Category Archives: JNC Radio

City pop’s Mariya Takeuchi provided the soundtracks for Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi ads

Posted on March 20, 2025 by Ben Hsu

Today, March 20, is city pop queen Mariya Takeuchi’s 70th birthday. Her 1984 song “Plastic Love” may be on every single city pop playlist on YouTube, but Takeuchi recorded plenty of other hits and several them were used in memorable … Continue reading →

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JNC RADIO: Let the smooth sounds of a Mazda Cosmo AP carry you into the evening

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Matt De Mangos

It was no mere coincidence that Hatsumi Shibata’s 1978 album cover for Night Dramatic featured a then-new Mazda Cosmo AP. Though the car set the proper mood for the Japanese bossa nova record, Shibata did plenty of commercial work, including … Continue reading →

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JNC RADIO: Sing along to the The Auto Show Song

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ben Hsu

Originally released in 1964, “The Auto Show Song” was composed by famed Japanese songwriter Tetsuro Hoshino and performed by action movie star/singer Akira Kobayashi (there are a lot of crossover entertainers in Japan). It was an old standard of the Showa Era, and sounded … Continue reading →

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