Deep Dive from The Japan Times

We went on a break and there was an assassination attempt, COVID-19 got a downgrade, and a pair of festivals shook up Kyoto. Several Japan Times writers join this week’s episode to help us play catch up with the headlines.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna, with research from Jason Jenkins and produced by Dave Cortez.
On this episode:
Shaun McKenna: Twitter | Instagram
Gabriele Ninivaggi: Articles | Twitter
Tomoko Otake: Articles | Twitter
Thu-Huong Ha: Articles | Twitter
Lance Henderstein: Articles | Twitter
Read more:

• Kishida incident shows protecting VIPs from lone wolves remains a tall order (Gabriele Ninivaggi, The Japan Times)
• Japan steps into post-pandemic phase with scrapping of COVID measures (Tomko Otake, The Japan Times)
• A new music festival shakes up Kyoto’s staid atmosphere (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times)
• Yu Yamauchi gets very comfortable in isolation (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times)
• Amid the parties and schmoozing, socially conscious art is still Kyotographie’s main draw (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: Yuriko Takagi’s “Threads of Beauty” was one of the highlights of this year’s Kyotographie. | LANCE HENDERSTEIN

Last year saw crime rates in Japan swing upward for the first time in 20 years. Writer Alex K.T. Martin joins us to discuss the new types of crime that are popping up, while news editor Tadasu Takahashi gives us a rundown on the language being used to describe it. Also, reporter Elizabeth Beattie catches up on what happened at the G7 finance meeting in Niigata last weekend.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.
On this episode:
Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram
Alex K.T. Martin: Articles | Twitter
Tadasu Takahashi: Articles
Elizabeth Beattie: Articles | Twitter
Read more:

• Transfer of Russian assets in focus at G7 finance ministers meeting (Elizabeth Beattie, The Japan Times)
• G7 finance chiefs set stage for Hiroshima summit with Ukraine and supply chains (Elizabeth Beattie, The Japan Times)
• Know the shady Japanese vocabulary that will help you avoid ‘dark’ part-time jobs (Tadasu Takahashi, The Japan Times)
• Are rising crime rates in Japan cause for alarm? (Alex K.T. Martin, 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: A screen grab from a video taken by a witness shows masked robbers inside the watch shop in Tokyo's Ginza district on Monday evening. | KYODO

The team at Deep Dive is taking a needed break. In the meantime, we thought that we’d revisit this podcast from last year in which we speak with writer Craig Mod about the art of a good stroll.
“Walking is everything.” he says. And if you’ve got the time and the inclination to do it, it is the best way to come to know the country, from beautifully preserved shrines and forests to the messier parts of suburban reality — pachinko parlors and all.
Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.
On this episode:
Craig Mod: Articles | Website

Read more:

• Paying pilgrimage to the last kissaten on the Kumano Kodo (Craig Mod, The Japan Times)
• I walked 600 miles across Japan for pizza toast (Craig Mod, Eater)
  

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: The Kumano Kodo is a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that crisscross the Japan's Kii Peninsula. | GETTY IMAGES

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

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 leisure travelers to the unmarried partners of residents of Japan. This week on Deep Dive, Kanako Takahara joins to discuss when Japan might reopen to international tourism, and what form that reopening might take.
Read more:

• The ¥22 trillion question: When will Japan reopen to foreign tourists? (Kanako Takahara, The Japan Times)
• Japan plans to double entry cap to allow 20,000 daily arrivals starting in June
• Japan should end cap on overseas visitors, senior LDP lawmaker says

On this episode:
Kanako Takahara: Articles | Twitter
Oscar Boyd: Twitter | Articles | Instagram
Transcript
We have recently begun experimenting with transcripts for episodes of Deep Dive. A full transcript of this episode is available on The Japan Times website. Find transcripts useful? Tips for improvement? Contact us to let us know.
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Photo: Mount Fuji, one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions, in fall. | Getty Images