Deep Dive from The Japan Times

As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps. Economics reporter Elizabeth Beattie comes on the show to discuss a story she wrote about the businesses that keep night-time Tokyo buzzing.     Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Elizabeth Beattie: Articles | Twitter  Johan Brooks: Instagram Read more:  After last train in Tokyo, a second city comes to life (Elizabeth Beattie, The Japan Times) Queer clubbing moves beyond Ni-chome (Kim Kahan, The Japan Times) ‘Stakeout Diary’: A killer on the run, two postwar gumshoes — noir at its finest (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times) My annual pilgrimage to Okinawa (Lance Henderstein, The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: A young man exhales a cigarette in front of a Family Mart in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya Ward after last train. | JOHAN BROOKS

Japan’s new My Number identification cards were supposed to be a step forward for digitalization. Instead, numerous errors now risk exposing just how backwards we still are. Politics reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to discuss whether the whole debacle will have an impact on the ruling party. Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode: Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Gabriele Ninivaggi: Articles | Twitter  Read more:  Kishida confirms plan to merge My Number and health card (Gabriele Ninivaggi and Eric Johnston, The Japan Times) My Number report highlights errors by insurers and local governments (Gabriele Ninivaggi, The Japan Times) My Number woes put digital minister Taro Kono under pressure (Gabriele Ninivaggi, The Japan Times) The My Number card has some real benefits. Is it time you got yours? (Eric Margolis, The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) sits next to digital minister Taro Kono while speaking at a government review meeting on the My Number national identification card. | KYODO

Cinema buffs in Japan have been treated to a final gift from Hayao Miyazaki — a new film! Japan Times critics Thu-Huong Ha and Matt Schley discuss what they thought of “The Boy and the Heron.” Hosted by Thu-Huong Ha and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Thu-Huong Ha: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Matt Schley: Articles | Twitter | Instagram  Read/Listen more:  For his last movie, Hayao Miyazaki recycles himself (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times) ‘The Boy and the Heron’: It’s so good to be back in Hayao Miyazaki’s world (Matt Schley, The Japan Times) Ahead of a new Studio Ghibli film, critics are asking, ‘How will we live without Hayao Miyazaki?’ (Eric Margolis, The Japan Times) “Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art” by Susan Napier Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: A woman takes a picture of the poster for the new Hayao Miyazaki film, “The Boy and the Heron.” | REUTERS

Japan’s borders have opened to overseas tourists. That may be bad news for Mount Fuji, which is completely booked this summer, but it’s good news for Fuji Rock as the music festival pulls in some major international names. Drew Damron and Patrick St. Michel join us this week to discuss Japan’s two favorite Fujis.  Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Drew Damron: Articles | Twitter | Instagram  Patrick St. Michel: Articles | Twitter Read/Listen more:  Five climbs around Tokyo to get your Mount Fuji fix (Drew Damron, The Japan Times) The unending agony of Japan’s Backyard Ultra marathon (Drew Damron, The Japan Times) Sawanobori: The treacherous pursuit of waterfall climbing (Drew Damron, The Japan Times) Rap acts stand out in Fuji Rock’s diverse lineup  (Patrick St. Michel, The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: Mount Fuji is shot from above so that you can see the trails leading to its summit. | KYODO

As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique? Alex K.T. Martin joins Deep Dive to discuss this and other demographic-related woes the country faces.  Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Alex K.T. Martin: Articles | Twitter | Instagram  Read more:  Inside Japan’s oldest village (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times) In Japan, plenty of inheritances, but no one to claim them (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times) Japan was the future but it’s stuck in the past (Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC) Does the pure joy seen at this year’s Sanja Matsuri hint at a summer of celebration? (Johan Brooks, The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: A man stands atop a float holding a portable shrine at this year’s Sanja Festival in Tokyo. | JOHAN BROOKS

There’s enough contaminated water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, but they’re running out of space. This week, environment journalist Mara Budgen joins us to discuss Japan’s plan to get rid of the wastewater — a plan that has made some of our neighbors very unhappy. This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode: Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Mara Budgen: Articles | Twitter | Instagram | Website Read/Listen more:  Fukushima water release nears after OK from nuclear watchdog (Eric Johnson, The Japan Times) Twelve years after 3/11, dispute grows over Fukushima’s radioactive soil (Tomoko Otake, The Japan Times) Moving to Fukushima? You’ll have to kick out the boars first (Alex Martin, Deep Dive from The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: The tanks containing water from the disabled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are almost full. | REUTERS

Want to know what it’s like to spend the night in a coffin? Culture critic Thu-Huong Ha joins us to discuss her night in avant garde artist Marina Abramovic’s Dream House in central Japan and the conversation meanders into dreams and the Gwangju Biennale before winding up on AI-generated media.   Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Thu-Huong Ha: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Read/Listen more:  Sixteen hours in Marina Abramovic’s nightmare hotel (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times) Losing and finding my cool in Gwangju (Thu-Huong Ha, The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: The beds in Marina Abramovic's Dream House in Niigata Prefecture look a lot like coffins. | ANDREA JUNG-AN LIU

Deep Dive is off this week, but we will be back at the start of July with fresh episodes. While we're away, we're bringing you a rebroadcast of our episode with Alex K.T. Martin where he looks at what form compulsive hoarding disorder takes in Japan and how it manifests. You'll learn how keeping spick and span in a country known for its cleanliness can be easier said than done.   Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.  On this episode:  Alex K.T. Martin: Articles | Twitter Read more/Watch more:  Deal with clutter while the choice to toss is still yours (Louise George Kittaka, The Japan Times) In graying Japan, pet hoarding proving to be a pesky problem (Kyodo) RiskBenefit Trapped in trash: Japan’s hidden hoarders (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times) Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. For a transcript of the show, head to japantimes.co.jp. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: Traumatic experiences, perfectionism, genetics and brain function are often raised as potential reasons for hoarding. | COURTESY OF RISKBENEFIT

Japan has a notoriously bad reputation when it comes to accepting refugees, and some politicians and NGOs believe things just got worse. Politics reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins the show to discuss what’s new in a controversial immigration reform law.   Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Gabriele Ninivaggi: Articles | Twitter  Read/Listen more:  What you need to know about the revision of Japan’s asylum law (Gabriele Ninivaggi, The Japan Times) Japan’s new immigration law raises concerns over safety of refugee applicants (Kyodo) Her death shook Japan. But it may not shift its refugee policy. (Hisako Ueno and Ben Dooley, The New York Times) Deep Dive #40: An 11-year-long fight for asylum in Japan  Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. Support the show by rating, reviewing and sharing the episode with a friend if you’ve enjoyed it. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! Photo: People opposing the revision of Japan's immigration control and refugee recognition law march in Tokyo on May 16, 2021. Many held up photos of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, a Sri Lankan woman who died in March while being held at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau in central Japan. | KYODO

When you think of natural disasters do you think of earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons? How about guerrilla rainstorms, landslides and heatwaves? As we approach the fifth anniversary of a major disaster that hit Hiroshima, Okayama and Ehime prefectures, Joel Tansey joins us to discuss what we’ve learned and what we’re in for when it comes to supercharged rainy seasons in Japan.   Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez. On this episode:  Shaun McKenna: Articles | Twitter | Instagram Joel Tansey: Articles | Twitter  Read/Listen more:  In G7 host Hiroshima, a climate disaster in all but name (Joel Tansey, The Japan Times) Deep Dive is back! And the climate crisis is still a problem. (Shaun McKenna, The Japan Times) Japan braces for a more intense typhoon season this year (Tomoko Otake, The Japan Times) How can you fight climate change in Japan? Learn how to talk about it. (Eric Margolis, The Japan Times) Japan Meteorological Agency hazard maps  Get in touch: Send us feedback at deepdive@japantimes.co.jp. 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: Cars are seen trapped in the mud following flooding and landslides in Saka, Hiroshima Prefecture, in 2018. | AFP-JIJI