195: 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 Kabuki...
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Deep Dive from The Japan Times
Looking beneath the surface of Japan. We hear from Japan Times journalists and guests about current events and trends in Japan. Hosted by Oscar Boyd. ポッド疲れ様.
Episodes
20 of 214 episodes
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 writ...
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. Hid...
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 t...
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...
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 yo...
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...
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....
[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 se...
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 oc...
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 propose...
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 a...
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...
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 Jan...
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 ,...
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...
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 lingu...
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 announc...
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 t...
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 p...