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. Most of that time I spent as a “localizer,” producing the English versions of video games, toys, literature, manga, and more.
You might also know me from my collaborations, including Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, my essays in The New Yorker and The New York Times, or from my time co-hosting the NHK World television series “Japanology Plus.”
My passion is exploring the often surprising and always revealing intersections of Japanese and global culture, whether pop, tech, traditional, or trend. Together we’ll discover new stories, new innovators, even new ways of thinking, living, and creating.
Some of my top posts so far:
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