1970s – 2020sPeak: 1980s
Japanese Electronic
About Japanese Electronic
Japan invented synthpop. Yellow Magic Orchestra (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Haruomi Hosono) released Rydeen in 1979 and effectively wrote the playbook for Kraftwerk's American grandchildren. The lineage runs through Cornelius and the Shibuya-kei scene of the 1990s, the technopop revival of Perfume, and the modern Japanese electronic underground.