Deep In Japan

The Deep in Japan Podcast is completely independent and ad free. Please consider helping support this impecunious father of three crazy hafu kids by becoming patron at www.patreon.com/user?u=3864210Steve Edwards (who now has his own podcast, by the way, called Jaded in Japan -- check it out) returns to the show to air a few more gripes about Japan. And gripes might be an understatement! Warning: If you are not interested in hearing criticism of Japan, this is not for you. We recorded this on the debut of "Premium Friday," a government campaign which urges people to leave work at 3:00 PM on last Friday of every month (neither of us did), in an effort to boost consumer spending amid Japan’s persistent deflation. According to the Japan Times, the first Premium Friday fell flat on its face, with only 3.7 percent of Tokyo area employees leaving work early, according to a survey. And outside of Tokyo, I'm guessing it's even worse. For the love of all that's *not* karoushi, let's hope i