The Dark Side of Success -- BONUS
Japan has a reputation of producing hardworking salarymen and diligent students. In this episode, we investigate some of the history of the system that produces those two groups and explore whether th...
21 Sep 23min
The War’s Long Shadow -- BONUS
The legacy of the second world war is complex and fraught with misinterpretation and confusion which caused some of its more brutal tactics to be pursued in the decades that followed its conclusion. S...
14 Sep 24min
The Life and Times of Kurosawa Akira -- BONUS
Kurosawa Akira is one of the most celebrated filmmakers in modern times whose work continues to enjoy considerable influence today. Born at the end of the Meiji period, he witnessed a lot of change th...
24 Aug 45min
The Final Decade of Shōwa
This final regular episode of the podcast features the politics, economics, and cultural developments of 1980s Japan as the Shōwa Period came to a close in 1989. Thank you so much for listening, I hop...
17 Aug 40min
Shifting Currents (Culture 1973-1979)
The social extremes of the Oil Shock Period ranged from radical terrorism, ahistorical revision of the Pacific War, the emergence of several new genres of anime, and the birth of the video games indus...
10 Aug 27min
Adapt and React (Economics 1973-1979)
To help mitigate the damage to Japan's economy during the Oil Shock period, its government would engage in global economic forums, encourage conservation among consumers, and expand into new energy so...
3 Aug 26min
Toxic Shock (Politics 1973-1979)
The 1973 Oil Crisis had a devastating effect on Japan's economy and led to a period of rapid political turmoil as the ruling LDP, for the first time in the party's history, failed to obtain a simple m...
27 Jul 26min
The Vietnam Wars (Vietnam, 1945-1976)
After Japan's surrender in August of 1945, the Empire of Vietnam witnessed a revolution and its winners crafted a declaration of independence. However, forming a new nation-state during the Cold War w...
20 Jul 48min
