This Week In Japan

This week we discuss the huge success of the latest anime movie hit 'Jujutsu Kaisen 0', how a firefighter is in trouble for moonlighting as a Youtuber & the unlikely new toy that's taking Japan by storm!

Word of the Week:
イクメン (iku-men)

This episode was recorded on January 14th 2022 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss the sudden snowfall in Tokyo, the police department that is currently in hot water over a couple of misplaced floppy disks, the world's oldest person Kane Tanaka turning 119, a team from Meiji University inventing a lickable screen you can taste and Convenience store chain Lawson's vision for a greener future.

Words of the Week:
ドンマイ - (don-mai)
バリアフリー (baria-furii)
レスバ (re-su-ba)...

This week we discuss Yusaku Maezawa's successful return to earth after 12 days on the International Space Station, a mother's incredible bravery in saving her child from a burning building, an all-boys school in Tokyo that has started a Gentlemen's Education curriculum and we reminisce on the biggest story of 2021 in Japan.

Words of the Week:
クリパ (kuripa)
タコパ (takopa)
パリピ (paripi)

This e...

This week we discuss billionaire Yusaku Maezawa who just became the first Japanese civilian to travel to space, how prolonged exposure to face masks is causing unexpected anxiety and outrage as a school in Tokyo asks students to relinquish their social media passwords.

Word of the Week:
学歴フィルター (gakureki-firutā)

This episode was recorded on December 10th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss Japan's tightened border restrictions worlding the discovery of the new Omicron Covid variant, how Japan's favourite Christmas food (fried chicken) is facing severe shortages, and how Japanese workers are dreading the return of the high pressure, end of year party known as bounenkai.

Word of the Week:
バップ (bappu)

This episode was recorded on December 3rd 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

This week we discuss the nominations for Japan's 'Word of the Year' 2021 competition (流行語大賞), JAXA's search for new astronauts for the first time in 13 years, the seemingly positive return to normalcy with low COVID-19 numbers, and how Uber Eats drivers are unhappy with the current state of flexible wages.

Word of the Year Nominations:
うっせえわ！ (usseewa)
ぼったくり男爵 (bottakuri-dan-shoku)
黙食 (moku-...

This week we discuss 19-year old shogi master Sōta Fujii becoming the 'Dragon King', JR East performing the 1st ever test run of its new autonomous bullet train system, a 16-year old girl who engineered an AI system to prevent aggressive drivers, a Tokyo team of researchers that made a 'super clone' of the world's oldest but destroyed oil painting and KFC Japan was trending on Twitter this week for a comica...

This week we discuss an Osaka landmark becoming the centre of an anti-vax photoshop controversy, a disgruntled JR West Train driver who is suing his employer for $0.50 and how an 84-year old Granpa who has become the countries oldest Pokémon GO Master!

Word of the Week:
割り勘 (wari-kan)

This episode was recorded on November 12th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss the conclusion of Princess Mako's long overdue marriage to Kei Komuro and how Tokyo's busiest train line was closed over the weekend for renovations on an impressive scale!

Word of the Week:
撮り鉄 (tori-tetsu)

This episode was recorded on October 29th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss the huge volcanic eruption on Mt Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's foray into the world of Youtube, the end of a Japanese gamer's epic quest to collect every single Playstation game & how frozen food vending machines are pleasing customers and saving businesses all across Japan.

Word of the week:
バイトテロ (baito-tero)

This episode was recorded on Oct...

This week we discuss the upcoming virtual Shibuya Halloween experience, Japan's 1st ever typhoon research institute, the 2021 results of the most appealing prefecture survey, and how ramen shops are starting to ban YouTubers and critics.

Word of the week:
フロリダ (furorida)

This episode was recorded on October 15th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a brief update of Princess Mako's wedding, and the Japanese (who is now an American citizen) climate scientist Shukuro Manabe, who just won a Nobel Prize.

Word of the Week: 
ロン毛 (ron-ge)

This episode was recorded on October 8th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss Japan's new rules on age limits for children in opposite-sex onsen & a new app is being developed to help protect the human rights of foreign works in Japan.

Word of the Week: 
バッシュ (basshu)

This episode was recorded on September 25th 2021 in Akasaka, Tokyo.

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This week we discuss the underdog Sumo Wrestler, Shounan-zakura, who finally called it a day after a record breaking losing streak of 104 matches and Bandai's popular Gunpla (Gundam Plastic) aims to cut waste and create products from more recycled plastic.

Word of the Week: 
逆ギレ (gyaku-gire)

This episode was recorded on September 3rd 2021 in Akasaka, Tokyo.

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In this episode, we discuss multiple scandals involving Olympic contributors, TeamLabs Digital Art Museum becoming the most visited in the world & a Ugandan weightlifter who went on the run, hoping to remain in Japan.

Due to a glitch in the recording, unfortunately, there will be no 'Word of the Week' for this episode.

This episode was recorded on July 23rd, 2021 in Akasaka, Tokyo

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