Deep Dive from The Japan Times

When it was announced that Thomas Frebel, former head of recipe development at Copenhagen's Noma (four time winner of the World's Best Restaurant Award), would open his new restaurant, Inua, in Tokyo in the summer of 2018, the city's food lovers clamored for tables.  Now, eight months after opening, how is the chef faring in a city with more Michelin stars than any other on Earth?  Recorded at Inua in Tokyo. Hosted by Oscar Boyd. Photo courtesy of Jason Loucas

What can we expect from Japan’s upcoming baseball season and how are some of the country’s star players faring across the Pacific in the Major Leagues? And crucially, how long will baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki last?  The Japan Times’ baseball correspondent Jason Coskrey joins Deep Dive to discuss. Hosted by Oscar Boyd. Read more by Jason Coskrey and follow him on Twitter. Let us know your thoughts on the episode on Twitter @JapanDeepDive.

On the eighth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, staff writer Ryusei Takahashi shares his experience of a recent visit to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and Magda Osumi discusses the Tohoku region's recovery. Hosted by Oscar Boyd. Related links Ryusei Takahashi's report on Fukushima. Magdalena Osumi's report on the 'Recovery Olympics.' Join us on Twitter. Photo Credit: Greg Webb / IAEA

Andrew McKirdy finds out the secrets of Japanese comedy with a little bit of help from professional manzai comedian Patrick Harlan. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.  Read Andrew McKirdy's full article.  See Patrick in action. Join us on Twitter.

On this week's episode, Jesse Johnson discusses what the next meeting of the U.S. and North Korea might mean for Japan, and Shaun McKenna talks us through some of Japan's biggest summer music festivals. Hosted by Oscar Boyd. Join us on Twitter Read more by Jesse Johnson

On Monday, Naomi Osaka became the world's No. 1 women’s singles player after her victory against Petra Kvitova in Saturday’s Australian Open final. But her rise to the top also came with a dose of controversy. This week on Deep Dive, Oscar Boyd is joined by Baye McNeil and Joel Tansey to discuss Osaka's rise to the top and a recent case of whitewashing. Related links Baye McNeil's Black Eye column on the Nissin ad Joel Tansey on Naomi Osaka's victory at the Australian Open Clip of Naomi Osaka talking at the Australian Open from Guardian Sport Naomi Osaka's victory proves to be a boon for her sponsors Naomi Osaka becomes world No. 1 in women's singles tennis rankings Join us on Twitter 

50 years on from the riots at the University of Tokyo, where does activism in Japan stand now? Oscar Boyd is joined by JT staff writer Alex Martin who reported on the recent anniversary of the riots. Join us on Twitter here. For more on the story and Hiromi Watanabe's photographs of the riots, read Alex Martin's feature here.

Their trials and tribulations offer insight into how Japan will cope with an expected influx of young, foreign workers in a graying country with limited experience in hosting blue-collar workers. Staff reporter Sakura Murakami joins Cory Baird and Oscar Boyd to discuss the issue. Read the full article here. Join us on Twitter.

Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki dropped by the Deep Dive studios for a brief chat with Oscar Boyd about her journey into space and beyond.

Happy holidays to all our listeners! There's no episode this week, we're on holiday, too! Thanks for all the support so far., join us again in the New Year for more from Deep Dive.