The Asian giant hornet is an aggressive, 6-centimeter-long hornet that is common to Japan and regularly terrorizes the country’s residents during the summer months.

In the U.S., however, the hornet recently made its way into the headlines after it was recorded as an invasive species in the Pacific northwest region. Just this month, the New York Times dubbed them “murder” hornets.

Matt Alt joins to discuss how a simple translation error might have given the hornet its new macabre nickname. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.

Matt Alt is a Tokyo-based writer, translator and NHK presenter and author of the soon to be published book "Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World."

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