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 concerned, Josh Grisdale from the website Accessible Japan is here to help. Check out this past interview with him on everything from accessibility in Tokyo to dealing with trains and the country’s shifting attitudes. 
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

Read more: 

• Accessible Japan
• Breaking down barriers (Andrew McKirdy, The Japan Times)
• Tokyo named among the world’s best destinations for disabled travelers (William Lang, The Japan Times)
• Behind the push to improve universal access in Japan (Mara Budgen, The Japan Times)
• New film honors life and legacy of disability pioneer Mark Bookman 

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!

Photo: From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers. | REUTERS

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 spots to check them out in the Tokyo and Osaka areas. 
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

Read more: 

• In Japan, cherry blossom forecasting is a big deal. Warming is making it harder. (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times)
• We invite you to get ready for this year’s cherry blossom parties (Cassandra Lord, The Japan Times)
• Toshio Katsuki: ‘The cherry blossoms have been my vehicle to find new relationships’ (Himari Semans, The Japan Times)
• Cherry blossoms are just as beautiful on a plate as a branch (Elizabeth Andoh, The Japan Times)
• Japan’s economy to bloom as hanami season kicks off (Kathleen Benoza, The Japan Times)
• Our guide to family hanami hot spots (Jason Jenkins, The Japan Times)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Three residents with foreign roots have filed a lawsuit claiming Japanese police officers routinely target visible minorities with searches. In this week’s episode, we speak with the lawyer and one plaintiff about what prompted them to bring the case forward and what they hope to achieve with it. 

Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode:
Shaun McKenna: Articles | X 

Read more: 

• Lawsuit filed in Tokyo over alleged racial profiling by police (Karin Kaneko, The Japan Times)
• Making Japanese history by being Black history (Baye McNeil, The Japan Times)
• Brazilian files discrimination suit (Toshi Maeda, The Japan Times)
• Racial profiling in Japan is prevalent but unseen, some residents say (Victoria Kim and Hisako Ueno, The New York Times)
• Lawsuit to end racially discriminatory police questioning (CALL4.jp)
• Stop racially discriminatory police questioning (change.org)
• How Shohei Ohtani mastered the media (Jason Coskrey, The Japan Times)
• How to be an all-star sports parent (Mai Yoshikawa, The Japan Times)
• Ohtani is taken. It’s enough to make you cry. (Yukana Inoue, The Japan Times

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Motoki Taniguchi (left) and one of his clients, Maurice Shelton, hope their lawsuit can change alleged police practices involving stop-and-search. | LOUISE CLAIRE WAGNER

This week on Deep Dive, contributing writer and photographer Lance Henderstein reads us his article on traveling Okinawa during the rainy season.  
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode: 
Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram
Lance Henderstein: Articles | Instagram | Threads

Read/Listen more: 

• My annual pilgrimage to Okinawa (Lance Henderstein, The Japan Times)
• Akiko Mizuno: ‘Time moves forward. Photographers stop time.’ (Lance Henderstein, The Japan Times)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

Photo: Aoi Suzuki’s son runs past a home in Taketomi on Iriomote Island (not to be confused with Taketomi Island, which lies to the east of Iriomote). The Suzukis run the Takemori Inn, one of the few hotels on Iriomote. | LANCE HENDERSTEIN

At 12, Miku Narisawa experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. The ensuing and tsunami destroyed her home. Instead of running from the ocean, however, she is now working to try to protect it through her Odyssey Nature Japan initiative. 

On this episode:
Miku Narisawa: Instagram | Odyssey Nature Japan

Read more/Listen more: 

• After 3/11, an environment education rethink takes shape in Japan (Francesco Bassetti, The Japan Times)
• COP28, didn't the oceans deserve more attention? (Miku Narisawa, The Japan Times)
• Japan is about to release 1.3 million tons of Fukushima wastewater. Should we be concerned? (Mara Budgen, Deep Dive from The Japan Times)
• Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables (Gabriele Ninivaggi, Anika Osaki Exsum, Francesco Bassetti Deep Dive from The Japan Times)
• Preparing for the hottest year Japan has ever seen (Eric Margolis, The Japan Times)
• TOMODACHI Kibou for Maui

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo: Yasuhiro Otomo and Miku Narisawa during one of Odyssey Nature Japan's educational fishing programs. | ODYSSEY

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 may make their lives more dangerous. Later, Shaun McKenna and Alyssa I. Smith discuss something less dangerous: Taylor Swift’s sold-out Tokyo shows.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode:
Justin Randall: Articles | Linktree
Alyssa I. Smith: Articles 

Read more/Listen more: 

• Hokkaido hunters say more firepower means more humane kills (Justin Randall, The Japan Times)
• How are firearms regulated in Japan? (Kathleen Benoza, The Japan Times)
• Bear goes the neighborhood? Japanese wildlife is on the move. (Alex K.T. Martin, Deep Dive from The Japan Times)
• Most Japanese outside major urban areas say they do not engage with foreign nationals (Kyodo)
• Taylor Swift slays her Tokyo era (Allan Richarz, The Japan Times)
• Fans share love for Taylor Swift at sold-out Tokyo shows (Patrick St. Michel, The Japan Times)
• Welcome to Japan, Taylor Swift fans. Please remain seated as you cheer. (Motoko Rich and Kiuko Notoya, The New York Times)
• Seiji Ozawa’s boundless experiment (Chiho Iuchi, The Japan Times)
• The story behind my favorite photo of Seiji Ozawa (Dan Szpara, The Japan Times)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo: Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population. | JUSTIN RANDALL

Who wants to live forever? As scientists and tech billionaires attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality. Later, our games writers discuss the recent Palworld-Pokemon flare up.  

On this episode:
Elizabeth Beattie: Articles | X
Owen Ziegler: Articles 
Ann-Loy Morgan: Articles

Read more/Watch more/Play more: 

• Eternal pursuits: A history of Japanese quests for immortality (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times)
• Living until 100, if not forever, in good health (Tomoko Otake, The Japan Times)
• The digital beyond: Is an eternal existence within grasp? (Elizabeth Beattie, The Japan Times)
• Reverse aging mogul discusses regimen as he strives for the biological age of an 18-year-old (ABC News)
• Overnight smash Palworld is much more than ‘Pokemon with guns’ (Ann-Loy Morgan, The Japan Times)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

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 could be a gamechanger for space travel. This week we discuss the science and the politics behind Japan’s lunar landing. 

On this episode:
Joel Tansey: Articles | X
Tomoko Otake: Articles | X
Gabriel Dominguez: Articles | X

Read more/Watch more/Play more: 

• Japan makes history as spacecraft lands on the moon (Tomoko Otake and Joel Tansey, The Japan Times)
• One small step for a JAXA spacecraft, one giant leap for exploration  (Elizabeth Tasker, The Japan Times)
• Japan’s moonshot may mark breakthrough for future lunar missions (Gabriel Dominguez, The Japan Times)
• Geopolitics in space: Why great powers are scrambling for the moon (Gabriel Dominguez, The Japan Times)
• SLIM Moon Landing Live & Press Conference (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, YouTube)
• SORA-Q Flagship Model (Takara Tomy)
• SLIM: The pinpoint moon landing game (JAXA Space Education Center)
• Artemis Accords (U.S. Dept. of State)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo:  The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is seen on the surface of the moon in an image released Jan. 25. | JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY (JAXA), TAKARA TOMY, SONY GROUP, DOSHINSHA UNIVERSITY/ VIA REUTERS 

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 our first episode of the year, we report on the impact of the Noto Peninsula earthquake and what can be learned from rural disasters.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode:
 Jordan Allen: Articles
Karin Kaneko: Articles | X
Alex K.T. Martin: Articles | X

Read more: 

• “Noto is kind, right down to its soil”: A community’s long road to recovery (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times)
• How Japan’s violent New Year’s quake felt in Toyama (Jordan Allen, The Japan Times)
• In Ishikawa, shelter for people but not four-legged friends (Karin Kaneko, The Japan Times)
• Nationwide donation effort for earthquake-hit Ishikawa gains steam (Karin Kaneko, The Japan Times)
• Noto quake: “In times of crisis, all we have is each other” (Kathleen Benoza, The Japan Times)
• Photo essay; Inside the Ishikawa earthquake disaster zone (Daniel Traylor, The Japan Times)
• Noto community’s long road to recovery from the New Year’s quake (Dave Cortez, YouTube)
• “Our minds are blank”: How ‘earthquake resilient’ Japan fails its ageing rural communities (Justin McCurry, The Guardian)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo:  Cars drive past a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. | KIM KYUNG-HOON, REUTERS 

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 why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode:
Shaun McKenna: Articles | X 
Matt Schley: Articles | X 
Alyssa I. Smith: Articles
Thu-Huong Ha: Articles | X 
Owen Ziegler: Articles 

Read more: 

• The year that defined the post-Miyazaki era (Matt Schley, The Japan Times)
• J-pop's global ambitions came closer to reality in 2023 (Patrick St. Michel, The Japan Times)
• ‘The Great Reclamation’ details the horrors of the foreign occupation in Singapore (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times)
• Saou Ichikawa’s 'Hunchback': A darkly funny portrait of disability (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times)
• Understanding the LDP political funding scandal and its implications (Kanako Takahara, The Japan Times)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo: A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | NINTENDO

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 anxiety is on the rise. Mara Budgen joins us to break down the year in environment news, where we could see hope, and what we should be worried about.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

Excerpt for Audioboom: 

On this episode:
Shaun McKenna: Articles | X 
Mara Budgen: Articles | X 

Read more: 

• How simple steps can help alleviate climate anxiety (Joel Tansey, The Japan Times)
• Fall is the new summer: Warming threatens Japan’s cultural calendar (Tomoko Otake, The Japan Times)
• In Japan, extreme heat and an aging population are a deadly mix (Tomoko Otake, The Japan Times)
• The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times)
• New solutions tackle Japan’s waste problem at its core (Mariko McTier, The Japan Times)
• Japan is about to release 1.3 million tons of Fukushima wastewater. Should we be concerned? (Mara Budgen, The Japan Times)
• Japan sticks with climate solution that critics say is far from clean (Annelise Giseburt, The Japan Times)

Get in touch: Send us feedback at [email protected]. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, visit japantimes.co.jp, and don’t forget to follow us on X!  

Photo: The Climate Action Network holds an event at the venue of the U.N. climate change conferences in Dubai on Sunday to give its "fossil" award to countries including Japan. | KYODO