ABOUT

Yumiko Sakuma
Writer/Producer

Yumiko Sakuma writes about contemporary culture, art, fashion, music, and socio-political issues. Based in New York City, she is a regular contributor of reportage, interviews, and travel writing to numerous Japanese and English publications. Among the many visionaries she has interviewed are Al Gore, Robert Frank, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Kazuo Ishiguro, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yayoi Kusama, Ryan McGinley, Genna Rowlands, Gary Snyder, and Les Paul.

Her books include Hip na Seikatsu Kakumei, 2014 (Hip Revolution), reporting on the American consumer shift following the 2008 financial crisis; Pin Heel wa Hakanai, 2016 (Take Off Your Heels), a collection of essays about the inspiring women in her life; My Little New York Times, 2018, 365 journal entries about splitting her time between America and Asia during the Trump regime; and Majime ni Marijuana no Hanashi wo Shiyo, 2019 (Let’s Have a Serious Talk About Marijuana), an analysis of why the world is moving toward the legalization of marijuana.

She also hosts a podcast in Japanese, Konnichiwa Mirai (Hello Future) with Kei Wakabayashi, former editor-in-chief of Wired Japan. Her work has been published in Japan, the US, Korea, and Taiwan.