Deep Dive from The Japan Times

A royal wedding usually involves celebration and pageantry, a ceremony steeped in tradition at an ancient and palatial building, and flag-waving in the streets by a public eager to see the newlywed couple. But for Princess Mako, who married Kei Komuro on Tuesday this week, there was none of that. There was only the perfunctory stamping of documents, followed by a muted press conference. Read more:...

Over the past few years a combination of overspending and lack of tax revenue has put the city of Kyoto in a precarious financial situation, made worse by the lack of domestic and international tourism to the city during the pandemic. The Japan Times' senior national correspondent, Eric Johnston, joins us from Osaka to explain Kyoto's problems, and what the city needs to do to get itself out its p...

Fumio Kishida replaces Yoshihide Suga as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and as Prime Minister of Japan, and will face a general election at the end of this month where he will hope to cement his position in power. But who is Kishida and how did he rise to become the country’s newest Prime Minister? The Japan Times’ political correspondent Satoshi Sugiyama joins from his desk at...

At every Olympics there is one cycling event that stands out above all the rest: keirin. It’s been in the Olympics since Sydney 2000, but it’s actually based on a form of track cycling that originated in post-war Japan.  Keirin is a gambling sport in Japan, and though it’s nowhere near as popular as the national pastime baseball, or held in the same regard as sumo, it is still a multi-billion doll...

If you were in Japan back in February, when the Pfizer vaccine was first approved, you’ll remember the frustratingly slow pace of the vaccine rollout, as many other countries around the world ramped up their vaccine programs at speed.  The slow pace continued through to the start of summer, but in August Japan distributed its 100 millionth dose of vaccine, and almost 50% of the country is now full...

The Japan Times’ political correspondent, Satoshi Sugiyama, discusses Suga’s sudden resignation and who might replace him as prime minister. Read more:  A behind-the-scenes look at Suga’s shocking decision to quit the LDP race (Satoshi Sugiyama, The Japan Times) Suga's abrupt exit throws LDP race wide open (Satoshi Sugiyama, The Japan Times) Vaccine czar Taro Kono tops opinion poll to be Japan's n...

Today we're joined by Josh Grisdale, who has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair in his daily life. He moved to Japan in 2007 and became a Japanese citizen in 2016.  Josh has used his intimate knowledge of getting around Japan in a wheelchair to set up and run the website Accessible Japan, which provides the latest accessible travel information for people coming to, staying and living i...

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with no fans to watch them, will the Paralympics lead to a more inclusive society in Japan or will they fail to make a lasting impression? Anoma van der Veere and Oscar Boyd discuss. Read more:  A study of the Tokyo 2020 ‘Game Changer Project’ between the Netherlands and Japan: leveraging disability sports in local communities in Japan (Anoma van der Veere) The Tokyo...

Ten years in the making, the Tokyo Olympics ended with a grand closing ceremony at the National Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 8. Patrick and Oscar look back at the closing moments of the Games, the last few sporting achievements, the handover to Paris, and what to make of these tumultuous Olympics now that they're all over. Read more:  The Japan Times' coverage of the Olympic Games Curtain falls on a tu...

Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim share a gold medal in the high jump, skateboarding is dominated by more incredible Japanese teenagers, and it continues to be incredibly hot at these Olympic Games. Read more:  The Japan Times' coverage of the Olympic Games Japan's summer heat an Olympic challenge for competing athletes (The Japan Times) The man behind the Olympic 'anti-sex' beds speaks out (Dan...

From the opening ceremony to Naomi Osaka and Simon Biles' shock exits, it's been a busy week at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Read more:  Biracial representation, game soundtracks and shiny pecs: bright moments at a somber Olympic opening (Patrick St. Michel, The Japan Times) The Japan Times' coverage of the Olympic Games Osaka exits Games as Tokyo hits record coronavirus cases (The Japan Times) U.S. g...

In Part 2 of this two-part look at the long and tumultuous road to the Olympics, we discuss heat, corruption and the endless run of scandals that followed when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a one-year postponement of the Games. Read/see more:  Twists and turns: Retracing Tokyo’s tumultuous path to the Olympics (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times) Heat risks add to challenges for Tokyo's pandemic-hit...

This week, the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics will begin, with the opening ceremony planned for Friday, July 23. It will be a Games like none before it, with its host city, Tokyo, under a state of emergency and COVID-19 still very much a threat to the public. In Part 1 of a two-part look at the long and tumultuous road to the Olympics, we look at Tokyo's initial bid for the Olympics in 2011, how the...

Host Oscar Boyd is heading to language school for three months and so Deep Dive will be on hiatus. Make sure you subscribe on whichever podcasting platform you use to be notified when we return.  For all the latest news from Japan, please subscribe to The Japan Times and help support our journalism: the latest on the pandemic, vaccinations, the Olympics, and sports, culture and lifestyle features....

With medical experts worried that the Olympics will turn into a superspreader event, polls show that the Japanese public is overwhelmingly not on board with the Games. Yet things are going full steam ahead, with test events taking place, athletes arriving and the torch relay beginning last week.  Joining Deep Dive is the New York Times Tokyo bureau chief Motoko Rich, here to discuss why the govern...

Japan is a country that is good at many things, but accepting refugees is not one of them. In 2019, just 44 refugees were accepted here. Now, the government has proposed a series of amendments to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act that will make it even harder for asylum seekers in Japan. Freelance journalist Jesse Chase-Lubitz joins Deep Dive to discuss. Read more:  Japan mulls c...

Bloomberg reporter Lisa Du joins Deep Dive to discuss how Japan's vaccine rollout has gone so far, and the challenges the program may face going forward. Read more:  65% see Japan's vaccine rollout as slow, poll finds (The Japan Times) 62.1% of Japanese willing to have COVID-19 vaccination, survey says (The Japan Times) Japan may approve second COVID-19 vaccine in May, health minister says (The Ja...

Pokemon is thought to be the most valuable media franchise in the world, with an empire that straddles video games, television, cinema, trading cards, Pokemon Go and much, much more. This week on Deep Dive, journalist Tom Bateman takes us through the 25 year history of Pokemon, and how it has become one of Japan’s most successful and recognizable exports. Read more: Monsters, mania and the unstopp...

On this week's episode, The Japan Times' Alex Martin visits Ishinomaki, 10 years after he first went there, to reconnect with residents he spoke with in the aftermath of the earthquake and to find out how the city is recovering from the tsunami. Also, Reuters' Mari Saito tells us about the "phone of the wind," where tsunami survivors can grieve for the people they lost. Read more: A decade on, rea...

Richard Lloyd Parry is the author of "Ghosts of the Tsunami," which focuses on the story of a small elementary school in the town of Okawa, around 200 miles north of Tokyo. 74 pupils and 10 teachers at the school that day lost their lives to the tsunami that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake.  "Ghosts of the Tsunami" is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about the disaster: a bea...

On this week's episode we look at why Clubhouse, an invite-only social media platform, has become all the rage in Japan. Here to discuss is Yuzuha Oka, a tech journalist at NewsPicks Japan, and also Austin Freeman, a Japan Times contributor and founder of the 13,000 member strong clubhouse group Tokyo Unearthed. Read more:  Why is Japan so intrigued by the audio app Clubhouse? (Patrick St. Michel,...

With just five months and six days to go until the Olympic opening ceremony, large parts of Japan are still under a state of emergency, and the first vaccine has only just been approved for use here. As if those weren’t big enough challenges to overcome, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee was plunged into scandal earlier this month after its president, Yoshiro Mori, suggested that women talk t...

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Jeana Cadby, PhD in specialty cacao and craft chocolate, takes us on a tour through the history of chocolate in Japan. We also look at the the recent growth of the country’s craft chocolate scene, as well as the pioneering chocolatiers who have managed to grow cacao on Tokyo’s Ogasawara Islands for the first time. Read more: Tokyo Cacao: Japan’s first 'soil-t...

Japan Times staff writer Ryusei Takahashi joins Deep Dive to discuss Prime Minister Suga's pledge to make Japan carbon neutral by 2050. Also, contributor Eric Margolis tells us how Japan is already being affected by climate change. Hosted by Oscar Boyd. Read more:  Suga aims for greener Japan with carbon pledge, but details lacking (Ryusei Takahashi, The Japan Times) The true cost of the climate c...

On Jan. 6, the U.S. Capitol came under siege from a mob of Trump supporters, incited by the former president. The attack was condemned around the world and shone a spotlight onto the dangerous misinformation and conspiracies that fueled the riots. One that has come under particular scrutiny is QAnon, a conspiracy that dates to 2017 and that has picked up a significant following in the U.S. But, sa...