
Deep Dive from The Japan Times
Looking beneath the surface of Japan.
We talk to Japan Times journalists and guests about current events and trends in Japan.
Latest episodes

Nov 28, 2019 • 38min
31: Japan's youth climate movement is doing better than you think
Ahead of the global climate strikes on Nov. 29, Fridays for Future leader Takuro Kajiwara and 350.org field organizer Hinako Arao tell of their experiences as two of Japan’s most prominent climate activists, and why Japan’s climate movement is doing better than you might think. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.
See more:
Why aren't more young people fighting climate change in Japan?
Extinction Rebellion climate protest arrives in Tokyo with 'die-in' at Yoyogi Park
Deep Dive Episode 15: Japan — climate change leader or lagger?
As IPCC report warns of growing climate change risks, Japan seeks to adapt
Fridays for Future Tokyo
350.org Japan
Nov. 29 Global Climate Strikes Tokyo event

Nov 20, 2019 • 31min
30: #StandwiththePooh — The Hong Kong protesters in Japan
The Hong Kong protests have been escalating recently, but what of the pro-democracy Hong Kongers living in Japan? Julia Bergin tells Oscar Boyd about the protestors she's been following in Tokyo, and why Japan should care about them and Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.
Julia Bergin is a researcher for The Little Red Podcast, find them here or on all major podcasting providers.
More on this topic:
• Demonstrators in Tokyo show support for Hong Kong protests over extradition bill (Ryusei Takahashi, The Japan Times)
• The Japan Times' coverage of The Hong Kong protests
• Inside China's audacious global propaganda campaign (Louisa Lim and Julia Bergin, The Guardian)
Photo by Kendrea Liew

Nov 14, 2019 • 46min
29: Is Tokyo ready for its next big earthquake?
Daniel Hurst joins Oscar Boyd to discuss how ready Japan's capital city is. Also, today is Deep Dive's first birthday. Shaun McKenna turns the tables on Oscar to look back at the last year of the podcast.
Read more:
Tokyo braces for the earthquake of a century (Daniel Hurst, The Guardian)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's disaster preparedness handbook
Eight apps that could save your life in Japan (Disaster expert Robin Lewis, Medium)
What to do before, during and after an earthquake (Kris Kosaka, The Japan Times)
The Japan Times' Disaster Portal
The Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park
Housekeeping:
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Photo by Kyodo

Oct 30, 2019 • 42min
28: Chris Broad and Sharla — living the YouTube life in Japan
Chris Broad of Abroad in Japan and Sharla of Sharmander discuss their careers as two of the most successful YouTubers in Japan. Based in northern Japan's Tohoku region, Chris and Sharla have over 2 million subscribers across their YouTube channels. Hosted by Oscar Boyd
See more from Chris and Sharla:
Abroad in Japan on YouTube
Sharmander on YouTube
Chris Broad's Abroad in Japan podcast
Sharla on Twitter
Chris Broad on Twitter
More coverage of Japan's foreign YouTuber community:
Turning YouTube into yen: Can vloggers become the new foreign correspondents?
Breaker helps pave a new path to stardom via YouTube (2016)
An interview with Sharla (2015)
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Thanks to Michael Estifa and Patrick St. Michel for their help with this podcast.
Photos by Ryusei Takahashi

Oct 23, 2019 • 23min
27: The enthronement of Emperor Naruhito — pomp, splendor and a ¥16 billion bill
Emperor Naruhito became Japan's 126th emperor at an enthronement ceremony on Oct. 22, 2019. Japan Times politics reporter Sakura Murakami joins Oscar Boyd to dicuss.
Read/see more:
Deep Dive podcast on the abdication of Emperor-Emeritus Akihito
Sakura Murakami's article on Emperor Naruhito's enthronement
Sakura Murakami's background explainer on the enthronement ceremony
Masumi Koizumi's article on Emperor Akihito's enthronement ceremony in 1990
Official video of the enthronement ceremony
Sakura Murakami on Twitter
Oscar Boyd on Twitter
Deep Dive on Twitter
Help out the show! Rate, review and subscribe to Deep Dive on whichever platform you use. Fill out Deep Dive's listener survey at jtimes.jp/dd.
Podtsukaresama

Oct 17, 2019 • 43min
26: Perspectives from Typhoon Hagibis — a storm chaser, an evacuee, a reporter
Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on Oct. 12, causing widespread damage to Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures. This week, storm chaser James Reynolds, evacuee Andrew McKirdy and reporter Chisato Tanaka share their experiences of the typhoon. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.
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Read/see more:
The Japan Times' coverage of Typhoon Hagibis
The Japan Times' disaster portal and emergency advice
Chisato Tanaka's tweet thread of post-typhoon flooding in Nagano
James Reynolds on YouTube at Earth Uncut TV
Dan Traylor's article on storm chasing
Photo by Chisato Tanaka.

Oct 9, 2019 • 25min
25: The start of Abe's extraordinary Diet
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set the tone for this year’s extraordinary Diet session with a pledge to overhaul the nation’s social welfare system to create one beneficial for all generations.
But, covering everything from South Korea-Japan relations to revision of Japan's constitution, the speech was not without controversy. JT politics reporter Sakura Murakami joins Oscar Boyd to discuss.
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Read more by Sakura Murakami
Photo by Kyodo

Oct 2, 2019 • 35min
24: What does Brexit mean for Japan?
The UK's Brexit deadline to leave the European Union is on October 31. Assuming it goes ahead, what does it mean for Japan if the UK leaves the EU? Chris Russell and Oscar Boyd discuss in this week's episode of Deep Dive.
Also, Dan Orlowitz reports on Japan's epic victory over Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.
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More reading:
• Articles by Chris Russell
• Articles by Dan Orlowitz
• Articles by Oscar Boyd
Photo by AFP-JIJI

Sep 18, 2019 • 46min
23: Welcome to the land of the rising scrum — Rugby World Cup 2019
In this week's episode, we talk to Alan Gilpin, Head of Rugby World Cup, about his expectations for the tournament (01:30), to The Japan Times' rugby experts Elliott Samuels and Andrew McKirdy about what to look out for in this year's tournament (09:42), and to triple-cancer survivor Patrick McIntosh, who has cycled from Twickenham Stadium in the U.K. to Japan to watch the games and raise awareness about cancer prevention (31:50).
Hosted by Oscar Boyd for The Japan Times.
Read more:
The Japan Times' Rugby World Cup 2019 coverage
The Japan Times guide to the host cities of the Rugby World Cup 2019
Patrick McIntosh's website
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Sep 11, 2019 • 21min
22: Japan and South Korea's trade dispute
While the world stews over the trade war between the USA and China, and the potential of a no deal exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union, here in Japan a separate storm has been brewing: a growing trade dispute between Japan and its geographical neighbor — South Korea.
Satoshi Sugiyama and Oscar Boyd discuss.
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More on the story:
Japan removes South Korea from list of trusted trade partners as row between neighbors deepens
South Korea to report Japan's tightening of export controls to WTO
Articles by Satoshi Sugiyama
Articles by Oscar Boyd
Photo via Bloomberg