Japan This Week

Welcome to Japan This Week! Join hosts Jeff Richards and Kamasami Kong as they recap the most significant news stories from Japan Today for the week of July 19, 2024. In this episode, they discuss Japan's stance on autonomous lethal weapons, the prevalence of microaggressions against people of mixed heritage in Japan, the theft of a peace symbol in Seattle and Japan's aspirations for the upcoming...

Welcome to Japan This Week! Join hosts Jeff Richards and Kamasami Kong as they recap the most significant news stories from Japan Today for the week of June 28, 2024. This episode covers a range of topics from political pranks in Tokyo's gubernatorial election to tragic incidents on Mount Fuji and controversial crimes involving U.S. servicemen. Plus, we discuss a discriminatory hotel incident in K...

In this episode of Japan This Week, the mayor of the city of Himeji wants to raise entrance fees for overseas visitors to the iconic Himeji Castle, a gate has been installed on a Mount Fuji trail to control the crowds, Tokyo Gov Koike faces a criminal complaint over her allegedly fake university diploma, A Russian food shop in Ginza is GOING to close its doors as the war in Ukraine drags on and a...

Welcome to another episode of Japan This Week, your weekly roundup of the most pressing news stories from Japan. In this episode, hosts Jeff Richards and Kamasami Kong bring you the latest updates on various topics: Health Alert Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS) cases are on the rise in Japan, reaching record highs. Women's Rights The ongoing debate on whether Japanese women will be able t...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Prices for over 600 food items rise in June; Japan plans to replace cedar with low-pollen trees to fight hay fever; no more street drinking in Shibuya; Japan’s high-tech toilets all the rage internationally and a criminal who picked the wrong store to rob. Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts: http://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan…id517133982?mt=2 Find jobs...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Toyota plans to end its massive Olympics sponsorship deal; a record 30 million reported lost items found by Japanese police in 2023; high-profile opposition figure Renho to run for Tokyo governor; a U.N. rights group says Japan needs to do more to counter human rights abuses and a pair of premium Yubari melons sell for ¥3 Million. Rate and review us: itunes.ap...

In this week's news from Japan Today: A town in Yamanashi Prefecture is so fed up with tourists taking photos of Mount Fuji that it's erected a barrier to block the viral view of the mountain; Japan just ranked third in a list of top world travel destinations released by the World Economic Forum; police in Ibaraki Prefecture have arrested a man after he put his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in...

In this week's news from Japan Today: The Japanese government wants companies to hire employees until age 70 as part of measures to address a severe labor shortage amid Japan's rapidly graying population; Nissan this week reported that its annual profit nose-dived 57.3% to less than half of what it earned the previous year, and forecast even dimmer future results; a 10-year-old girl who died in Ja...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Two preschoolers were killed and a dozen injured when they were rammed by a car in Shiga Prefecture; verbal abuse and threats by a teacher have been blamed for the suicide of a junior high school girl in Ibaraki Prefecture; two teenagers were arrested for stringing a rope across a road in Osaka Prefecture and clothes lining a 77-year-old woman off her scooter;...

In this week's news from Japan Today: A very quick scan of headlines in Japan this week and then a look back at the last 30 years of Emperor Akihito’s reign and events that shaped the Heisei era, including: the bubble bursts; the earthquake emperor; revolving door politics, criminal minds, fashion pops, toilet technology plus readers look back on Japan and Heisei. Rate and review us: https://itune...

In this week's news from Japan Today: A survey of foreigners in Tokyo released this week reports that 50% of respondents have faced discrimination; Donald Trump plans to watch a sumo tournament when visiting Japan in May — and might present the winner’s trophy; a woman was arrested in Saitama Prefecture after giving birth in a 7-Eleven restroom and leaving the newborn in the toilet bowl; in punctu...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn released a video message proclaiming his innocence via his lawyer that he recorded before he was arrested; the minister responsible for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has resigned after comments deemed insulting to people in the Tohoku area who suffered after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami; a new study released by the ministry of heal...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn is back in a Tokyo jail tonight facing new financial misconduct charges; the new era name for Crown Prince Naruhito’s ascension to the throne next month has been announced — and not everyone is happy; after a recent survey, the Japan Tourism Agency wants transit and tourist information signs cleaned of “Engrish;” a new labor ref...

In this week's news from Japan Today: A new era in Japan starts in May — literally — as the country’s current emperor abdicates and his son takes the throne; a university in Tokyo has lost contact with 1,400 of its foreign students; the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture is issuing a city-wide ordinance against people walking while eating; police have arrested an Osaka man for keeping the bod...

In this week's news from Japan Today: The Japanese government approved a plan to legally ban parents and guardians from physically punishing children; an American man was arrested for fatally stabbing his Japanese wife in the neck at family court; Japan plans to back a resolution in the U.N. opposing the creation of “killer robots;” a Hyogo Prefecture former mayor who quit last month over abusive...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Two 12-year-old girls jumped to their deaths from a building in Aichi Prefecture leaving behind letters about being bullied; automaker Nissan is asking its shareholders to oust former chairman Carlos Ghosn as director; a Canadian man has been indicted for trying to smuggle a record haul of illegal drugs into Japan; a teenager in Yamanashi Prefecture has been g...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Carlos Ghosn finally granted bail at ¥9 billion; another case of child abuse this time at the hands of parents who went out to play pachinko; Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike faces social backlash after… putting her hands in her pockets?; Yokohama is rated the best city in the Kanto area to live for the second year in a row plus a banner fixed to a building at Shib...

In this week's news from Japan Today: PM Abe says he won’t scrap the relocation of a U.S. military base in Okinawa even after it was rejected by the people in a referendum; an ruling party lawmaker has resigned from the legislature amid allegations that he raped a woman; an association in Fukushima Prefecture is promoting shoveling snow as fun, good for you and will bring positive vibes from other...

In this week's news from Japan Today: President Trump claims the PM Abe nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize; Japan to revise child custody laws to enforce the handovers of children to parents — even if they are overseas; a national restaurant chain apologizes as a video surfaces showing an employee exposing himself in the kitchen; a woman killed another resident after she was transferred from...

In this week's news from Japan Today: New details emerge about officials mishandling the care of a 10-year-old girl killed by her father; Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso blames rising social security costs on people without children; a nationwide restaurant chain apologizes after serving customer a beef bowl filled with cockroaches; a man was arrested for stealing people’s shoes because he gets sex...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Former Nissan head Carlos Ghosn is allowed his first media interview; another child in Japan dies at the hands of a parent; a member of Japan’s military was arrested in Aomori Prefecture for trying to break into a house naked in sub-zero temperatures; one of Japan’s most popular boy bands call it quits plus a look back at Bertrand Russell’S visit to Japan in 1...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Former Nissan head Carlos Ghosn offers to detain himself in Japan; a sponsor of tennis star Naomi Osaka is accused of “whitewashing” anime characters based on her likeness; an American man sentenced to eight years for killing and dismembering an Osaka woman; a teacher punched a student at a Tokyo high school and the internet reacts; porno mags to be removed fr...

In this week's news from Japan Today: The Russian foreign minister asks why Japan can’t accept the outcome of World War II; a French investigators accuse Japanese Olympic Committee president of bribery in order to land the event in Tokyo in 2020; two men win a lawsuit against Osaka city banning train drivers from having beards; a Japanese idol singer says mental health an issue for fetishized youn...

In this week's news from Japan Today: Carlos Ghosn made his first public court appearance since being detained by Japanese courts last November; a weekly tabloid’s ranking of the top universities in Japan for guys to pick up girls blows up; a Japanese politician bemoans what will happen if the whole country “goes gay;” a man was arrested for climbing up to a stranger’s third-floor apartment in Mie...

In this week's news from Japan Today: A Tokyo court rejected Carlos Ghosn’s continued detention then prosecutors had him rearrested the next day; Japan will pull out of the International Whaling Commission; a man has been arrested for killing and dismembering his mother; Vladimir Putin has the top selling celebrity calendar in Japan, JR East asks riders to stop walking on the escalators plus a loo...