Japanese Reggae Comes of Age

The New York Times features Marvin Sterling's new book Babylon East: Performing Dancehall, Roots Reggae, and Rastafari in Japan today. Reporter Jonathan L. Fischer notes that, "The Japanese have been making reggae almost as long as Jamaicans have been exporting it," but that finally artists are singing in Japanese. "Japanese dancehall is becoming more and more Japanese," says Sterling, a professor of anthropology at Indiana University. Dancehall predominates in the Japanese reggae club scene, but, says Sterling, "within reason, anything goes."