250921 ZIP-FM SUNDAY EVENING SPECIAL
Perfume’s Nocchi on Growth, Challenges, and Staying True to Herself
When asked about how she switches “on” and “off,” Nocchi from Perfume admitted with a smile that there is no true “off” for her. Even in private moments, she is always aware of herself as “Perfume’s Nocchi.” In her younger years, she tried to separate her stage persona from her personal self, but now she sees them as one and the same. “My daily life feeds into my work with Perfume, and Perfume is just me,” she explained.
From Shy Beginnings to Open Expression
Looking back, Nocchi reflects on how much she has changed. Once painfully shy—so much so that fellow member A~chan would make phone calls to the hair salon for her—she gradually became more comfortable communicating. “I could never have imagined sitting alone for an hour-long interview like this back then,” she said. Her growth came step by step: first making her own appointments, then speaking confidently on big stages. While she once wrote out every word of what she needed to say, she now feels free to speak spontaneously.
Taking Perfume Global
After their landmark Tokyo Dome performance in 2010, Perfume released the album JPN (2011), signaling their ambition to step onto the world stage. For Nocchi and the group, this new challenge was both thrilling and daunting. Though industry voices suggested adapting their image and sound for overseas audiences—such as shooting new visuals or recording entirely in English—Perfume insisted on staying true to their Japanese identity. “We wanted to take the coolness of Japanese creators as it is and bring it to the world,” Nocchi emphasized.
