Ryuuji Akiyama has been producing and posting a program called "Creators File" on YouTube for the past ten years, which caricatures industry professionals who have special skills in music, entertainment, sports, and influencers, and who stand out negatively in society. A comprehensive exhibition of this work is being held at Ikebukuro PARCO in Tokyo, where a corner for my collaboration project, M&M Brothers, has also been set up, and I visited today. M&M Brothers is a brother unit where I play the role of Ryuu, and Akiyama plays the role of Ryuji, which means he is the second Ryuu. We create art pieces with a similar concept to mine, but with quite different appearances. In reality, Ryuuji Akiyama and I are so similar at a genetic level in terms of appearance, behavior, and thought processes that we are surprised every time we meet. In the future, we plan to produce and announce songs together, and we are considering becoming more active in our activities within Japan. The Creators File exhibition is being held according to the following schedule: Robert Akiyama presents "10th Anniversary Creators File Heartburn Grand Exhibition" in Ikebukuro From August 8 (Friday) to September 1 (Monday) at Ikebukuro PARCO, 7th floor, PARCO FACTORY.

Japanese comedian Ryuji Akiyama has been running a show on YouTube for the past 10 years. Titled “Creators File,” it’s a program that caricatures so-called industry people—those with special skills in music, entertainment, sports, or as influencers—who also tend to stand out in society in a rather conspicuous or awkward way. An exhibition based on this show is currently being held at the event space of PARCO in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and there’s also a section for my collaboration project with Akiyama, called M&M Brothers. I went to visit it today. The concept of M&M Brothers is as follows: I am Takashi (隆), while Akiyama uses the name Takaji (隆二, which can also be read “Ryuji”), which can literally mean “the second Takashi,” and he plays the role of my younger brother, where we are a fictional sibling artist unit. He is supposedly an artist who creates works with concepts similar to mine, but the actual appearance of his art is quite different from mine. In reality, Ryuji Akiyama and I are so similar—down to our genes, looks, behavior, and way of thinking—that every time we meet, we’re both surprised all over again. From now on, the two of us also plan to produce and release music together, and we intend to become even more active in our work together within Japan. The Creators File exhibition schedule is as follows: Robert Ryuji Akiyama presents “Creators File 10th Anniversary Heartburn Grand Expo” in Ikebukuro August 8 (Fri) – September 1 (Mon) Ikebukuro PARCO Main Building 7th Floor, PARCO FACTORY

The release of our NFT cards this time came with various issues. I am truly sorry about this. First, there were last-minute concerns that we might not be able to connect to the payment system for credit card transactions. Then, the service company we were using announced they would be ceasing operations, so we had to patch that issue as well. In addition, trading became disabled for some reason, and some users couldn't even open the card packs. I apologize for these many setbacks. No matter what I say, it will be an excuse, but we, the entire team, are determined to work hard to ensure that this sort of thing never happens again. We know we have to eliminate these kinds of failures. Also, I’ve received criticism from many artists saying, “You’re certainly not the only one doing this! I’m doing it too!” But please don’t misunderstand — what I meant was that among artists of my generation, who have long sold physical works in the contemporary art world, there are hardly any of us left here in this space. Far from disregarding others, I have deep respect for the artists and art zones that have emerged within the world of NFT art. They represent a wonderful realm that we, from the older generation, can hardly access. So I ask for your understanding, and I hope this helps ease some of the anger toward the previous video post as well. We really have received a lot of criticism. We take it very seriously and are committed to making improvements, so please forgive us. Also, moving forward, we’ll continue to post videos featuring the Murakami illustrations introducing the products, but please understand that we are not ignoring or pretending to be unaware of the issues mentioned above. Again, my apologies.