logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2020
28m 46s

Did Japan get lucky?

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode
<p>Japan has some very densely populated cities and the world’s highest proportion of elderly citizens. A disaster waiting to happen in the coronavirus pandemic? But the country has had a low death rate, despite only imposing a mild lockdown. What's the secret, or was it just luck, asks Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo. The George Floyd anti-racism protests h ... Show More
Up next
Today
France rocked by wave of student protests
Kate Adie introduces stories from France, Israel, Yemen, Greenland and the US.France has been in the grip of nationwide school protests as students protest the dire state of the country's schools. Aside from the demands for classroom improvements, they've inflamed wider concerns ... Show More
44 m
Oct 3
Nepal: Living on the Edge of Disaster
Kate Adie introduces stories from Nepal, Gaza, Ukraine, the USA and Norway.Recent catastrophic floods have heightened fears among Nepal's many at-risk mountain communities living under the looming threat of melting glaciers. Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent reports from the village and m ... Show More
29m 30s
Sep 26
Xi, Trump and the battle for AI supremacy
Kate Adie presents stories from Mongolia, Turkey, Djibouti, Brazil and Africa.Xi Jinping met Donald Trump in Washington this week. Talking points included Taiwan, the Iran War, the trade truce – and Artificial Intelligence. Our China correspondent Laura Bicker has travelled to In ... Show More
29m 23s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Is Japan at a turning point?
<p>Japan has been celebrating the end of a near 20-year deflationary cycle. But the country’s shrinking population remains a serious cause for concern. Gideon talks to the FT’s Kana Inagaki and Leo Lewis about whether the new mood of optimism about&nbsp;Japan is justified. <em>Cl ... Show More
26m 10s
Jul 2023
Are more adult nappies sold in Japan than baby ones?
Japan has one of the highest rates of life expectancy and one of the lowest birth rates. But does that mean that a widely circulated claim – that more nappies aimed at adults are sold in Japan than those made for babies – is true? With guests Sarah Parsons, Senior Teaching Fellow ... Show More
9m 29s
Jul 2021
A dangerous games? A muted start to the Olympics
<p>Tokyo is under a state of emergency; covid-19 cases are piling up. But for Japan, a super-spreader event is just one of the potential <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2021/07/22/why-do-so-few-cities-want-to-host-the-olympics?utm_campaign=the-intelligen ... Show More
23m 14s
May 2021
A Shrinking Society in Japan
<p>Japan is the “grayest” nation in the world. Close to 30 percent of the population is over 65. The reason is its low birthrate, which has caused the population to contract since 2007.</p><p>With the birthrate in the United States also dropping, what are the implications of a sh ... Show More
28m 2s
Jul 2024
Lost in stagnation? Japan’s economic paradox
<p>After decades of torpor, is Japan <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/07/01/japans-mind-bending-bento-box-economics?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa. ... Show More
21m 56s
Mar 2020
Coronavirus: What can the world learn from South Korea?
After China, South Korea was next in line to be struck by the Coronavirus outbreak. And in the early days the number of cases was going up fast – many of them related to a secretive religious sect. But the country has rapidly managed to get a grip on the outbreak and has kept its ... Show More
23m 47s
Jul 2024
Lost in stagnation? Japan’s economic paradox
After decades of torpor, is Japan recovering its dynamism? Our correspondent turns to an ancient bento box merchant to test Japan’s economic future. A new study shows how few therapies tested on animals end up being applied to humans (10:02). And if you don’t know a pickle fork f ... Show More
21m 56s
Apr 2020
Coronavirus deaths, facemasks and a potential baby boom
Is the coronavirus related death count misleading because of delays in reporting? Do face masks help prevent the spread of the virus? Was a London park experiencing Glastonbury levels of overcrowding this week? And after reports of condom shortages, we ask whether there’s any evi ... Show More
27m 57s