Photo: Marianette danette / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on February 6, 1980 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, Yasutaka Nakata is a disc jockey, record producer and songwriter. As of 2026, Yasutaka Nakata is 46 years old. Credited works include Vitamin Drop, Kira Kira Killer and Polyrhythm.
My Take
Yasutaka Nakata is one of those producers whose fingerprints are more famous than his face. Say Polyrhythm, PonPonPon, Kira Kira Killer, and a certain sound arrives in your head before the credits do: brittle, hyper-processed, relentlessly bright, and somehow still melancholy underneath. Born in Kanazawa in 1980, he formed the group CAPSULE in 1997 as composer and producer, and went on to shape the sound of Japanese pop for a generation. What I find remarkable is how thoroughly a behind-the-scenes figure became the recognizable element. Usually a producer's job is to disappear into the artist. Nakata does the opposite. His records are unmistakably his, and the performers work within that world rather than absorbing him into theirs. Purists can call that overreach; I'd call it authorship. For a lot of listeners outside Japan, his productions were the first J-pop that sounded like it came from the future rather than the charts.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Yasutaka Nakata
- Name (Japanese)
- 中田ヤスタカ
- Reading
- なかた やすたか
- Born
- February 6, 1980 (age 46)
- Origin
- Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- disc jockey / record producer / songwriter / music arranger / composer
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Monkey
2. Works & records
Works summary
- Appearances
- 108 (2003–2020)
- By year (titles with a known year)
- 2003: 1, 2004: 1, 2007: 3, 2008: 6, 2009: 2, 2010: 4, 2012: 2, 2013: 2, 2014: 3, 2015: 3, 2016: 6, 2017: 9, 2018: 4, 2019: 2, 2020: 1, year unknown: 59
- Debut work
- contemode V.A.
Filmography / notable works
| Category | Title |
|---|---|
| Notable work | Vitamin Drop |
| Notable work | Kira Kira Killer |
| Notable work | Polyrhythm |
| Notable work | PonPonPon |
3. Links
- Official sitehttp://yasutaka-nakata.com/
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/yasutaka_nakata/
- Xhttps://x.com/YNOFFICIAL_
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasutaka%20Nakata
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E7%94%B0%E3%83%A4%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1196321
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Yasutaka Nakata born?
Yasutaka Nakata was born on February 6, 1980 and is 46 years old.
Where is Yasutaka Nakata from?
Yasutaka Nakata is from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
What does Yasutaka Nakata do?
Yasutaka Nakata works as disc jockey, record producer, songwriter, music arranger, composer.
What is Yasutaka Nakata known for?
Yasutaka Nakata's notable works include Vitamin Drop, Kira Kira Killer, Polyrhythm.
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