NTS regular Japan Blues has been hosting a show since 24 January 2014. On 26 November 2017, Japan Blues was a guest on Haruomi Hosono/YMO Day; and on 28 June 2014 was a guest on Reverie. Japan Blues has been played over 60 times on NTS, first on 15 October 2014. Japan Blues's music has been featured on 62 episodes.

Japan Blues is the project of Howard Williams, an Englishman who has spent much of the past 20 years holed up in the low-ceilinged basement of 278 Portobello Road in London, working at the heart of the Honest Jon's distribution department. His Japan Blues show for NTS Radio has been running for three years, though his love of Asian music dates back much further. In 2009 and 2011 he released Japan-themed mixtapes for The Trilogy Tapes. Sandwiched in between was Killing Melody, his compilation of music from Japanese "Pinky Violence" films.

His debut album "Sells His Record Collection" was released in 2017.