Deep Dive from The Japan Times
የቻናል ዝርዝሮች
Deep Dive from The Japan Times
Looking beneath the surface of Japan. We talk to Japan Times journalists and guests about current events and trends in Japan.
የቅርብ ጊዜ ክፍሎች
214 ክፍሎች195: Kabukicho: Tokyo's 'stadium of desire'
What do street-kid influencers, fantasy boyfriends and around 280 bars crammed into six allies have in common? They are all a part of Kabukicho, an ar...
194: Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one
Japan’s summer music festivals survived the pandemic but they now face new threats: extreme heat, a weak yen and aging audiences. Music writer Patrick...
193: Tokyo underground: The city beneath our feet
On this week’s Deep Dive, we speak to Alex K.T. Martin who has done a series of pieces exploring what lies beneath the surface of Tokyo. Hidden rivers...
192: The sweaty pleasure of Japan’s inconvenient art
Japan is known for its convenience, but if you want to see some of the best artwork the country has to offer you’ll need to travel way off the beaten...
191: What does climate change sound like?
With temperatures rising we can all feel how climate change is affecting our lives, but what if we could hear it too? This week, Japan Times climate e...
Japan is doing better on accessibility than you think
With an increase in tourists heading to these parts, some may be wondering if Japan is a safe destination for those with disabilities. If you’re conce...
190: Sakura stories revisited: Getting in the mood for hanami
We are revisiting some past content on the science, economics and culture of cherry blossom season. Most importantly, we talk about some of the best s...
189: A lawsuit puts alleged racial profiling by police on trial in Japan
Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police officers routinely target visible minorities with searches. In this w...
[Rebroadcast] Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart
This week on Deep Dive, contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein reads us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.
188: A young 3/11 survivor and her vow to protect the ocean
At 12, Miku Narisawa experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. The ensuing and tsunami destroyed her home. Instead of running from the ocean, howev...
187: Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo
You probably don’t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido’s hunters do. Hokkaido-based writer Justin Randall says newly proposed gun laws...
186: Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld
Who wants to live forever? As scientists and tech billionaires attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immor...
185: Japan’s historic moon landing was right on target
Japan made history last month when it became the fifth nation to soft land on the moon. What’s more, they landed it close to their target, a feat that...
184: Japan rings in 2024 with an unwelcome disaster
It was a rough start to 2024 for Japan, with a magnitude 7.6 earthquake and an airplane collision at Haneda airport in the first week of January. On o...
183: Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and Legend of Zelda
For our last episode of the year, we’re summing up the year in culture with Matt Schley, Alyssa I. Smith, Thu-Huong Ha and Owen Ziegler, who tell us w...
182: Feeling anxious? Wastewater, heat and Japan’s year in climate
In a year that saw Japan release 24,000 tons of wastewater (so far) from Fukushima No. 1 as the planet smashed heat records, it’s no wonder climate an...
181: A problematic otaku dictionary and the Japanese approach to sitting
An “Otaku Dictionary” has Japan’s subcultures upset at an attempt to define them. Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue join us to explain the linguistic scan...
180: Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder
Chinese President Xi Jinping made the rounds at APEC last week, Gabriel Dominguez tells us what it means for Japan. At home, NHK has announced its “Ko...
179: Bear goes the neighborhood? Japanese wildlife is on the move
As nature reclaims depopulated villages and climate change wreaks havoc on food sources, Japan’s animal population has been inching closer to the coun...
178: Japan’s ‘four-eyed tax hiker’ and the curse of Colonel Sanders
Baseball writer Jason Coskrey and editor Joel Tansey discuss the Hanshin Tigers’ Japan Series victory; Gabriele Ninivaggi explains how the prime minis...
177: Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind
Single parents in Japan have it tough, but these hardships seem to disproportionately affect single mothers more. This week, filmmaker Rionne McAvoy j...
176: The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked
One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Ja...
175: Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.
This week on Deep Dive, Alex K.T. Martin noticed a dip in the national caloric intake and it turns out that a graying population that is increasingly...
[Rebroadcast] Japan’s got ghosts
This week on Deep Dive, Shaun McKenna and Dave Cortez discuss a few horror movies before “Uncanny Japan” podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic...
[Rebroadcast] What should you expect when you land a job in Japan?
The team at Deep Dive is taking a short break. We'll be back in mid-October, but in the meantime, enjoy this rebroadcast of our discussion with consul...
174: Traveling Okinawa with a broken heart
This week on Deep Dive we get contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein to read us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy seas...
173: Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?
A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise. Yukana Inoue a...
172: Johnny’s talent agency admits to past abuse. What now?
The Johnny & Associates sexual abuse scandal is like the Harvey Weinstein and Michael Jackson scandals rolled into one. Karin Kaneko catches us up on...
171: Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables
Good news and bad news out of Fukushima. First, the bad news: Anika Osaki Exum and Gabriele Ninivaggi join us to discuss the reaction to the treated w...
170: The earthquake that turned Tokyo to ash
The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 was literally a picture of hell. Fires killed hundreds of thousands of people and sparked a witch hunt of Korean re...
169: One night out in Tokyo
As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps. Economics...
168: Why is modernizing Japan so darn hard?
Japan’s new My Number identification cards were supposed to be a step forward for digitalization. Instead, numerous errors now risk exposing just how...
167: Hayao Miyazaki’s confusing new masterpiece
Cinema buffs in Japan have been treated to a final gift from Hayao Miyazaki — a new film! Japan Times critics Thu-Huong Ha and Matt Schley discuss wha...
166: A tale of two Fujis: Bullet climbs, crowds and Lizzo
Japan’s borders have opened to overseas tourists. That may be bad news for Mount Fuji, which is completely booked this summer, but it’s good news for...
165: Why 2023 will be a deciding year for Japan’s iconic summer festivals
As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique? Alex K.T. Martin joins Deep Dive to discuss this and other...
164: Japan is about to release 1.3 million tons of Fukushima wastewater. Should we be concerned?
There’s enough contaminated water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, but they’re running out of spac...
163: Would you spend the night in a coffin … for art?
Want to know what it’s like to spend the night in a coffin? Culture critic Thu-Huong Ha joins us to discuss her night in avant garde artist Marina Abr...
[Rebroadcast] Clutter, trash and hoarding disorder in Japan
Deep Dive is off this week, but we will be back at the start of July with fresh episodes. While we're away, we're bringing you a rebroadcast of our ep...
162: Things just got a bit tougher for asylum-seekers in Japan
Japan has a notoriously bad reputation when it comes to accepting refugees, and some politicians and NGOs believe things just got worse. Politics repo...
161: How the climate crisis is supercharging Japan’s rainy season
When you think of natural disasters do you think of earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons? How about guerrilla rainstorms, landslides and heatwaves? As...