Author | Lightnews

【Wisdom Tokyo#002.5】When Culture Meets Capital

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 3d

A follow-up is now out — Wisdom Tokyo #002.5 (free).
Koei Tecmo released its Integrated Report 2025 and raised its earnings forecast soon after.
The story of culture and capital continues.
letterfromtokyo.substack.com/p/wisdom-tok...

Koei Tecmo’s Upward Revision and Its Integrated Report

letterfromtokyo.substack.com

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Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 3d

New on Wisdom Tokyo — Free Supplement
After my latest story on Keiko Erikawa and Koei Tecmo’s two-tiered model of culture and capital,
the company released its Integrated Report 2025 — and a day later, raised its forecast.
open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

【Wisdom Tokyo#002.5】When Culture Meets Capital

Koei Tecmo’s Upward Revision and Its Integrated Report

【Workday Tokyo#008】Designing the Flame

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Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 5d

🔥 New on Workday Tokyo
“Designing the Flame — How Iwatani Is Redefining Fire”
From propane kitchens to hydrogen dreams — and now, the rediscovery of fire itself.
Read it here

open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

How Iwatani Is Redefining Fire

【Wisdom Tokyo#002】“Is This a Game Company or an Investment Firm?”

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 9d

Wisdom Tokyo #002 — Out now.
She turned history into play and investments into history.
Meet Keiko Erikawa, the “Empress” behind Koei Tecmo’s empire.

open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

How the “Empress” Keiko Erikawa Built Koei Tecmo’s Two-Tiered Profits

【Weekend Tokyo#008】Living to 100 in Tokyo

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Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 10d

🆕 Weekend Tokyo #008 is out now:
Living to 100 in Tokyo — A Blessing, or a Silent Limit?

As Japan enters the age of 100-year lives, what does it mean to grow old in a hyper-urban city like Tokyo?

open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

A Blessing, or a Silent Limit?

letterfromtokyo.substack.com

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 10d

Masaru Takei | Substack

HR executive in Japan with a background spanning film production, gaming, live-streaming, and the metaverse. Writing about organizational culture, consumption trends, and the future of work from an Ea...

letterfromtokyo.substack.com

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 10d

🎥 New essay goes live tonight at 7PM Japan Time (JST) — that’s early morning in the U.S., depending on your timezone.

It’s about what it means to live to 100 — in Tokyo.

I made this short teaser video using Sora.

Subscribe now to get it delivered straight to your inbox once it’s up

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Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 10d

After the hype fades, something real begins.

【Workday Tokyo#007】Beyond the “Trough of Disillusionment”
open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

【Weekend Tokyo#007】Towers of the City and the Warnings in Place Names

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 17d

【Weekend Tokyo#007】Towers of the City and the Warnings in Place Names
Tokyo keeps building upward — but the ground still remembers.

open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

Hello, and welcome to the weekend.

Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 17d

Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai wins the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Each October, the world turns to books — but literature also lives quietly in small bookstores like Nikkiya Tsukihi in Tokyo.
🗞️ BBC News www.bbc.com/news/article...
👉 [Beyond Selling Books]
substack.com/home/post/p-...

He was recognised “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”.

www.bbc.com

【Workday Tokyo#006】Why Japanese Adults Don’t Learn

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 20d

Japan built the tech for learning—but not the habit.
Why do adults stop studying, even as AI transforms education?
【Workday Tokyo#006】Why Japanese Adults Don’t Learn
open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

EdTech’s Shift from Content Delivery to AI and the Cultural Barrier

【Wisdom Tokyo #001】Gaming’s Next Stage — Lessons from Tokyo Game Show 2025

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 23d

Nintendo expands into Southeast Asia.
EA goes private in a historic $55B buyout.
TGS 2025 shows how Japan’s Big Five and global giants are reshaping the future of gaming.
Read my latest essay:
“Gaming’s Present and Future — Lessons from Tokyo Game Show 2025”
open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

Nintendo, Sega, and the East Asian surge shaping the future

Masaru Takei (@letterfromtokyo)

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Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

How Practice Keeps Culture Alive
From Muay Thai to kabuki—and the Japanese idea of keiko.

✨ How do you practice in your life?
substack.com/@letterfromt...

Just published a new Weekend Tokyo: “How Practice Keeps Culture Alive” It begins with my Muay Thai training, then travels through kabuki, film, and finance—asking what “practice” (keiko) means for c...

substack.com

#filp-flops
youtu.be/gLyvS8que8I

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

flip-flops - 19 (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by flip-flops official

#downt
youtu.be/jdSImgLJBLY

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

downt「minamisenju」Music Video

YouTube video by downt channel

#ByTheEndOfSummer
youtu.be/Hj_TKgBYrzc

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

Buzz Lightyear - by the end of summer

YouTube video by by the end of summer

#hitohira
youtu.be/y3rg6ihXhDo

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

ひとひら「遠くなる (が戻る) /nothing」「翡翠に夢中」(Live)

YouTube video by ひとひら

#ANORAK
youtu.be/Wr-3hdLcBC4

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

ANORAK! - 'Shade' (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by ANORAK! official

#yubiori
youtu.be/_PZBlKfELXc

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

yubiori - ギター / 造花 (LIVE)

YouTube video by yubiori official

#PurpleWhale
youtu.be/C4bcxWmNXvM

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

퍼플웨일 - 붉은 등 (광주, 도시를 부른다 프로젝트)

YouTube video by Purple Whale 퍼플웨일

#dabda
youtu.be/U1rL6x2XUSU

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

Dabda - Polydream (Live) | CJ AZIT

YouTube video by Dabda

【Weekend Tokyo #005】The Get Up Kids, Emo Revival, and an E-Commerce Empire

Masaru Takei @mtake1.bsky.social · 24d

Update to my recent essay on #TheGetUpKids and the Emo Revival:
I’ve added live performances and music videos from some Japanese and Korean bands I recommend today.
The essay began with nostalgia, but it’s also about how new generations carry the sound forward.
open.substack.com/pub/letterfr...

From faxed catalogs and demo CDs to billion-yen fashion retail: tracing the unlikely path from underground Emo to ZOZOTOWN.