How to listen in to Japan in English

When my brother and I were high school students in the 1980s in our native Canada, one of the highlights of our week was a simultaneous stereo broadcast of Miami Vice, the popular detective drama on Friday nights. We turned up the volume on our vintage stereo and settled in to savor the excellent soundtrack and riveting stories. And then our television tube failed. We then turned our attention to the radio and got hooked on listening without visual stimulus.


Tune in wherever you are, photo Brett Sayles

Radio and podcasts from abroad

I continued my TV-free life here in Japan, depending on the radio for a long time to keep up with current events and pop culture. Often I tuned into Japanese language broadcasts sprinkled with some English segments. These days, podcasts are a conduit for audio of the world. To stay current with “the old country”, I listen to live and podcast broadcasts from CBC Listen. I also like to keep up with news and current events from the UK, so I catch various channels on BBC Sounds.

But what about English radio and podcasts originating in Japan? Major news outlets and podcasters cover, culture, music, and news in the English language here.

Podcasts from Japan in English

Japan Times has a monthly podcast called Deep Dive, about 30 minutes long, once a month. The podcasts also have transcripts to make it easy for English second language speakers to follow the topics. The topics cover stories about Japanese culture and the experiences of foreign residents.

Now and Zen is another favorite monthly podcast that covers stories about culture, business, and arts. You’ll hear 40-minute-long interviews with foreign residents and Japanese who work in many fields. A lot of insights into business culture from a foreigner’s perspective help newcomers understand how to get along with colleagues.

Do you want to hear a story? Uncanny Japan, a podcast hosted by Thersa Matsuura has a gift for appealingly retelling Japanese folklore. Her soothing voice lures you into spooky, heartwarming, and historic tales, sometimes retold from Japanese literature.

Tim Romero delivers the straight goods about the business world in Japan with his podcast Disrupting Japan. This monthly podcast looks at how Japan is confronting change. He interviews people at the cutting edge of business and culture for his monthly podcasts which are about 40 minutes in length.

What English-language radio broadcasts or podcasts on Japanese topics do you recommend? How about other language podcasts on Japan culture?