Pour yourself a Strong Zero and strap in. This week’s Happy Hour is a fever dream that starts with public displays of 2D affection and ends with a map of bears and suspicious people in Gifu. We cover the rising price of rice (and the rise of "Pasta Japan"), the legal ramifications of calling your coworker "-chan," and why Tommy Lee Jones is the greatest alien to ever sell canned coffee. Plus, we take a dark dive into the "Hentai Teacher" ring in Aichi and the ultimate compilation of "Truck-kun." Oh, and do stick around for the WORLD PREMIERE of our new original Outro track: テレアモリー・メモリーズ. You're gonna love it. 🥃 LINKS & RESOURCES: Reaction to foreign man holding anime waifu pillow in publicFormer coworker who used ‘-chan’ at work and commented on appearance ordered to pay ¥220,000 in damages for sexual harassment (Japanese article)Sex act in police box: officer disciplined with pay cut — Kanagawa Prefectural Police sergeant in his 40s and a female officer in her 20s (Japanese article)Japan's No. 1 Serial Killer | Ultimate “Truck-kun” CompilationRice prices soar, consumers turn to pasta: January imports up 180% year-on-yearSam Rockwell monologue about being an Asian girl on The White LotusDavido-kun loves Japan (Japanese variety show clip) 20th Anniversary Suntory Boss Coffee jacket from back in 2012Tommy Lee Jones Boss Coffee  CommercialsGifu Prefecture Bear-Sighting Map (Updated in Real Time): Suspicious-person alerts also visible at a glance — based on the Prefectural Police ‘Safety & Security Mail’ service Mei and the Kittenbus (めいとこねこバス , Mei to Konekobasu)Driver’s license of perpetrator revoked — Saku City junior high school student fatal accident; Supreme Court recognizes hit-and-run (Japanese article)Cocorade Bakery in Ueda (get the milk bread) Aichi police arrest seventh teacher in ‘Hentai’ group on child porn chargesEnjoying what you hear? Please consider supporting us—every little bit helps keep the podcast going. And be sure to join the conversation on X (formerly Twitter) @DogePunk2077 and Facebook. For all inquiries, you can reach us at deep.in.japan.podcast@gmail.com.Thank you for listening, fellow traveler of the ear.🚀🚀 Yoroshiku & rockets 🚀🚀

In this powerful and far-reaching conversation, we sit down with Brian Daizen Victoria, Zen priest, historian, and author of the landmark work Zen War Stories. Internationally recognized for exposing the entanglement of Japanese Buddhism with wartime ideology, Victoria has spent decades examining the darker, more complicated intersections of religion, nationalism, and violence. But his scholarship extends far beyond Zen. In this episode, he offers a sweeping, context-rich look at the political, cultural, and economic forces that drove the United States and Japan into conflict—forces often flattened or ignored in mainstream narratives.Together, we dig into some of the most contested and emotionally charged historical questions of the 20th century: Japan’s imperial expansion across Asia, the atrocities committed on the mainland, the debates surrounding the Rape of Nanking, the truth behind Unit 731, the Pearl Harbor attack, the atomic bombings, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, and the complex legacy of the U.S. Occupation. Victoria brings nuance, moral clarity, and a willingness to challenge deeply embedded assumptions—both Western and Japanese—that have shaped public memory for generations.Along the way, Victoria highlights the groundbreaking work of his wife, Aimee Tsujimoto, whose books Memories of “Furusato” in Tenri Village, Manchuria (2018) and The Truth About Unit 731’s “Youth Corps” (2025) shed new light on Unit 731, survivor testimony, and the lived experience of civilians in Manchuria—crucial pieces of history often overlooked in English-language scholarship.If you’re seeking deeper context, uncomfortable truths, and a clearer, more historically grounded understanding of the war that reshaped modern Japan and the Pacific world, look no further. This conversation challenges easy answers, confronts painful realities, and invites a more honest reckoning with the past.Enjoying the Show? Please consider supporting us—every little bit helps keep the podcast going. And be sure to join the conversation on X (formerly Twitter) @DogePunk2077 and Facebook. For all inquiries, you can reach us at deep.in.japan.podcast@gmail.com.And do check out the outro: 弾き語りカバー(コードは説明欄へ) SAMPO くるりThanks for listening, fellow treveler of the ear.🚀🚀 Yoroshiku and rockets 🚀🚀

When genetically-modified bears start targeting foreigners, Jay and Trey load up the Bear Plow—a weaponized Mustang straight out of a fever dream—and hit the road to save Japan. Between the gunfire and snowdrifts we dig into everything that made this strange future possible: Japanese jazz-funk on dusty vinyl, forgotten mecha, flower-power hard-rock, and the very real rise in bear attacks across the country.It’s part apocalypse, part mixtape, and all Deep in Japan.Sweet Sauce: Dead Ass (Review)Why you should read Uzumaki (Review)Flower Travelin’ Band - Anywhere (full album)Flower Travelin’ Band - wikiHuman Washing MachineRoujin Z Full Movie (English Subs)Japan Unveils 'Human Washing Machine'Super Robot Showcase: Z-001 from "Roujin Z"Beam Penetration and Mad Computer, plus the Minimal Sound of MotorcyclesSpanish tourist attacked by bear in central Japan's Shirakawa-go areaJapan plans to hire hunters as bear attacks riseBear attack survival tips released in Japan as encounters surgeMusic:Flower Travelin' Band - UnawareJapanese Jazz & Funk Vinyl SetBear Plow - Drake Trap Enjoying what you hear? Please consider supporting us—every little bit helps keep the podcast going. And be sure to join the conversation on X (formerly Twitter) @DogePunk2077 and Facebook. For all inquiries, you can reach us at deep.in.japan.podcast@gmail.com.Thank you for listening, fellow traveler of the ear. 🚀🚀 Yoroshiku & rockets 🚀🚀

In this philosophically unhinged episode, Jeff and Trevor fire up the nozzle and let it spray. From the euphoric delusion of “god mode” to the cosmic absurdity of heaven and hell, the boys spiral into deep reflection on meaning, mortality, and the strange comfort of digital immortality. Things only get weirder when they dive into Ghost of Yōtei — part samurai saga, part therapy session — before crashing headfirst into the online flame war that erupted after one of them dared to post about Japan’s potential first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Cue the nationalists, the bots, and the philosophical meltdown of post-truth culture. It’s chaotic, hilarious, and weirdly profound — The Shit Nozzle in its purest form.Bertrand Russell - Message To Future Generations (1959) If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All Takaichi to become Japan's first female prime ministerThe Shit Nozzle (Outro Song)Enjoying the Show? Please consider supporting us—every little bit helps keep the podcast going. And be sure to join the conversation on X (formerly Twitter) @DogePunk2077 and Facebook. For all inquiries, you can reach us at deep.in.japan.podcast@gmail.com.Thanks for listening, fellow treveler of the ear. 🚀🚀 Yoroshiku and rockets 🚀🚀

This week, Jeff and Trevor tumble down a matcha ice cream–soaked rabbit hole of Japan news, global oddities, and nonsense that somehow connects (like conspiracy yarn on a corkboard… but stickier, and with more Strong Zero).Man Marries AI ChatbotAsahi reports that we’ve officially crossed into sci-fi territory: a man in Japan has tied the knot with an AI chatbot. What does this mean for love, tech, and the future of human relationships?👉 Read more7-11 Japan Rolls Out RobotsFrom stocking shelves to cleaning floors, robots are increasingly taking over tasks in convenience stores. Is this the beginning of our robot overlord era—or just another reason to avoid the register guy who judges your midnight Strong Zero runs?👉 Details via SoraNews24Tangent Topics & ShenanigansOsaka demo: Watch hereJapan gives town to Africa: Yes, this is [*not] real“This is a pen”: Japan's leading Coronavirus transmission theorySoraNews does AI gags: Sato performs an ippatsu-gei devised by AIBullzone Chiemi: Career WomanSassySisters: Subscribe to Jeff's daughters' new YT channel hereOutro Music:薬物をやろう (by Jeff on Suno)Enjoying the Show? Please consider supporting us—every little bit helps keep the podcast going. And be sure to join the conversation on X (formerly Twitter) @DogePunk2077 and Facebook. For all inquiries, you can reach us at deep.in.japan.podcast@gmail.com.Thank you for listening, fellow traveler of the ear. 🚀🚀 Yoroshiku and rockets 🚀🚀