▲A performance of "What is Love?"
J-MELO is an NHK World TV program broadcast entirely in English to introduce Japanese music to the world. It started in October 2005, now has received photographs and emails from 137 different countries and is most well known Japanese music program in the world. The number of episodes is now over 400. At the end of 2011 I was led to a meeting with Harada in Moscow. Harada makes occasional appearances as a commentator and interviewer on J-MELO as well as contributing to the official twitter feed.
Whenever I talk to fans abroad I really see how J-MELO connects Japan and the rest of the world. "The internet is where young people go to find out about new information on Japan" is an idea that is rapidly becoming the norm, however on the net there is a vast ocean of information. Choosing what to read requires good judgement and is a vital part of Japan's pop-culture existence.
The number one smash hit single "What is Love?" is the product of a collaboration between Morning Musume。'14 and J-MELO. Messages relating to the topic of love sent to J-MELO form the basis of this songs lyrics. While celebrating "What is Love?" reaching the top spot at a taping of J-MELO I managed to meet up with Morning Musume。 members Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Ikuta and Haruna Iikubo for the following interview. The trio have gained a greater consciousness of the world from touring abroad. The first thing I wanted to ask was what part of Japan would the like the world to know more about?

Fukumura Japanese Culture! There are historical things and modern things from every prefecture, and even food. Lots of unique things that are great. There are so many things I don't know about too. I think a country like this with so many wonderful things close by is not that common you know? It's a sign of the formality of Japan, and how good Japan and the Japanese people are. I just want to tell the world the little I know about these things.
Iikubo For me it's manga. Manga is an art form that Japan should be proud of globally. Artists can use screentones and fine details to produce all sorts of things, more than just people, and with that they can produce a moving story. There's a bit of Japanese-ness in all manga.
Ikuta I don't just want to talk about all the postive good things to people who love Japan. Even the negative and realistic parts of urbanisation are worth talking about.

▲From the left: Haruna Iikubo, Mizuki Fukumura and Erina Ikuta
Fukumura and Iikubo really want to get across the artisan spirit of Japan, have foreign fans become more aware of it and come to love it. Certainly Morning Musume。 have their roots in this spirit and will be pleased by fans getting closer to it. At the same time Ikuta remembers hearing from a Russian girl in Moskow who had just been to Japan for the first time: "Before I actually went to Japan I thought it was a country brimming with freedom and creativity." She recounts. "However, Tokyo is not all like Harajuku and, to tell the truth, I felt kinda bad. But until then I didn't know enough about Japan and I think from now I'm only going to like it even more." This is definitely not just a case of Japan having a temporary boom in popularity due to the world's young people being interested in anime and manga. Explaining Japan's genuine unique qualities is another source of the love for Morning Musume。 and this will surely continue.
J-MELO is a very important TV show for Japan. It communicates with the young people of the world and essentially shows them what is accepted in Japanese music. What have you learnt from J-MELO?

▲Program host May J, Special Commentator Dave Spector