Deep Dive from The Japan Times

Over the past few months, Japan has been slowly easing its COVID-19 related border restrictions. In March, after almost two years, it started allowing in students, academics and business people. Then in April, parents and immediate relatives of foreign residents were allowed to enter the country. But the borders are still closed to tourists, a broad category of people that includes everyone from l...

Since 2008, Japan’s population has been falling, and each year the amount it falls by grows larger and larger. In 2008, the country lost around 20,000 people. In 2010, 100,000, and by 2019, the figure stood at over half a million. The most recent data, released earlier this month, shows that in 2021, Japan lost more than 640,000 people.  This week on Deep Dive Japan Times staff writer Alex Martin...

Since the beginning of March, the value of the yen has plummeted against the dollar, the euro and the British pound. Bloomberg economy reporter Yuko Takeo joins Deep Dive to explain why. Read more: Yen falls to ¥129 against U.S. dollar, refreshing a 20-year low Amid deepening yen weakness, a mixed blessing sours for Japan Japan’s trade shifts mean a weak yen is likely here to stay Bank of Japan po...

Demolition of the Nakagin Capsule Tower — an iconic representation of Japan’s metabolist architectural movement — officially kicked off on Tuesday, with fans of the building showing up to take a last glimpse before it is torn down. On this week's Deep Dive, Japan Times editor Chris Russell joins to discuss the story of Nakagin and why he thinks it has captivated so many people over the years. Read...

Two weeks ago, Japan's government issued its first ever electricity supply warning for Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures, calling on citizens to conserve power to avoid blackouts. Bloomberg energy reporter Shoko Oda joins Deep Dive to explain why that crisis was a decade in the making. Read more: Japan’s power crisis was a decade in making and won’t go away Japanese turn down heat and lights t...

During the pandemic, women in Japan have been more likely to lose their jobs, face increased pressure at home and be victims of domestic violence. And data released earlier this month showed that in 2021 suicides increased among women for the second year running, whilst declining for men.  Hanako Montgomery, a reporter for Vice World News in Japan, discusses Japan’s poor record on gender equality,...

March 24th marks one month since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, starting a war that has forced millions of Ukrainians to flee their country.  Kanako Takahara explains Japan's efforts to help these refugees, and why the government here isn't calling them by that name. Later in the episode, we hear the story of Maria, a 71-year-old Ukrainian woman who was reunited with her daughter Nataliia l...

From India to the U.S., the pandemic has spurred millions of people to leave their jobs in search of more fulfilling, flexible roles, in what has been dubbed the Great Resignation. But so far at least, Japan’s workforce is charting a very different course, with fewer people than ever moving jobs. This week, senior staff writer Alex Martin joins to discuss the changing face of work in Japan, and wh...

As Vladimir Putin's grim war in Ukraine escalates, The Economist's Tokyo bureau chief, Noah Sneider, joins to discuss the reasons for the conflict, the lengths to which Japan is supporting Ukraine, and how the war will redefine relationships between Japan and its northern neighbor, Russia. Read more:  Noah's War in Translation project Japan resists pressure to follow Big Oil’s exit from Russia Jap...

Craig has spent large chunks of the past several years walking across Japan, completing months-long journeys along the country's historical walking routes, like the Tokaido, the Nakasendo and the Kumano Kodo. As he goes, he documents his experiences, sharing essays and photographs through his member-supported newsletters, and his books, Koya Bound and Kissa by Kissa.  "Walking is everything." he s...

Kanako Takahara, head of The Japan Times' domestic news team, joins Deep Dive to give us the details. Read more:  It's official: Japan eases entry restrictions for foreign students, business travelers and other nontourists What you need to know about Japan's upcoming eased border restrictions   Japan to shorten or drop quarantine requirements for most arrivals from March   Japan’s entry ban leaves...

Winifred Bird is the author of "Eating Wild Japan," a book that goes deep into the foraging culture of Japan and contains essays on foraging, a selection of recipes and a guide to forageable plants. In her essays, Winifred touches on rural culture and decline, the state of Japan's forests and coastal areas, and the food of the indigenous Ainu people. Winifred joins Deep Dive to discuss Japan's for...

Over the past 20 years, Japan has become known around the world as a dream destination for skiers and snowboarders. Yet the country has had an on-and-off love affair with snow sports.  As domestic interest in skiing and snowboarding has waned, resorts have become increasingly reliant on international visitors. So when the pandemic hit, and Japan's borders were shut, many of them were plunged into...

With omicron surging around the world, Japan Times sports reporter Dan Orlowitz tells us about the stringent measures put in place to allow these Games to take place, and how Japan is responding to the U.S. call for a diplomatic boycott of these Olympics. Later in the show, Dr. Madeleine Orr joins us to talk about how climate change is threatening the Winter Olympics, and why Beijing is so uniquel...

At the start of the year, AMC Networks — the U.S. company behind shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad” — acquired anime distributor Sentai, and with it the anime-streaming service Hidive. In August 2021, Sony bought the anime-streaming service Crunchyroll for almost $1.2 billion. And streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney have been pouring money into original anime programming over...

The New York Times' Ben Dooley joins Deep Dive to discuss his recent reporting trip to Ishigaki, and why the island is currently building a missile base. Read more: The island paradise near the front line of tensions over Taiwan (Ben Dooley, The New York Times) To China's chagrin, Japan-Taiwan talks could pave the way for closer ties (Jesse Johnson, The Japan Times) What's behind surging tensions...

Gearoid Reidy, senior editor at Bloomberg's Tokyo bureau, joins to discuss what the rapid spread of omicron means for Japan. Read more:  Japan's daily COVID-19 cases top 10,000 for first time in four months Why you should still try to avoid catching omicron Japan eyes relaxed rules on COVID close contacts and hospitalization 90% of omicron cases in Okinawa show mild to no symptoms Japan seeks rest...

Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who submitted their stories for this episode, it was lovely hearing from you all. Regular episodes of Deep Dive will return in January. Until then, podtsukaresama! More bits and bobs:  On breaking my arms and climbing the Matterhorn   ' How Do You Live? ' — Alyssa's book recommendation The Japan Times' tribute to the lifework of actor Sonny Chiba ' Bullet Trai...

Chris Broad has been making videos for YouTube for almost 10 years now, publishing them on his channel Abroad in Japan . The last time he joined us on Deep Dive was back in 2019, after his channel crossed the 1 million subscriber mark. But over the course of the pandemic, that number has swelled, and now stands at over 2.5 million. Earlier this month, Chris invited us up to visit his new Blade Run...

On this week’s show, Japan Times contributor Mara Budgen takes a look at the history of onsen in Japan and asks whether Japan's iconic hot-spring resources are sustainable. Read more:  Unlocking Japan's geothermal energy potential Kurokawa Onsen: Eat, sleep, bathe, repeat Private equity sees hot opportunity in Japan's traditional  onsen  inns So long, 2021: We want to hear stories from our listene...

Gearoid Reidy, senior editor at Bloomberg Japan, joins to discuss Japan's low COVID-19 case count, and if the country can expect another wave. Read more:  Japan’s COVID-19 deaths lowest in 16 months as cases plummet First case of Japanese national infected with omicron variant confirmed What's behind the rapid disappearance of the delta variant in Japan? It could be self-extinction.   Japan boosts...

Japan Times contributor and cross-cultural communications consultant Rochelle Kopp joins to discuss the changes at Japan's border and how they are affecting the people who hope to call Japan home. Read more:  Japan to bar all new foreign visitors as omicron fears grow (Ryusei Takahashi) Scores hoping to enter Japan in limbo — again — after latest entry ban (Jesse Johnson and Ryusei Takahashi) Omic...

On Nov. 12, COP26 wrapped up in Glasgow, Scotland, after two weeks of tense negotiations attended by heads of state from across the world.  The outcome? The Glasgow Climate Pact, an agreement that aims to hold the world to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius of global heating above pre-industrial levels.  Masako Konishi, Expert Director for Conservation and Energy at WWF Japan, was in Glasgow for the...

In February this year the government created a new cabinet position to try to address the problem of loneliness, the so-called "minister for loneliness." But loneliness did not begin with COVID-19, and has been a growing problem in Japan for decades. Alex K.T. Martin, a senior writer at the Japan Times, recently wrote an article on kodoku , and the fine line between solitude and loneliness that ma...

This week, world leaders are gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26, a meeting of nations that has been billed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the world's last chance to avert catastrophic climate change. At this point, the science behind climate change could not be clearer. In August, the IPCC released its most comprehensive report to date on the state of the global climate, and conc...