Yumi Nagashima

For a while, the Tokyo born and raised comedian was told she needed to make herself sound more North American and less Japanese. This was before the 2019 release of her debut comedy album, My Name Is Yumi. And before her standup career took her places she’d never dreamed of: Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, Jakarta, London and, um, Regina.

Nagashima has done plenty of that in 2019, taking her act around the globe, thanks to invitations from Montreal’s Just for Laughs showcase, the Jakarta International Comedy Festival, and Comedy Central Asia in Singapore.