Tokyo Wave

Education consultant, Founder and Director of Quest Tokyo, and President of FEW Japan Kirsten O'Connor tells us about her experience teaching at Tokyo's British School, advice for female professionals in Japan, and insights for parents trying to balance bilingual education in English and Japanese. Aaron and Parker discuss Sega Sammy exiting the game arcade business and Tokyo taxi drivers now refusing passengers not wearing masks. We also look back at actor Sean Connery and the 1967 Bond film shot in Japan.

Will Japan extend the Go To Travel subsidy campaign? What's behind the Demon Slayer anime movie's massive success at the Japan box office? Aaron and Parker discuss the Japanese government's decision to give all residents free COVID-19 vaccines and a group of Vietnamese men accused of stealing and slaughtering pigs in rural Japan.

Writer, translator, Cool Japan Ambassador, global communications specialist, and mahjong expert Benjamin Boas shares his insights on Japan's efforts to use anime and manga to improve its image and the ins and outs of Japanese mahjong culture. Aaron and Parker also discuss local municipalities' war on Halloween, Mitsubishi Heavy's move to halt regional jet development, and the arrest of a British daycare worker for importing ecstasy drug laced gummy bears.

Global communications strategist, public diplomacy professor, and nation branding expert Dr. Nancy Snow shares her insights on Japan's entry restrictions, Japanese soft power diplomacy, and womenomics in the post-Abe era. Aaron and Parker also discuss the ongoing furor among Japanese scholars over the Suga administration's controversial science council decision.

What came out of the latest meeting of the 'Quad' between Japan, India, Australia and the United States? Will the Japanese government move to get rid of hanko and fax machine culture on the orders of Japan's new Prime Minister Suga? Aaron and Parker discuss Japan's decision to exempt business travelers and returnees from the 14-day quarantine, and revelations that prefectures have recently spent up to ¥20 million Yen on official cars amid the pandemic.

Will inclusion of Tokyo residents in Japan's Go To Travel program save the travel industry? What caused the Tokyo Stock Exchange to halt trading for an entire day? Aaron and Parker discuss a boy who successfully impersonated another student at a Tokyo elite high school for months, and administrative reform minister Taro Kono's declaration of war on fax machines and hankos.

When will Japan reopen its borders to tourists? What will the Japanese government do to strengthen its national defense missile system after scrapping plans to introduce Aegis Ashore? Aaron and Parker also discuss a new English site to spread word on Akita dogs and Japan's pandemic-fueled camping boom.

"The Akiya Hunter", real estate consultant, event producer, and extreme metal curator Matt Ketchum tells us about his recent experience hosting virtual Japanese metal concerts through the Kaala group he founded. Aaron and Parker also share news about the Bank of Japan's latest economic outlook and problems with the Japan Meteorological Agency's controversial online ads.

Asian public policy expert, political science professor, and politics commentator Dr. Stephen Nagy shares his insights on Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the outlook for East Asian relations amidst the rise of China, and his advice for future "Japan hands". Aaron and Parker also discuss the potential for a snap election later this year and the latest on the Mauritius oil spill incident.

Actress, comedienne, and entrepreneur Christiane Brew shares her experience working with Hideo Kojima as a motion capture actress in hit video game Death Stranding, the Perfect Liars Club Tokyo improv group she leads, and her new venture, StoryKraft. Aaron and Parker also discuss PM Abe's resignation and Warren Buffett's $6 billion dollar bet on Japanese trading houses.