Japan This Week

In this week's news from Japan Today: The Japanese government wants companies to hire employees until age 70 as part of measures to address a severe labor shortage amid Japan's rapidly graying population; Nissan this week reported that its annual profit nose-dived 57.3% to less than half of what it earned the previous year, and forecast even dimmer future results; a 10-year-old girl who died in January after a series of assaults by her father had earlier been released from protective custody despite his suspected sexual abuse of her; a lawmaker was expelled from the opposition Japan Innovation Party this week after alluding to Japan waging war with Russia to regain control of islands at the center of a territorial dispute and Tokyo's busy Shibuya district has decided to ban drinking alcohol on some streets during the Halloween season following a number of incidents last year, including the overturning of a small truck. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 GaijinPot Jobs: https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ This weeks stories: Work to 70 — https://japantoday.com/category/business/gov't-to-urge-firms-to-hire-employees-until-age-70-amid-labor-crunch Nissan Nosedive — https://japantoday.com/category/business/Nissan-profit-nose-dives-57.3- Fatal Sex Abuse by Dad — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Child-fatally-assaulted-by-father-was-earlier-released-from-custody-despite-his-sexual-abuse-of-her War with Russia? — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/Lawmaker-expelled-from-party-over-remarks-about-possible-war-with-Russia Halloween Havoc — https://japantoday.com/category/national/tokyo's-shibuya-to-ban-drinking-on-streets-during-halloween

In this week's news from Japan Today: Two preschoolers were killed and a dozen injured when they were rammed by a car in Shiga Prefecture; verbal abuse and threats by a teacher have been blamed for the suicide of a junior high school girl in Ibaraki Prefecture; two teenagers were arrested for stringing a rope across a road in Osaka Prefecture and clothes lining a 77-year-old woman off her scooter; a quote by American crime reporter and former Japan resident Jake Adelstein inflamed Japan Today readers plus a social video of the Japanese PM goes viral internationally — and it has nothing to do with politics or scandal. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ This weeks stories: Toddler Deaths — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Car-hits-group-of-preschoolers-in-Shiga-Pref-2-dead Schoolgirl Suicide — https://japantoday.com/category/national/teacher%E2%80%99s-verbal-abuse-blamed-for-15-year-old-girl%E2%80%99s-suicide Rope ’n’ Road — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/2-teens-arrested-after-woman-injured-by-rope-across-road Quote of the Day — https://japantoday.com/category/quote-of-the-day/while-the-japanese-government-relentlessly-promotes-the-image-of-'cool-japan'-and-mega-tourism-the-current-reality-is-a-country-run-by-sociopathic-hitler-loving-plutocrats-with-plummeting-press-freedom-endemic-poverty-rising-censorship-deliberate-destruct https://www.thedailybeast.com/japan-has-a-new-emperor-naruhito-and-a-new-era-but-a-dark-future-under-shinzo-abe DIY PM — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/video-of-abe-installing-canadian-door-knocker-goes-global

In this week's news from Japan Today: A very quick scan of headlines in Japan this week and then a look back at the last 30 years of Emperor Akihito’s reign and events that shaped the Heisei era, including: the bubble bursts; the earthquake emperor; revolving door politics, criminal minds, fashion pops, toilet technology plus readers look back on Japan and Heisei. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/

In this week's news from Japan Today: A survey of foreigners in Tokyo released this week reports that 50% of respondents have faced discrimination; Donald Trump plans to watch a sumo tournament when visiting Japan in May — and might present the winner’s trophy; a woman was arrested in Saitama Prefecture after giving birth in a 7-Eleven restroom and leaving the newborn in the toilet bowl; in punctual Japan, an elderly man in Nagoya who stopped a train from leaving the station by repeatedly preventing the doors from closing goes viral in a video and… that’s it? Plus a poop museum opens in Yokohama. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ This weeks stories: Micro Racism — https://japantoday.com/category/national/half-of-foreigners-in-tokyo-experienced-discrimination-survey Trump Sumo Summit — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/sumo-trump-wants-to-watch-sumo-during-japan-visit-in-may Toilet Bowl Baby — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/woman-arrested-for-leaving-baby-after-giving-birth-in-store-bathroom Train in Vain — https://japantoday.com/category/national/man-stops-train-from-leaving-station-in-japan-video-goes-viral-online Poop Museum — https://japantoday.com/category/national/japanese-museum-show-tries-to-clean-up-poop's-image

In this week's news from Japan Today: Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn released a video message proclaiming his innocence via his lawyer that he recorded before he was arrested; the minister responsible for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has resigned after comments deemed insulting to people in the Tohoku area who suffered after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami; a new study released by the ministry of health finds that the number of Japanese adults in their 30s with absolutely no sexual experience is increasing;” police in Fukuoka Prefecture are using fashion shows to recruit college-age women to join the force plus a pair of mangoes has sold for $4,500 in Miyazaki Prefecture. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ This weeks stories: The Defiant One — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/in-video-ghosn-says-he-is-innocent-and-victim-of-backstabbing Foot-in-Mouth Disease — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/japan-olympic-minister-resigns-over-disaster-gaffe Like a Virgin — https://japantoday.com/category/national/virgin-territory-study-shows-sexual-inexperience-rising-in-japan Fashion Police — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/fukuoka-police-tackle-shortage-of-female-recruits-via-fashion-show Mango Tango — https://japantoday.com/category/national/pair-of-mangoes-goes-for-record-500-000-yen-at-first-auction

In this week's news from Japan Today: Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn is back in a Tokyo jail tonight facing new financial misconduct charges; the new era name for Crown Prince Naruhito’s ascension to the throne next month has been announced — and not everyone is happy; after a recent survey, the Japan Tourism Agency wants transit and tourist information signs cleaned of “Engrish;” a new labor reform law came into force limiting overtime for workers in a bid to combat “karoshi” or “death from overwork” plus a teacher in Yamaguchi Prefecture is in hot water after forcibly shaving the head of one of his students. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ This weeks stories: Bail Fail Jail — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Ex-Nissan-boss-Ghosn-served-4th-arrest-warrant-calls-it-%27outrageous%27 Autocrat Era — https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-gov't-says-era-name-translates-as-beautiful-harmony https://japantoday.com/category/national/Abe-explains-choice-of-Reiwa-for-next-era-name https://japantoday.com/category/business/Companies-looking-to-cash-in-on-new-era-name Karoshi Cap — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/japan-introduces-legal-cap-on-long-work-hours-under-labor-reform-law Lost in Translation — https://japantoday.com/category/national/odd-translations-found-on-english-websites-for-tourists-in-japan Velvet Buzz Cut — https://japantoday.com/category/national/high-school-teacher-in-hot-water-after-forcibly-giving-male-student-a-buzz-cut

In this week's news from Japan Today: A new era in Japan starts in May — literally — as the country’s current emperor abdicates and his son takes the throne; a university in Tokyo has lost contact with 1,400 of its foreign students; the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture is issuing a city-wide ordinance against people walking while eating; police have arrested an Osaka man for keeping the body of his dead mother in his bathroom for 10 months plus we stay abreast of the news that Hooters Japan is going — bust. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ GaijinPot Jobs: https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ This week's stories: Emperors New Groove — https://japantoday.com/category/national/updating-software-shaping-history-new-imperial-era-name-looms-large-in-japan AWOL University — https://japantoday.com/category/national/univ.-campus-inspected-after-1-400-foreign-students-go-awol No Eat’n’Go — https://japantoday.com/category/national/kamakura-passes-ordinance-against-eating-on-the-go Bathroom Cadaver — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/man-kept-mother%E2%80%99s-body-in-bathroom-since-her-death-last-august Hooters Busts — https://japantoday.com/category/business/hooters-goes-bust-in-japan

In this week's news from Japan Today: The Japanese government approved a plan to legally ban parents and guardians from physically punishing children; an American man was arrested for fatally stabbing his Japanese wife in the neck at family court; Japan plans to back a resolution in the U.N. opposing the creation of “killer robots;” a Hyogo Prefecture former mayor who quit last month over abusive language directed at another official has been re-elected plus the author of “Invisible Man,” Ralph Ellison, visited Japan in 1957 a few years after his iconic novel was published. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ GaijinPot Jobs: https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ Get updated via our telegram channel: https://t.me/japanthisweek This weeks stories: Child Abuse Ban — https://japantoday.com/category/national/update1-japan-gov't-oks-plan-to-ban-parents-from-physically-punishing-children Family Court Murder — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/American-man-arrested-over-murder-of-wife-at-Tokyo-Family-Court Killer Robots — https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-to-back-int'l-efforts-to-regulate-ai-equipped-killer-robots GaijinPot Jobs — https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ Election Objection — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/ex-mayor-of-japan-city-who-quit-over-verbal-abuse-wins-re-election Invisible Man — https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/ralph-ellison-makes-himself-visible-in-1950%E2%80%99s-japan

In this week's news from Japan Today: Two 12-year-old girls jumped to their deaths from a building in Aichi Prefecture leaving behind letters about being bullied; automaker Nissan is asking its shareholders to oust former chairman Carlos Ghosn as director; a Canadian man has been indicted for trying to smuggle a record haul of illegal drugs into Japan; a teenager in Yamanashi Prefecture has been granted approval from the courts to change his unusual given name to a more traditional one plus Tokyo Olympic organizers say the torch relay will begin at a revamped soccer facility in Fukushima Prefecture next year. Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ GaijinPot Jobs: https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 This weeks stories: Virgin Suicides — https://japantoday.com/category/national/two-12-yr-old-girls-in-apparent-suicide-note-hints-at-bullying Too Far Ghosn — https://japantoday.com/category/business/nissan-asking-shareholders-to-vote-to-oust-ghosn-as-director Smugglers Blues — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/canadian-man-indicted-for-smuggling-record-amount-of-stimulant-drugs-to-japan Your Name? — https://japantoday.com/category/national/update1-teenager-ashamed-of-given-name-prince-adopts-traditional-one The Flame — https://japantoday.com/category/sports/olympics-tokyo-games-torch-relay-to-start-at-j-village-in-fukushima

In this week's news from Japan Today: Carlos Ghosn finally granted bail at ¥9 billion; another case of child abuse this time at the hands of parents who went out to play pachinko; Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike faces social backlash after… putting her hands in her pockets?; Yokohama is rated the best city in the Kanto area to live for the second year in a row plus a banner fixed to a building at Shibuya’s busy Scramble Crossing shows the height the 2011 Tohoku tsunami would have reached had it hit Shibuya. Rate and review us: https://itunes.apple.com/jp/podcast/japan-today/id517133982?mt=2 Japan Today: https://japantoday.com/ GaijinPot Jobs: https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ This weeks stories: Ghosn Free — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/Ghosn-posts-%C2%A51-billion-bail-released-after-108-days-in-detention Abuse by Pachinko — https://japantoday.com/category/crime/mother-boyfriend-leave-3-year-old-daughter-with-severe-burns-at-home-while-they-play-pachinko Too Cool Koike — https://japantoday.com/category/politics/tokyo-governor-criticized-for-rudeness-of-putting-hands-in-pockets-during-tokyo-marathon-ceremony-2 GaijinPot Jobs — https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ Yokohama Rocks — https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/yokohama-ranks-as-most-desirable-city-for-living-in-kanto-for-the-second-year-in-a-row Shibuya Tsunami — https://japantoday.com/category/national/Banner-showing-3-11-tsunami-height-hung-at-Shibuya%E2%80%99s-scramble-crossing