Welcome!

I’m Matt Alt, the author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World.

I’ve lived in Tokyo for the past twenty years. For most of that time, I worked as a localizer, producing the English versions of Japanese games and manga. Now I’m a localizer of cultures, writing about the often surprising and always revealing intersections of Japan and the West.

You might also know me from my YouTube channel or my collaborations, including Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide with Hiroko Yoda (who is also on Substack!), my essays in The New Yorker and The New York Times, or from my years co-hosting the NHK World television series “Japanology Plus.”

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