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April 28, 2024
 

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Shaun McKenna

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Shaun McKenna
Shaun McKenna joined The Japan Times in 2007. He was the Music and Entertainment editor until 2019 when he became the Senior Commissioning Editor at the newspaper. He now also hosts and produces the Deep Dive podcast.
For Shaun McKenna's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A woman stands on one side of the wall texting in front of a nightclub while, on the other side of the wall, a man works in an izakaya.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 24, 2023
One night out in Tokyo
As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) sits next to digital minister Taro Kono while speaking at a government review meeting on the My Number national identification cards.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 10, 2023
Why is modernizing Japan so darn tough?
Reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to break down how Japan’s digitalization hiccups risk exposing how backward things are.
Photo: Mount Fuji is shot from above so that you can see the trails leading to its summit.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 26, 2023
A tale of two Fujis: Bullet climbs, crowds and Lizzo
With the borders fully open, Mount Fuji is all booked up and Fuji Rock is back in full force. Drew Damron and Patrick St. Michel join us on the podcast to discuss Japan’s two favorite Fujis.
A man stands atop a float holding a portable shrine at this year’s Sanja Festival in Tokyo.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 20, 2023
Why 2023 will be a deciding year for Japan’s iconic summer festivals
As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique?
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 12, 2023
Japan is about to release 1.3 million tons of Fukushima wastewater. Should we be concerned?
Environmental journalist Mara Budgen joins the podcast to discuss Japan’s plan to discharge millions of tons of wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant into the ocean.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 5, 2023
Would you spend the night in a coffin … for art?
Want to know what it’s like to spend the night in a coffin? Culture critic Thu-Huong Ha joins us to discuss her night in artist Marina Abramovic’s nightmare-inducing Dream House.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 21, 2023
Things just got a bit tougher for asylum-seekers in Japan
Japan passes a controversial new law that changes the rules for which people can apply for asylum in an effort to solve issues like overcrowding at detention centers.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 14, 2023
How the climate crisis is supercharging Japan’s rainy season
When you think of natural disasters do you think of guerrilla rainstorms, landslides and heatwaves? You should, since that’s in the forecast for Japan’s climate-crisis-charged rainy seasons.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
May 31, 2023
G7 '23: Kishida's pumped from a Zelenskyy bump
Another year, another G7 summit done and dusted. How did Prime Minister Fumio Kishida do? Well, he’s thinking of an early election if that’s any indication.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
May 24, 2023
Japan's up for fusion — just don’t call it 'nuclear'
The Japanese government sets out guidelines to encourage private sector competition in the field of fusion power. Will a nuclear-wary public get on board?
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
May 17, 2023
Yes, crime is on the rise in Japan. No, you don’t have to panic.
The year so far has been marked with several high-profile crime stories and, according to the numbers, crime is on the rise. However, the types of crime we’re seeing are different from before.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 26, 2023
[Rebroadcast] Is it too late to save the Japanese giant salamander?
Check out this podcast from December in which we speak with environment journalist Mara Budgen about the trouble facing the Japanese giant salamander.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 5, 2023
What should you expect when you land a job in Japan?
What is it like to work in Japan? With the number of foreign residents slowly rising, we take a look at what they might be in for when it comes to the country’s corporate culture.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 29, 2023
The Japanese Diet expels some GaaSyy
From running his mouth on YouTube to running for office — and now, possibly, running from the law — GaaSyy’s journey has been a wild one.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 15, 2023
Haruki Murakami’s new novel. Plus, allegations resurface in J-pop.
Celebrated author Haruki Murakami reveals the title to a new novel, “The City and its Uncertain Walls.” Also, the BBC puts out a documentary on J-pop titan Johnny Kitagawa.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2023
Moving to Fukushima? You’ll have to kick out the boars first
This week Alex K.T. Martin joins us to talk about the state of Fukushima 12 years after the quake. Animals have practically taken over, but Fukushima isn't the only place facing that challenge.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 22, 2023
A Japanese photographer heads to Ukraine; a student flees to Tokyo
On the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gabriel Dominguez joins the podcast to talk about the effects this war in Europe has had on Japan.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2023
Living with disaster: Building the cities of the future
We speak to professor Hitoshi Abe, an architect who has some ideas on how to start designing our cities to better deal with such inevitable disasters.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2023
I can't believe it's not meat! Is lab-grown beef on Japanese menus?
This week, Oscar Boyd gives us a review of his cultured chicken meal and runs down the environmental implications of such an endeavor, while Tomoko Otake gets us caught up on where Japan stands in the great race to replicate beef.
Japan Times
PODCAST /
Jan 18, 2023
Clutter, trash and hoarding disorder in Japan
Alex K.T. Martin looks at what form compulsive hoarding disorder takes in Japan and how it manifests when combined with other aspects of life here.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Ukraine is far from doomed
When comparing Ukraine’s military situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Tokyo's Koto Ward by-election a race unlike any other
Natsumi Sakai, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s candidate and one of four female candidates running in the by-election, touts her experience as a cancer survivor and midwife as having prepared her to tackle issues that women currently face.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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