Category: Podcast

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 24, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Two Years After Japan’s Anti-Disability Discrimination Law Revision, Mixed Progress Perceived on ‘Reasonable Accommodation’ [Podcast Episode]

Nearly two years after Japan’s revised Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities made the provision of “reasonable accommodation” mandatory for private businesses, progress remains uneven. While some companies in Okayama Prefecture have introduced measures such as sign-language captions, communication apps, Braille menus, and barrier-free design, people with disabilities say daily experiences have changed little.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 17, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Podcast Welfare

Man Disabled in Bear Cull Shooting; Yamagata Town Seeks Damages from Hunter [Podcast Episode]

In April two years ago, in Oguni Town, Yamagata Prefecture, a bullet fired by a hunter engaged in a bear extermination operation struck another man in the leg, causing serious injuries that resulted in permanent aftereffects. The injured man has filed a lawsuit against the town, seeking approximately 30 million yen in damages.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 15, 2025 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Mental Health Podcast

On Loneliness and Isolation in Japan [Podcast Episode]

Almost half of Japanese nationals feel familiar with loneliness and isolation, a government survey showed Friday. According to the Cabinet Office’s first public opinion survey on the issue, 48.4% of respondents answered they feel “familiar” or “rather familiar” with such feelings, while 49.6% chose “not familiar” or “rather do not feel it.” The remaining 2.0% did not answer.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 12, 2025 Number of comments0
Disasters Earthquake Japan Podcast

Another ‘Jishin-ful’ Day After 6.7M Quake Off the Coast of Aomori, Tsunami Advisories Issued [Podcast Episode]

Around 11:44 a.m., a quake with an estimated magnitude of 6.7 occurred off Aomori, logging 4 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale in 38 municipalities in five prefectures, including Hokkaido’s Hakodate, Aomori’s Hachinohe and Iwate’s Morioka. The intensity is the sixth-highest level on the 10-point scale. All the advisories were lifted at 2:05 p.m. after minor tsunami waves were observed in some municipalities, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 12, 2025 Number of comments0
Care Disability Discrimination Japan Podcast Tokyo

Half of the People with Disabilities Living in Facilities Sent to “out-of-Tokyo facilities” [Podcast Episode]

Aikawa Shinseien, a remote facility in Akita Prefecture housing nearly 90 intellectually disabled people sent from Tokyo, illustrates the long-standing practice of placing disabled residents far from their home communities due to Tokyo’s high land prices and neighborhood resistance to disability facilities, with some locals claiming such facilities would “damage the image” of the area. Many residents have lived there for decades, seldom see their families, and feel trapped, one 65-year-old man, who has lived there since the facility opened, says poignantly, “I don’t want to end my life here.” As parents age and die and “out-of-Tokyo facilities” continue to fill in replacements, some question what a truly inclusive living environment for disabled people should look like.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 9, 2025 Number of comments0
Disasters Earthquake Japan Podcast

‘Jishin Bells’: Powerful Quake Hits Northeastern Japan [Podcast Episode]

A powerful earthquake mainly struck Japan’s Tohoku northeastern region, including Aomori Prefecture, on Monday night, measuring up to upper 6, the second-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale. The temblor, with an estimated magnitude of 7.6, occurred at a depth of about 50 kilometers off the east coast of Aomori around 11:15 p.m.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 5, 2025 Number of comments0
Assassination of Shinzo Abe Crime Japan Mental Health Podcast

Shinzo Abe Shooting Trial: Defendant Explains Motive, Akie Abe Attends Hearing [Podcast Episode]

The trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, accused of killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, continued this week at the Nara District Court with detailed testimony about the defendant’s motives and a courtroom appearance by Abe’s widow, Akie. Yamagami, 45, told judges and lay judges that he targeted Abe because he believed the former leader sat “at the center” of ties between politics and the Unification Church, saying his “hatred and hostility” developed gradually and that attacking any other politician would have carried “weak significance.”