Listen and learn about Hitomi Kinue, the first Japanese woman to medal in the Olympics, an all around powerhouse in track and field.

To celebrate(?) landing in Japan 17 years ago and forgetting to leave, let's take a look at some of the things that have changed.

In February of 1972, 5 members of a radical leftist group took a woman hostage and began a 10 day standoff with the police. In this episode, the conclusion to this podcast mini-series, find out about how the standoff ended.YouTube video with news footage of the event: https://youtu.be/cVLo1zAe5oUYoshikuni Igarashi's article "Dead Bodies and Living Guns: The United Red Army and Its Deadly Pursuit of Revolution, 1971–1972" https://doi.org/10.1080/10371390701494135 (Taylor and Francis publication - subscription service)

(Just a quick note: This episode has some descriptions violent acts and death. Nothing too graphic. But if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, well, just be warned. If you want to skip to episode 3, I'll make sure you understand the gist of the story in that one.)In February of 1972, 5 members of a radical leftist group took a woman hostage and began a 10 day standoff with the police. In the months leading up to the standoff, the 5 had been part of what has been described as a bloody, internal purge of their radical leftist group. Learn about what happened in those deadly months in the woods of Gunma prefecture.Yoshikuni Igarashi's article "Dead Bodies and Living Guns: The United Red Army and Its Deadly Pursuit of Revolution, 1971–1972" https://doi.org/10.1080/10371390701494135 (Taylor and Francis publication - subscription service)

In February of 1972, 5 members of a radical leftist group took a woman hostage and began a 10 day standoff with the police. Learn about what led up to those events in episode 1 of this 3 part mini-series. Find out about some of the many factions within Japan's New Left movement. Yoshikuni Igarashi's article "Dead Bodies and Living Guns: The United Red Army and Its Deadly Pursuit of Revolution, 1971–1972" https://doi.org/10.1080/10371390701494135 (Taylor and Francis publication - subscription service)

80% of the Japanese public doesn't want the Olympic Games to go ahead as scheduled in less than 2 months. Why not? And why can't Tokyo unilaterally cancel the games? Listen to this slightly rambling episode as I discuss those questions.The Yahoo Article I mentioned: Who has the power to cancel the Tokyo Olympics?The video about the St. Louis Olympic Marathon: Rat Poison and Brandy: The 1904 St. Louis Olympic Marathon

Learn about another badass woman in Japanese history as we talk about a female samurai of the 19th century.

On March 30, 1949, a drum like object washed up in a rural fishing village on the Sea of Japan coast. Listen to hear the tragic tale.History playlist (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6iyBD0NzkV0gXUqpN11FhW?si=8ec91f80e8d040c9New podcast homepage: tinyurl.com/jerkpod

2011 March 11: The fourth strongest earthquake recorded hit. Shortly there after, a tsunami and then the nuclear meltdown. Some thoughts on the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku, Japan. Links to the videos mentioned in the podcast:Sendai airport video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk68bZ701s0Ofunato tsunami video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbvBsgoEAe0&t=756sNear Okawa Elementary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0dqWR4S7M

In December of 1968, the biggest heist in Japan was pulled off. The case of who pulled it off was never solved. Listen and find out about who the prime suspects were and the (often tragic) impact it had on their lives. (Listen to part 1 here)