This Week In Japan

This week we discuss the remarkable lengths one student went to cheat on an exam, the most unbelieve accident to ever happen when a man falling from a roof caused another woman to fall out of a window, Japan's favorite snack is finally raising it's price by ¥2 after 40 years and a videogame developer has requested that fans do not send chocolate and presents to their favorite videogame characters this year.

Word of the Week:
アラサー (ara-saa)
アラフォー (ara-foo)
アラフィフ (ara-fifu)

This episode was recorded on February 4th 2022 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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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 episode was recorded on January 7th 2022 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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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 episode was recorded on December 22nd 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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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.

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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-shoku)
ピクトグラム (pikutoguramu)
ウマ娘 (uma-musume)
リアル二刀流 (riaru-ni-tou-ryuu)

This episode was recorded on November 26th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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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 comical reason.

Word of the Week:
二刀流 (ni-tou-ryuu)

This episode was recorded on November 19th 2021 in Hiroo, Tokyo.

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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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