Tokyo on Fire!

This week, we have started our new series of Tokyo on Fire: Inside Baseball! In this new series hosts Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek take a deeper dive into certain political topics.

Our first episode starts with the comments from Prime Minister Abe aiming to revise the constitution by the summer Olympics in 2020. Revising the constitution has been one of the goals for the Prime Minister in his regime. How come he started to announce his goal of the revision? Will the LDP be able to pull it off?

Reconstruction Minister Masahiro Imamura told it was good that the natural disaster in 2011 had hit northern Japan (Tohoku) instead of Tokyo. This controversial comment resulted in his resignation. Also, the comment draw people's attentions in 2 different ways: some got angry on his remark, and the other started to use the remark to promote Tohoku region on SNS. But was the minister's comment justified or misinterpreted?

Join host Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek in this discussion!

For this week on Tokyo on Fire, we are pleased to welcome Mr. Chris Blackerby, the NASA Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Michael has returned! In this week, Timothy and Michael catch up on all that has been going on in Japanese politics over the last month. The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election coming in this summer and the movements of LDP, Komento and DP are getting people's attentions. While Governor Yuriko Koike looks set to win big in the upcoming election, will Prime Minister Abe maintain the LDP together? Will it keep suffering defectors like the opposition party DP?

How much do you know about Space? In this episode with Mr. Chris Blackerby, we discuss the Japan-US relationship in their mutual space programs. Japan has not launched humans yet, however, it has several sate lights and probes like Hayabusa. What is the outlook of Japanese space program? How the 2 countries cope in the field of space development?

Join host Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek in this discussion!

For this week on Tokyo on Fire, we are pleased to welcome Mr. Glen S. Fukushima to our show.

Despite repeated 2012 tweets accusing former president Obama’s red line incident, this week president Trump launched missiles at Syrian airbases. Then, in an effort to double down on his hardline message, he has had the USS Carl Vinson sail closer to the North Korean coasts. What does this brand of Trump diplomacy mean for Japan?

Reflecting President Trump's diplomacy, what is the outlook for USA-Japan relations over the next three months? Japan also is taking a closer look at the USA-China relationship. Will president Trump get closer to China, Japan or Russia?

Join host Timothy Langley, Dr. Nancy Snow and the returning guest Mr. Glen Fukushima in this discussion!

For this week on Tokyo on Fire, we are pleased to welcome Mr. Glen S. Fukushima back to our show.

This week starts with the US-Japan dialogue on trade and economy in the Trump era. Japan and the United States are planning to have the dialogue in ministry-level. As Donald Trump announced that he would make America first, how likely is Prime Minister Abe to get a trade deal with Trump? Will Japan be No.2?

Japan - with its declining demographics - is in a labor crisis. One solution has been to bring foreigners in to do low-skill (and sometimes high-skill) work under special immigration regulations. However, it has appeared to be a scam, often resulting in abuse of the foreign trainees in Japan. What is the story behind Japan welcoming foreigners as trainees?

The third time is a charm! Prime minister Abe is trying once again to get his anti-conspiracy bill passed to protect the country against terrorism. However, opponents of the bill have voiced their concerns that it may end being used to oppress free speech in Japan. How likely is the bill to pass?

Join host Timothy Langley, Michael Cucek, and Dr. Nancy Snow in this discussion!

We are pleased to welcome Mr. Bulhan Hersi, the representative of the Federal Republic of Somalia to Japan.

Defense Secretary Inada faces difficult questions over SDF troops in South Sudan in the Diet sessions. What is the situation in the neighboring Somalia?

Join host Timothy Langley, Michael Cucek, and Mr. Bulhan Hersi in this discussion!

This week on Tokyo on Fire:

A nationalist kindergarten has sparked a scandal which has put the Abe administration in danger. The controversial school teaches students pre-war era ideologies, and has been heavily criticized for referring to Korean and Chinese nationals as “those with wicked ideas” and calling the latter “Shinajin”, which is a derogatory word for Chinese people. Will Prime Minister Abe make it through the scandal?

The first weeks of the Trump Presidency have been rocky to say the list. Yet, Prime Minister Abe still seems to long for the U.S. to return to the TPP table. How likely is this? And will Japan join the Chinese-led RCEP agreement instead?

Once a month at 3pm - work is over! This campaign was launched by METI (the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) to boost consumer spending and (maybe) give Japanese workers a chance to increase the very low birthrate. But how likely will this idea work? Is it just a PR stunt?

Join host Timothy Langley, Michael Cucek, and Dr. Nancy Snow in this discussion!

This week on Tokyo on Fire:

The diet has been in session for the past month trying to work out the budget for 2017. However, this is not a piece of cake. "Amakudari" (re-hiring of ex-bureaucrats), Defense Minister's long response in the diet, and more happened in the Japanese inside baseball. How is Japan scoring this year?

The US-Japan relationship is getting interesting: Prime Minister Abe's meeting with President Trump has been well received by the Japanese diet. Will the "Golf Diplomacy" keep the Japan-US ties strong for the next four years?

Join host Timothy Langley, Michael Cucek, and Dr. Nancy Snow in this discussion!

We are back! This week, on Tokyo on Fire:

With President Trump moving into the oval office and implementing many executive orders, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis will be visiting Tokyo next week. How will Japan and the U.S. continue their cooperation in the future?

In Tokyo, the governor Yuriko Koike is gaining grounds in the political by moving toward creating her own party...despite still being a member of the LDP. How far will she be able to keep rising? What will happen in Tokyo Assembly Election?

The LDP-Komeito alliance, one which has been strong for the past 16 years, might be coming to an end in the next election. What makes interesting about this alliance? How significant is this corporation between the co-ruling parties?

Until the end of last year, Prime Minister Abe seemed to be allowed to run for his third term. However, the beginning of 2017 has shaken this up: it looks as if a new contender has emerged. Who is the successor of PM Abe?

Join Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek in this week's Tokyo on Fire!

This week's Tokyo on Fire starts with updates on the Trump-Abe meeting last week. President-elect Donald Trump announced this week that the U.S. would be leaving TPP “on Day 1”. What does this mean for the Japan-U.S. relations?

Prime Minister Abe also met Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss trade agreements and… the return of the northern territories? The atmosphere has changed substantially since the U.S. election results and the official visit of to Tokyo might be a little more awkward than expected.

As reported in various media in and out of Japan, the country suffered from a 7.4 earthquake this week in the same area that was devastated nearly 6 years ago. This time, however, the response of emergency authorities was swift and efficient.

Lastly, with the bilateral Russia-Japan relations cooling, Prime Minister Abe might not be riding on the wave of success that he expected for the potential snap election in January. Will the LDP still call it?

Join host Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek in this discussion!

On this week's Tokyo on Fire, we are pleased to welcome renowned political expert Dr. Gerald L. Curtis.

President-elect Donald Trump attended to his first meeting with a foreign leader, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. What can we possibly expect on the US-Japan relations over the next 4 years?

Join host Timothy Langley, Michael Cucek, Dr. Nancy Snow and Dr. Gerald L. Curtis in this discussion!