Ep15 Akemi Kawabata (Jap/Aust Comedian, onsen baths, living in OZ, family violence & it’s health consequences)

Uncomfortable Truths

Akemi Kawabata, Melbourne comedian, is originally from Osaka, Japan. Her style is cheeky & “naughty”. She’s lots of fun to watch and hang out with. We discuss how she first came here 26 years ago on a working holiday visa, and knew very quickly that she wanted to stay here. She hardly spoke a word of English when she first arrived and studied hard to become an interpreter and work in Tourism. We talk about the Japanese drumming group she played with in Melbourne, connecting with people here, cultural differences between Japan and Australia, family violence and finding her voice in comedy after being silenced all her life in Japan. Akemi has overcome many obstacles to be where she is today. She rejected the only narrative given to her in Japan, made the break, took the risks and now lives the life that she wants to live here in Melbourne.

Inspired by a friend here in Melbourne, who did open mic comedy, Akemi completed a stand up comedy course at the end of 2019. Not a great time to start comedy, in retrospect. Nonetheless, Akemi has been gigging regularly (when the venues have been open) and we met at Yes All Women’s at The Highlander Bar in 2020. Off stage Akemi can be a bit introverted, so this podcast is a great opportunity to get to know her better.

There sure are some Uncomfortable Truths in Akemi’s story!

I feel very privileged that Akemi was so honest with me. That’s one thing about becoming a comedian – you become more comfortable talking about some brutal truths about yourself, especially if you can make them funny. I find 2 things happen for me when hearing about other people’s challenges and difficulties from the past. Firstly, I have great respect for that person, because I see what they have had to overcome to be who they are. Secondly, I feel gratitude. Whether it’s being able bodied, or not having suffered through family violence, I feel gratitude for things that I just always took for granted.

I play you out with a song called Sleepy Seas because it’s been hot lately and I just feel like calm, chilled track is the way to go at the moment. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please give me a good rating at Apple or Spotify – really helps with the algorithms. Thanks folks. Enjoy the podcast.