Dan Gentile, In a Tiny Japanese Town, Artisans Are Crafting Some of the Best Turntable Needles on Earth, Hearing Things, February 4, 2025:
Kazushi Nakagawa and Ray Nakagawa, the father-son duo who serve as JICO’s executive director and chairman, watched Morita work alongside me and explained the production process with reverence. In the next room, another worker affixes the wooden needle with a diamond tip, at which point it becomes a full turntable stylus. Each needle is then tested for imperfections by sound checking them on a record by Sayuri Ishikawa, who’s been recording in the traditional-inspired Japanese style of enka for a half century. Then they’re sent to DJs and audiophiles around the globe.