he was a founding member to start MR GAY JAPAN in which he became chair person for the organization for activism for the LGBTQ community in Japan. He is currently working at P...

Nick Luscombe meets long-time Tokyo-based English artist Ratko Backo about his training at Saint Martins in London, his decade working with Issey Miyake and his latest art works. https://www.instagram.com/ratko_backo/

Nick speaks to Philip Clemo, the British composer, musician, producer, sound artist, filmmaker and visual artist, described by Propermusic.com as one of contemporary music's most innovative artists. Phil is currently in Japan developing a project with the charity Shout at Cancer exploring the destructive and healing legacy of radiation. It honours the trees that survived the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombs and a choir of cancer survivors who learnt to sing after the removal of their voiceboxe...

Nick chats with Chikako Fujii about her career as a company director and dancer, and the importance of international collaboration. Chikako was born in Tokyo and has a father who is known as an early pioneer in the Japanese French patisserie industry. Chikako worked in the family business for 16 years and gained various management skills during that time. She became a managing director in 2018 before leaving the business in December 2021 when the family business was sold in January 2021. Chik...

Nick is joined on CIC Live with music specialist Keith Cahoon. Keith Cahoon grew up in Northern California, and became a music fanatic at a young age. He began buying an immense number of albums, and regularly attended concerts at Winterland and other Bay Area venues. After stints in university and working as a carpenter, he joined Tower Records at age 22. While he first thought the job would be just for a few months, he ended up working for Tower Records for 25 years, 7 ...

Nick chats with Keiji Ito, the CEO of Tokyo-based startup MentorMe, a new venture created to support entrepreneurs. mentorme.co.jp https://jp.cic.com/en/office/

Nick is joined by Adam Fulford to learn about his work in rural Japan. A native of England, Adam Fulford has been working as a language consultant in Japan since 1981, offering behind-the-scenes support for Eigo de Shaberanaito, Eigo de Asobo, Super Presentation and many other NHK programs. These days, he and his staff work on a number of shows broadcast in English on NHK WORLD-JAPAN, the international service of NHK. Adam also works as a presentation coach, supporting the efforts of the Ja...

Nick discusses Noh with Diego Pellecchia, Associate Professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, to learn more about this fascinating art form. https://internationalnohinstitute.com https://jp.cic.com/en/

In this episode, Nick meets Kirsten O’Connor, the Founder and Director of QUEST TOKYO KK, a company offering a range of independent educational services and tutoring to Japanese and international communities in Japan. A newly opened division, QUEST Learning Support and Therapy (QLST), provides professional services for children with learning difficulties within Tokyo. Kirsten is a UK qualified teacher and taught in London before moving to Tokyo in 2001. During her 17 years at The British Scho...

In this episode Nick meets Tokyo-based entrepreneur Max Godin to talk about his FORGIGS platform that works with artists, audiences and venues to streamline the process of buying and selling gig tickets. https://www.forgigs.com/home https://jp.cic.com/en/

In this episode Nick Luscombe is joined by Yokohama-born and UK-based composer, musician and producer Hinako Omori who recently released her debut album A Journey... on the Houndstooth record label.

In this edition, Nick Luscombe discusses music apps with Musify Founder and CEO, David Liu and learns more about his journey as an entrepreneur.

Nick Luscombe meets Yuto Saiki and charts the story of his career to date - from driving Shinkansen to working in PR and marketing!

In this episode Nick Luscombe talks tourism in Japan with CEO Ken Ikeo of Intellectual Innovations and learns about his pioneering work training future hospitality workers. https://intellectual-innovations.or.jp/ https://jp.cic.com/en/

On this edition Nick speaks with Tania Coke, artistic director of Tarinainanika, a physical theatre company she runs with her partner Kentaro Suyama, from their base in Osaka, the Flying Carpet Factory. The company specialises in Corporeal Mime, a theatrical tradition which prioritises the creativity and physical expression of the actor. As well as the company they also run a full time school where they are busy nurturing the next generation of actor-creators. Originally from the UK, Tania be...

Alexander De Vore moved to China to start a business after graduating from University. He learned about manufacturing while in Shenzhen China and discovered how 3D Printing was used to make turbine blades inside the energy industry. In 2014 decided to move to Japan and start a 3D Printing company. In 2016 founded 3DPC K.K. in Japan. He is currently president of 3DPC and continues his goal of building the largest digital manufacturing supply chain in Asia.

Nick meets Tim Rowe, the Founder and CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center and, more recently, CIC Health. For two decades, CIC has been a leading builder and operator of innovation communities. www.cic.com

Seiya Matsumiya is a music supervisor/producer and CEO of Black Cat White Cat Music. Having started his life in music in the thriving music scene of southern California in the early 2000s, he studied at Berklee College of Music, after which he returned to Los Angeles where he performed alongside notable musicians such as Flea, Cat Power, and Maroon 5, while also starting a career in music for film/tv/advertising. He launched Black Cat White Cat Music in Tokyo with his sister Aska Matsumiya in...

Nick Luscombe chats to Maki Mannami, the international music composer, sound designer, songwriter and vocalist. Born in Osaka, Japan, she currently resides in Los Angeles, California. As a music composer, Maki has composed music for major companies such as SONY, Google, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, HONDA, "Gran Turismo" series by Play Station 3, FIFA World Cup, Panasonic, and FRED PERRY. She has also composed soundtracks for a variety of independent films, one of which received an award from t...

Nick Luscombe meets Fariza Abidova, Co-Founder & CEO of Trusted Corporation and Founder of SOPHYS Corporation. Fariza is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for promoting global business collaboration. In 2010, she established SOPHYS Corporation, a global human resource development company, that trained 3000 Japanese executives and senior managers. Inquires about CIC Tokyo's office space, partnership, etc.: https://jp.cic.com/en/contact-us/