Podcasts about Japan

When a upper middle class family of four in the Setagaya District of Japan are slaughtered in their home everyone wonders what could be the motive? The family are well loved and having no known enemies could this be a random robbery gone bad? Except money was left, the killer stayed for hours after killing father Mikio, mother Yaskuo, daughter Ninna and son Rei, ate food from their kitchen, used their bathroom leaving excrement in the toilet, left a duffel bag with evidence which leads back to a military base in California, used the families knives to kill them and even left a body imprint on the couch and carpeting where he took a nap. There are more odd details and you can hear the Miyazawa family's story here. If YOU happened to be living in Japan in the early 2000's or know anything about these horrific murders there is a $200,000 (US dollars) reward for information on the case. Setagaya Police Department +81 3-3418-0110

Today's Post - Analyzing the Fed's Balance Sheet: Quantitative Easing and Tightening Explored In this week's Dividend Cafe, host David Boson, Chief Investment Officer at The Bahnsen Group, dives deep into the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, covering the concepts of quantitative easing (QE) and quantitative tightening (QT). With historical context dating back to the 2008 financial crisis, Boson discusses the evolution of the Fed's monetary policy tools, the implications of rate cuts, and the future outlook for financial markets. Key topics include the effects of QE on financial stability, comparisons to Japan's monetary policies, and how today's economic environment shapes future Fed actions. Boson also speculates on the potential impacts of the upcoming Jackson Hole speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and what it means for market expectations. 00:00 Introduction to Dividend Cafe 00:37 Current Market Expectations and Fed Rate Cuts 03:15 Understanding the Fed's Balance Sheet 03:57 History of Quantitative Easing (QE) 06:52 The Impact of QE on Financial Markets 14:21 Quantitative Tightening (QT) and Its Challenges 20:10 The Future of Fed Policies and Market Implications 27:26 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Links mentioned in this episode: DividendCafe.com TheBahnsenGroup.com

On this week's Crewcast, Danny's blade-surfing in Sword of the Sea, Jeremy's checking out one of the OG Metroidvanias with Super Metroid, Jesse's shepherding some calicorn in Herdling, and Jenna Stoeber joins the crew with a warning: you probably shouldn't summit Mt. Fuji. Check out Jenna's work: https://www.youtube.com/@the_jenna https://www.patreon.com/thejenna https://bsky.app/profile/thejenna.bsky.social https://www.twitch.tv/the_jenna Herdling: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3047750/Herdling/ Sword of the Sea: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2453160/Sword_of_the_Sea/ OFF: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3339880/OFF/ RACCOIN Coin Pusher Roguelike: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3784030/RACCOIN_Coin_Pusher_Roguelike/ Is This Seat Taken?: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3035120/Is_This_Seat_Taken/ Time Flies: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2000120/Time_Flies/ Day of the Devs: https://www.dayofthedevs.com/ Seattle Indies: https://www.seattleindies.org/ Check out upcoming Steam Fests for news on upcoming games: https://steamdb.info/sales/history/ iTunes Page: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/noclip/id1385062988 RSS Feed: http://noclippodcast.libsyn.com/rss Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XYk92ubrXpvPVk1lin4VB?si=JRAcPnlvQ0-YJWU9XiW9pg Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/noclippodcast Watch our docs: https://youtube.com/noclipvideo Crewcast channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/noclippodcast Learn About Noclip: https://www.noclip.video Become a Patron and get early access to new episodes: https://www.patreon.com/noclip Follow @noclipvideo on Twitter Chapters: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:07:10 - Thanking our Patreon supporters! 0:08:43 - Jenna's Japan Journey 0:20:48 - Hollow Knight Silksong Real?! 0:30:50 - Herdling 0:42:16 - Sword of the Sea 0:49:09 - OFF 0:55:21 - RACCOIN: Coin Pusher Roguelike 1:04:18 - Is the future of video games just gambling? 1:24:00 - Is This Seat Taken? 1:28:37 - Time Flies 1:34:27 - Super Metroid 1:43:01 - Q: Where can I find indie recommendations? 1:56:36 - Q: What are some games with clever save systems? 2:00:14 - Noclip Updates 2:04:36 - Opening Night Live: Two Truths and a Lie

The first wind phone was created in Japan by Itaru Sasaki after losing his cousin to cancer in 2010. He installed a disconnected rotary phone in his garden as a way to connect with his cousin after their death. In 2011, after a tsunami hit the coast of Japan, destroying cities and leaving hundreds of people missing, Sasaki then relocated the phone booth on a hill overlooking the ocean to give others a way to connect with their lost loved ones. And now in 2025, one mother in Geneva, Ill., wants to bring a wind phone to the far western suburb. Reset learns more about this effort and navigating grief. We'll hear from Elaine Haughan, who lost her son James in 2021; Liam Jackowiec, best friend of James Haughan; and Neal Parker, with the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, which invites visitors to use the wind phone they have available by its butterfly garden. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Japan has pledged to work more closely with African countries at global summit on economic development. How can Africa benefit from stronger ties with Japan?The former prime minister of Chad is facing a 20-year prison term after being convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre. Who is Succès Masra and what sparked the intercommunal violence that led to the charges against him?And did you know there are four distinct species of the African giraffe? We find out why that discovery is important for conservation.Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Sunita Nahar, Nyasha Michelle and Stefania Okereke Technical Producer: Pat Sissons Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard

This week, a Tennessee DJ takes us on a tour of Appalachian punk and metal.Also, Appalachian culture is enriched by its immigrants. We explore the fusion of West Virginia and Japan. And Appalachia isn't all punk rock and Japanese food. There's also string band music.

What happens when ordinary people meet the extraordinary? In Strange Light, author Edson Freeman gathers riveting firsthand accounts of lives upended by events that defy explanation — UFO encounters, near‑death experiences, psychic awakenings, startling synchronicities, and mysterious lights dancing over the Marfa desert.Spanning North America, Australia, the UK, India, and Japan, these personal narratives include prophetic dreams that came true, conversations with departed loved ones, and face‑to‑face meetings with non‑human intelligences. Freeman lets each witness speak in their own voice: no sensationalism, no dismissal-just the raw, unfiltered moment when the boundaries of consensus reality give way.Readers curious about consciousness studies, paranormal phenomena, and fringe science will find an empathetic yet pragmatic exploration of the questions mainstream culture struggles to ask. If you appreciate the investigative rigor of Leslie Kean, the human warmth of John Mack, or the sense of wonder in Chris Bledsoe, Strange Light invites you to rethink what you thought was impossible.BioEDSON FREEMAN is an IT veteran whose day job revolves around pinning down how-did-that-happen questions inside missioncritical systems. Raised in suburban Ohio on a steady diet of Douglas Adams and mediocre sci-fi, he grew into a firm empiricist, regarding UFOs, near-death visions, and prophetic dreams as curiosities, not convictions. That stance began to wobble in recent years. A series of highprofile leaks and discoveries triggered his curiosity, and after collecting raw, sincere testimonies, Freeman became convinced that “extraordinary claims” sometimes come from unusually grounded witnesses. Strange Light is his first book—a field report from that newly opened terrain. He currently resides in North Carolina, where he balances database tuning with woodworking, vegetable gardening, and the occasional impromptu skywatch. He comes from a long line of Edsons and believes that healthy skepticism and radical wonder can, and should, coexist in the same sentence.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF65MJ2Xhttps://strangelightbook.com/ https://www.pastliveshypnosis.co.uk/https://www.patreon.com/ourparanormalafterlifeMy book 'Verified Near Death Experiences' https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXKRGDFP

Season 2 kicks off with Bretman, Princess, and Miss Kaaye catching up on summer adventures, birthdays, new beginnings, and Bretman's life post-breakup. From Japan trips to family chaos, fluffy steering wheels to tsunami scares, the baddest crew is back- sweaty, unfiltered, and ready to take on a new era of DaBaddest Radio.Shop Off-to-College at Amazon - and save on college, save the everday! With Amazon's great deals and everyday low prices, you can find comfort in the chaos. Shop 'off to college' at Amazon. Save on college, save the everyday!Produced by Dear MediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The September USMNT roster announcement is right around the corner, and there's plenty to cover. Uruguay is reported to be lined up for the November window, while September brings clashes with Korea Republic and Japan. Alexi Lalas and David Mosse break down what we know and what we think about the squad heading into the first window after the Gold Cup.Plus, a loaded weekend abroad: Serie A kicks off for Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman prepares for his Bundesliga debut, Ricardo Pepi's return is delayed, and Chris Richards gets set to host Nottingham Forest. Back home, Miles Robinson signs a long-term deal with Cincinnati, Paxton Aaronson makes a record-breaking move to Colorado, and the Leagues Cup quarterfinals deliver heavyweight matchups.The guys also dive into #AskAlexi, tackling what it was like facing criticism as a USMNT player before social media and how U.S. depth stacks up against Mexico. Finally, Alexi's One for the Road dives into what the USMNT should look like at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Intro (0:00)Upcoming Schedule: USMNT vs Uruguay (3:58)Serie A Opening Weekend (11:26)Ricardo Pepi Watch Continues (19:46)Newcastle vs Liverpool Amid Isak Controversy (23:55)The Future is MLS for Miles Robinson and Paxton Aaronson (29:16)Leagues Cup Rolls On (38:13)#AskAlexi: Will Pochettino Bring Back the Gold Cup Absentees? (40:04)One for the Road: USMNT's Look in 2026 (52:46) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join us as we explore the evolving landscape of US education with Dr. George Maurer, veteran journalist and education researcher. Dive into current trends shaping curricula, including topics like Critical Race Theory, while examining broader challenges in the American education system. Gain valuable insights on parent involvement and understanding your child's education. Whether you're a parent, educator, or concerned citizen, this episode offers a comprehensive look at modern learning environments and how to navigate them effectively.

In this episode of the Risk Reversal Podcast, Gu Adami converses with Peter Boockvar, CIO of OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, about the implications of the upcoming Jackson Hole Fed Gala and the rhetoric surrounding the Fed's policies. They discuss the market-moving potential of Fed commentary and the impact of tariffs on inflation, focusing on the long-term effects on supply chains and prices, particularly in the auto and real estate sectors. Additionally, they delve into the global rise in interest rates, particularly in Japan and Europe, and how it impacts US markets. The conversation also touches on the evolving AI landscape, including the implications for corporate spending on AI-driven productivity tools, and competitive pressures from Chinese tech firms. The discussion wraps up with an analysis of the upcoming earnings reports from major retailers and their ability to manage price elasticity amid tariff pressures. —FOLLOW USYouTube: @RiskReversalMediaInstagram: @riskreversalmediaTwitter: @RiskReversalLinkedIn: RiskReversal Media

This week we talk about flesh-eating screwworms, weeds, and the US cattle industry.We also discuss genetic modification, procreation, and tsetse flies.Recommended Book: 1177 BC by Eric H ClineTranscriptThe term ‘autocidal control‘ refers to a collection of techniques that are meant to control populations of some type of living thing, animal or plant, by disrupting their procreationary capacity.So rather than attempting to control pest by spraying poisons all over the place, or controlling plants you consider to be invasive weeds by launching huge weed-pulling efforts in the afflicted areas, you might instead figure out how to keep this current generation of pests and weeds from having as many offspring as they might otherwise have, and then repeat the process with the next generation, and the next, and so on, until the unwanted species is either eradicated in the relevant region, or reduced to such a small number that its presence is no longer such a big deal.There are all kinds of approaches one might take in trying to achieve this sort of outcome.Experimental genetic modification measures, for instance, have been tried in, so far at least, limited ways, the idea being to either make the disliked species less competitive in some way (by making them slower, and thus more likely to be eaten by predators, maybe), or by making them less likely to have offspring, or less likely to have fit offspring—the next generation becomes super slow and clumsy, or they're carriers of a gene that keeps them from procreating as much, or at all.That approach seems like it could be effective, and there are quite a few efforts, globally, that're working to refine and perfect it with mosquito species in particular, specifically the ones that are carriers of malaria-causing parasites and similar maladies that cause immense harm to local human (and other mammal) populations.There have also been attempts to spray mating grounds with pheromones that disrupt mating behavior, or to use what's called the Autodissemination Augmented by Males, or ADAM approach, which has been used to decent effect in some trials, and which involves basically just sprinkling a bunch of male mosquitos with pesticide, releasing them into mosquito mating grounds, and then having them deliver those pesticides to the females they mate with.All of these efforts are meant to reduce populations via some procreationary mechanism, while also attempting to ameliorate some of the other issues associated with other, widely used pest- and weed-control approaches. Most of which rely on some kind of chemical being introduced into the right environment, that chemical helping to kill or disrupt these populations, but in many cases also leading to unwanted, and often initially unforeseen side effects, like those chemicals messing with other species, getting into the groundwater and possibly being associated with maladies in humans, and so on.What I'd like to talk about today is another approach, the sterile insect technique, why it's become so popular in recent decades, and how it's being used, today, to address a burgeoning population of a pest that was previously eliminated in North America using this technique, but which has recently become a problem, once more.—The New World screwworm fly is thus named because its larvae, its baby offspring, are planted in warm-blooded animals. These offspring eat not just dead tissues, like the maggots of other flies, but healthy tissues as well.These maggots are often deposited near wounds, like cuts or scrapes, but also injuries caused by the castration or dehorning of cattle, or orifices and other sensitive areas with soft tissue, like the corner of a host's eye.They don't typically infest humans, but it does happen, and they're most likely to be found on wild and domesticated mammals, the females of the species depositing somewhere between 250 and 500 eggs in the flesh of their hosts, the maggots screwing their way deeper into their host's flesh as they grow, burrowing and eating for the next three to seven days, at which point they fall off and enter the next stage of their lifecycle. By that point the host may already be dead, depending on the extent of the damage these things manage to cause in the interim.These flies were originally found across the Americas and on some Caribbean islands, and they have long been a headache for cattle ranchers in particular, as they will sometimes infect one cow or goat, and then work their way through the entire herd in relatively short order, causing enough damage to seriously injure or kill a whole lot of the rancher's stock.As a result, humans have been trying to get rid of these things for ages, but nothing seemed to make much of a dent in their populations until the emergence of what's called the sterile insect technique, which is exactly what it sounds like: a method of autocidal control that involves sterilizing members of the species, usually the males, and then releasing them back into the population.Variations on this concept were developed by a few different researchers in a few different places around the world in the lead-up to WWII, but just after that conflict, scientists working at the US Department of Agriculture realized that they could use x-rays to reliably sterilize male screwworm flies, and that if they did this to a large number of them, then released those males into the local population of screwworm flies, to the point where there are more sterilized males than non-sterilized ones, that would serve to dramatically reduce the size of the next generation. If you then repeat this over and over again, you can eventually wipe out the species in a given region, as they successfully showed in the early 1950s by eradicating all the screwworms on Sanibel Island in Florida.The same technique was then used to kill all the screwworms on the island of Curacao, off the coast of Venezuela—that kill-off achieved in just seven weeks. Over the next few decades, sterilized male flies were then released across other afflicted US states, and both Mexico and Belize were able to kill all their screwworms in the 1980s, followed by Central America in the 1990s.This approach was also applied to other pests, almost always those that either spread disease to humans, or threatened local industries, like cattle or agricultural industries.For instance, tsetse flies, carriers of a parasite that causes sleeping sickness, were entirely or almost entirely eradicated from Tanzania, Zanzibar, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Uganda between the 1940s and late-1990s, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the carriers of dengue and yellow fever, were sterilized by a bacteria called Wolbachia in Queensland, Australia, in the late-20-teens, which reduced the populations of this disease-carrier in trial areas by 80%, and Japan eradicated the melon fly, an agricultural pest, in 1993.This approach to pest-control has become so popular that dozens of facilities have been set up in countries around the world, exclusively to breed and sterilize different species, which can then be shipped to where they will be released. The first of these facilities was built in Mexico in the 1960s, where Mexican fruit flies were bred and then shipped for release in Texas.It's maybe fitting then that a new round of construction is happening, today, intending to combat the renewed presence of screwworms in Mexico, which have been making their way up into Texas via these two nations' cattle industries.The US Department of Agriculture recently announced that it will be building a sterile screwworm fly facility in Texas, which has suffered due to the US's recent decisions to halt the import of cattle from across the border in Mexico due to issues with screwworms hitching a ride on that cattle stock, and thus infiltrating US herds. The government tried several times to drop this cessation of imports, as the US cattle industry is pretty reliant on those imports, but each time they tried, new screwworm infestations were found, and the import halt was put back into place.US cattle populations are already at their lowest level in decades, and that's impacting meat and dairy prices, while also putting other warm-blooded animals in the afflicted regions, especially Texas, at risk.The folks behind the new facility have said they hope to be up and running in relatively short order, aiming to be releasing sterile male New World screwworms into the wild within a year. This deployment will operate in tandem with other, more direct efforts, like fly traps and parasite-sniffing dogs stationed at ports of entry.The concerns here are not just theoretical: screwworms alone cause an estimated $1.5 billion in damage each year, and the cost of implementing a sterilization program of this kind usually adds up to something like a billion dollars, spread across decades; not a bad return on investment.These programs are not universally effective, though, as in some rare cases non-irradiated males have accidentally been shipped to their intended mating location, temporarily inflating rather than deflating population numbers. And while these programs are relatively cheap to operate on scale, the cost of producing enough sterilized males to make such an effort effective can be prohibitive when aimed at smaller regions, or when attempted by governments or agencies without the budget to see what can sometimes be a long-term project through.That said, this approach does seem to work very well when done correctly, and while its ecosystem impact is not zero, as, for instance, predators who eat these pests might suddenly find themselves without one of their staple food sources, which can lead to knock-on effects across the food web, it does seem to be one of the least foodweb ripple-producing approaches, as genetic modifications can theoretically lead to far more elaborate unforeseen consequences, and the widespread spraying of chemicals has semi-regularly led to die-offs and maladies in other local species, in addition to sometimes causing long-term, even fatal health problems for humans who rely on local food or water sources.Show Noteshttps://archive.is/20250815192422/https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/usda-build-texas-facility-fight-flesh-eating-screwworms-2025-08-15/https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2025/08/how-to-stop-flesh-eating-parasite-from-devastating-us-cattle-government-will-breed-billions-of-flies.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/fly-factories-flesheating-parasite-cattle-texas-429ce91225bbab4a45c9040f1be356a5https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochliomyia_hominivoraxhttps://archive.is/14Rdkhttps://archive.is/afmt2https://archive.is/QfTvGhttps://archive.is/dxbcZhttps://www.oregonlive.com/business/2025/08/how-to-stop-flesh-eating-parasite-from-devastating-us-cattle-government-will-breed-billions-of-flies.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_techniquehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sterile_insect_technique_trialshttps://web.archive.org/web/20210416164524/http://www-iswam.iaea.org/drd/refs_files/195_The-Area-wide-SIT-Screwworm.pdfhttps://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/sterile-insect-technique-used-to-suppress-mosquito-disease-vectors-in-floridahttps://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-control/genetically-modified-mosquitoes.htmlhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30722-9https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4313646/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Text usIn this episode of Anthology of Horror, we plunge into some of the darkest chapters of the twentieth century: the atrocities committed by Imperial Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. From the systematic slaughter and sexual violence of the Nanjing Massacre to the grotesque human experimentation carried out by Unit 731, this is a story of cruelty without parallel.Told with unflinching honesty but delivered with solemn restraint, the episode paints a vivid historical picture of how Japan's imperial ambitions turned ordinary men into monsters—and why denial and forgetting are just as dangerous as the crimes themselves.Listener discretion is strongly advised. This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence, sexual violence, and crimes against humanity.Cast & CreditsHost: Spring-Heeled JackResearch Assistant: Kate (daughter of Steve)Producer: Mickie EberzSpecial Thanks: Young Alex, for suggesting the topic and supporting the Mannings' GoFundMe after the Eaton FireEpisode Theme & Closing Song: Blood Engine by EmpressSupport the showDemented Darkness https://open.spotify.com/show/2ausD083OiTmVycCKpapQ8Dark Side of the Nerd https://open.spotify.com/show/6cwN3N3iifSVbddNRsXRTuFoxhound43 https://rumble.com/user/Foxhound43

Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Dr. Knuth Knuth is a former NASA research scientist, associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the University at Albany & the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Entropy. SPONSORS https://hexclad.com/danny - Find your forever cookware. Get 10% off HEXCLAD today! https://huel.com/danny - Use code DANNY & get 15% off HUEL today. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS https://www.uapexpedition.org https://www.albany.edu/physics/faculty/kevin-knuth FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Finding new planets in the galaxy 08:10 - Why NASA doesn't care about the moon anymore 15:28 - The UFO-nuclear problem 19:29 - 1986 Japan air lines UFO sighting 28:50 - Why anti-gravity research is making NO progress 41:39 - Worldwide UFO research happening now 01:00:32 - The most ignored aspect of UAPs 01:10:24 - Alien time traveler theory 01:18:59 - Suspicious details about Roswell crash 01:33:10 - First hand reports from astronauts 01:40:46 - Why we stopped going to the moon 01:51:16 - Was there a lost civilization before us? 02:05:01 - Breakthrough nuclear technology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last time we spoke about the fall of Shanghai. In October 1937 a small battalion led by Colonel Xie Jinyuan transformed the Sihang Warehouse into a fortress against the advancing Japanese army. These men, known as the "800 Heroes," became symbols of hope, rallying local citizens who provided vital support. Despite heavy casualties, they held out against overwhelming odds until a strategic retreat was ordered on November 1. As Japanese forces intensified their assaults, they breached the Chinese defenses and captured strategic positions along Suzhou Creek. The fighting was fierce, marked by desperate counterattacks from the besieged Chinese soldiers, who faced an unyielding enemy. By November 9, the Chinese faced a full retreat, their organized defenses collapsing into chaos as they fled the city. Desperate civilians sought refuge in the International Settlement but were met with hostility, exacerbating the terror of the moment. Amidst the turmoil, remaining forces continued to resist in pockets, holding out as long as possible. By November 11, Japanese troops raised their flag in the last stronghold, marking a grim victory.   #163 Crossing Nanjing's Rubicon Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. As the Japanese were mopping up Shanghai, Chiang Kai-Shek wrote in his diary on November 11th “I fear that they could threaten Nanjing”. Over In Shanghai, General Matsui Iwane was dealing with foreign correspondents, eager to learn what Japan's next move would be and to this he simply stated “For future developments, you had better ask Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek”. The correspondents were surprised by this response and pressed him further. He replied . “Chiang Kai-shek was reported to have predicted a five-year war, well, it might be that long. We don't know whether we will go to Nanjing or not. It all depends on Chiang.” At this point Shanghai was falling under Japanese control and now Matsui and his fellow field commanders were thinking, what's next? Nanjing was certainly the next objective. It was a common understanding amongst the Japanese leadership, that if the four main eastern cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Nanjing were lost, Chiang Kai-Shek's government would collapse. Three of these cities had been taken, Nanjing was dangling like fresh fruit. Matsui's staff believed the Chinese units departing Shanghai would mount a stand immediately west of the city, probably a defensive line running from Jiading to Huangduzhen. On the night of November 11th, Matsui issued a command to all units in the Shanghai area to advance west along the railway towards Nanjing. Their first objective would be a line extending from Taicang to Kunshan. Chiang Kai-Shek was not only reeling from military defeats, but also the gradual loss of his German allies. The Germans were increasingly aligning with the Japanese. Chiang Kai-Shek was looking for new external help, so he turned to the Soviets. It was a marriage of convenience, Chiang Kai-Shek signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR that year and wasted no time pleading for aircraft and pilots. Moscow began sending them before the ink touched the paper. 200 aircraft and pilots in return for some essential minerals, wolfram and tungsten. The Sino-Soviet friendship even drew in an unlikely source of support, Sir Winston Churchill. The Soviet envoy to the UK described how during a meeting with Churchill “he greatly praised our tactics in the Far East: maintenance of neutrality and simultaneous aid to China in weaponry.” Soviet pilots found themselves dispatched to Nanjing where they were briefed by Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich, the deputy commander of the Soviet Air Force. “The Japanese armed forces are technically superior to the Chinese. The Chinese Air Force is a particular concern. Soviet pilots who have rushed to China's aid are currently in Nanjing. They are fighting valiantly.” Meanwhile back at Shanghai discipline and order that had characterized previous Chinese withdrawal had collapsed. Simply put, there were hundreds of thousands of men trying to retreat across the lower Yangtze region, it was a shitstorm. Many units had to disengage during combat with the enemy and scramble to pull out. Huang Qixiang, the deputy commander of the Chinese right flank in Shanghai, executed a strategic withdrawal moments before his command post succumbed to the advancing enemy forces. Just fifteen minutes after his departure, the area was overrun by Japanese troops. In a desperate bid to avoid capture, another general had to cross a creek, nearly drowning in the process. Rescued while barely clinging to life and drenched in icy water, he was welcomed by a peasant family who aided in his recovery before he resumed his arduous journey westward. The scale of this withdrawal, occurring both day and night, could hardly escape the enemy's notice, and its complexity made the operation increasingly difficult. The execution of the withdrawal exacerbated the situation significantly. Orders to abandon their positions started to trickle down immediately after the upper command made the decision. However, these orders reached the units in a disorganized manner. Many telephone lines had been sabotaged, and when soldiers were sent to relay the orders in person, they faced severe disruptions in the transportation network. Consequently, many units only became aware of the withdrawal when they witnessed the mass movements of their comrades heading westward. Upon realizing what was happening, many soldiers fled in a state of panic. There were no comprehensive plans outlining the retreat, no designated routes for the various units, nor any established timetables. The outcome was a chaotic scramble for survival. Soldiers who had fought side by side for three months suddenly found themselves competing against one another in a desperate race to escape. At bridges and other chokepoints, weary soldiers exhausted their last reserves of strength, brawling with their fellow troops to be the first to cross. Meanwhile, officers traveling in chauffeur-driven cars attempted to assert their rank to gain priority access to the roads, adding to the growing disorder that ensued. The massive army was hindered by its sheer size, resulting in miles of congested roads filled with men unable to move in any direction. This made them easy targets for Japanese aircraft, leading to a bloody cycle of repeated attacks. Planes adorned with the red Rising Sun insignia would emerge from the horizon, swooping down to strike at these vulnerable formations. As commander Chen Yiding recalled “The lack of organization and the gridlocked roads resulted in far more casualties than could have been avoided,”.  On November 12th, the newspaper Zhaongyang Ribao, published an editorial addressing the citizens of Nanjing, to remind them that tough times lay ahead now that Shanghai had fallen. The article stipulated they needed to prepare the city for the upcoming battle,  “Now, all the citizenry of the capital must fulfill their duty in a way that can serve as a model for the entire nation.” Nanjing in 1937 was a city touched by the war, but not enough to change the social fabric just yet. Cinema's remained open, the shopping arcade was crowded as usual, traffic was heavy along Zhongshan Road, order remained. Telephones remained on, except during air raids. Connections to the outside world functioned as they should, given this was the capital. The region had seen a good harvest in 1937, no one was going hungry. However as the front 200 miles away drew closer, bombing raids more frequent, fear of the enemy increased. Contact with the outside world gradually declined. By mid November the train link from Nanjing to Shanghai was severed.  While the fear amongst the populace increased, so did a newfound sense of common purpose against a common enemy. Poster calling for the Chinese to unite against the Japanese invaders were found throughout Nanjing. Residents were conscripted for various fortification efforts, with some receiving basic military training to help defend the city. Those who refused to cooperate faced severe penalties as “traitors,” while the majority willingly participated. Both military and civilian police were deployed throughout the city, diligently checking identities in an ongoing effort to root out spies and traitors. The authorities enforced a strict prohibition against discussing military matters in restaurants and other public venues. Then all the high ranking military officials and politicians families gradually began departing the city in secrecy. This was followed by said politicians and military officials. Twas not a good look. Nanjing soon saw its population decline from 1 million to half a million. Those who stayed behind were mainly the poor, or those anchored, like shopkeepers. Every day saw a steady stream of Nanjing citizens leaving the city over her main roads, fleeing into the countryside with carts full of belongings. On November 12th at 10am orders were issued for the Japanese to advance west. What had been a war of attrition, where inches of land were claimed with blood, suddenly it was a war of movement. As one Japanese soldier recalled “In the course of 50 days, I had moved only two miles. Now suddenly we were experiencing rapid advance”. As the Japanese came across small towns, they found large posters plastered on all the walls. These were all anti-japanese with some nationalist propaganda. The Japanese soldiers would tear them down and paint up their own messages “down with Chiang Kai-Shek!”.  Towns and cities west of Shanghai fell rapidly one after another, each succumbing to a grim pattern: swift conquest followed by widespread devastation. Jiading, a county seat with a population of approximately 30,000, succumbed to a prolonged siege. When the 10st division captured Jiading on November 13, after relentless shelling had leveled a third of the city, they began a massacre, indiscriminately killing nearly everyone in their path, men, women, and children alike. The battle and its aftermath resulted in over 8,000 casualties among the city's residents and surrounding countryside. One Japanese soldier referred to Jiading as “A city of death, in a mysteriously silent world in which the only sound was the tap of our own footsteps”.  On November 14, soldiers from the 9th Division reached Taicang, an ancient walled city designed to withstand lengthy sieges. As they crossed the 70-foot moat amid heavy fire, the Japanese troops confronted the formidable 20-foot-high city wall. After breaching the wall, their infantry swiftly entered the city and seized control. The destruction persisted long after the fighting ceased, with half of the city being devastated, including significant cultural institutions like the library, and salt and grain reserves were looted. It was as if the Japanese aimed to obliterate not just the material existence of the people but their spiritual foundation as well.  Casual cruelty marked the nature of warfare along the entire front, with few prisoners being taken. Ishii Seitaro, a soldier in the 13th Division's 26th Brigade, encountered a mass execution while marching alongside the Yangtze River. Several headless corpses floated nearby, yet three Chinese prisoners remained alive. A Japanese officer, personally overseeing the execution, wore a simple uniform, but the two ornate swords at his belt indicated his wealthy background. Approaching one prisoner, the officer dramatically drew one of the swords and brandished it through the air with exaggerated flair. In an almost theatrical display, he held it aloft, the blade trembling as if he were nervous. The prisoner, in stark contrast, exhibited an unnerving calmness as he knelt, awaiting his inevitable fate. The officer swung the sword down but failed to deliver a clean strike. Although he inflicted a deep gash to the prisoner's skull, it was not fatal. The prisoner collapsed, thrashing and emitting a prolonged scream that sent chills through those present. The officer, seemingly exhilarated by the anguish he caused, began wildly slashing at the figure until the screams subsided. Ishii turned away in horror, his mind swirling with confusion. Why were the Chinese being executed? Had they not surrendered?  Three months into the war's expansion to the Yangtze region, air raids had become an all too frequent menace in Nanjing. The first major raid came on August 15th and increased each week. On the night of August 27, approximately 30 bombs were dropped on Purple Mountain, specifically targeting the Memorial Park for Sun Yat-sen, aiming to hurt the morale of Nanjing's residents. As days melted into weeks and weeks stretched into months, the landscape of Nanjing transformed under the weight of war. Residents began constructing dugouts in courtyards, gardens, public squares, and even on streets. Foreigners painted their national flags on top of buildings and vehicles, attempting to avoid the risk of being machine-gunned by strafing aircraft. Each raid followed a predictable routine: sirens wailed loudly 20 to 30 minutes before the attack, signaling pedestrians to seek shelter and drivers to stop their engines. By the time a shorter warning sounded, the streets had to be cleared, leaving nothing to do but await the arrival of Japanese planes. Initially, the part-US-trained Chinese Air Force posed a considerable threat to Japanese bombers. The 4th and 5th Chinese Squadrons, stationed near Nanjing to defend the capital, achieved early success, reportedly downing six bombers during the first air raid on Nanjing. Much of the credit for these aerial victories belonged to Claire Chennault, a retired American Army Air Corps captain who had become an advisor to the Chinese Air Force, overseeing Nanjing's air defense. Chennault taught his pilots tactics he had developed in the US but had never fully implemented. His strategy was straightforward: three fighters would focus on one enemy bomber at a time. One would attack from above, another from below, while a third would hover in reserve to deliver the final blow if necessary. He instructed the Chinese pilots to target the engines rather than the fuselage, reasoning that any missed shots could hit the gas tanks located in the wing roots. This approach proved successful, leading to the loss of 54 Japanese planes within three days. For Chennault, it validated his belief that air superiority required a diverse range of aircraft, not just bombers. Nighttime raids, however, posed a greater challenge. Chennault, along with other commanders, sought solutions. Chinese General C.C. Wong, a German-trained artillery officer overseeing the country's anti-aircraft defenses, ensured that dozens of large Sperry searchlights were positioned throughout Nanjing in a grid pattern. This setup had a dual purpose: it would dazzle the Japanese bomber crews and highlight their planes in silhouette for Chinese fighters above to target. The bravery of the most skilled Chinese pilots occasionally gained media attention, making them local celebrities amidst an otherwise grim war environment. However, this bright moment faded quickly when the Japanese command decided to provide escorts for their bombers. Consequently, the elite of China's air force, its finest pilots and aircraft, were lost within weeks that fall. All air raids were brutal, but the worst assaults occurred at the end of September. As a radio broadcaster reported on September 25th “Gallons of civilian blood flowed today as Nanking endured three ferocious air raids”. In total, 96 Japanese sorties were launched on that day. Witnesses observed around a dozen Chinese aircraft retreating north across the Yangtze, initially believing they were fleeing, but some returned to confront the enemy. When Chinese fighters managed to down a Japanese bomber, the streets erupted in cheers as civilians momentarily forgot their fear. The primary aim of the September 25 attack appeared to be spreading terror among the civilian population. Chiang Kai-Shek wrote in his diary that day  “The repeated Japanese air raids over the past several days have had no impact on our military installations. Instead, civilian property has sustained significant damage.” Around 20 bombs struck the Central Hospital, one of Nanjing's largest medical facilities, causing extensive destruction and prompting the evacuation of its staff. Two 1,000-pound bombs exploded nearby, leaving large craters. Had these bombs landed slightly closer, they could have resulted in mass casualties among the hospital's 100 patients, including a Japanese pilot who had been shot down earlier that month. The air raids at the end of September prompted protests from the Americans, British, and French governments to Japan. In response, Tokyo issued a statement on September 30, asserting that while they were not intentionally targeting non-combatants, it was “unavoidable” for achieving military objectives that military airfields and installations in and around Nanjing be bombed.   The battle for Jiashan was among the fiercest in the southern Yangtze delta campaign in November 1937. Although Jiashan was a moderately sized town straddling a crucial railway connecting Shanghai to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. For the Japanese, seizing Jiashan was imperative for their westward advance; without it, their military progress would be severely hampered. Jiashan had endured three days of relentless bombing by the Japanese Air Force, driving most residents to flee into the surrounding countryside. Only about 100 remained, those who were too old or too sick to escape, abandoned by family or friends who lacked the means to assist them. The Japanese troops brutally bayoneted nearly all of these individuals and buried them in a mass grave just outside the town's northern gate. Jiashan was captured by the 10th Army, a division fresh from victories and eager to engage in combat, unlike the weary forces of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force further north. With less than a week of combat experience, the 10th Army's soldiers were hungry for a fight. The martial spirit of the 10th Army was exemplified by its commander, Yanagawa Heisuke. Born near Nagasaki in 1879, he was among a group of retired officers called back to active service as the war in China escalated unexpectedly. Having served in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and taught at the Beijing Army College in 1918, Yanagawa had considerable experience in military affairs. However, his past exposure to China did not cultivate any empathy for the enemy. He was determined to push all the way to Nanjing, and once there, he intended to blanket the city in mustard gas and incendiaries until it capitulated. While Japanese commanders debated the value of capturing Nanjing, the Chinese were equally preoccupied with whether it was worth defending. Most military professionals viewed the situation as a lost cause from the start. After the fall of Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek summoned one of his top commanders, Chen Cheng, to Nanjing for discussions. “How can Nanjing be held?” Chen Cheng shot back “Are you ordering me to hold Nanjing?” Chiang replied “I am not”. Chen Cheng stated frankly, “I believe Nanjing should not be held at all.” By mid-November, Bai Chongxi, one of China's most respected generals, advocated for declaring Nanjing an open city. He argued that defending it was not only unnecessary but also impossible. All available forces had been deployed to Shanghai and were now exhausted. Furthermore, no reinforcements would be forthcoming if they made a stand in Nanjing. Instead of stubbornly clinging to fixed positions, he preferred a more flexible defensive strategy. Zhang Qun, Chiang's secretary, supported Bai's stance, believing that while Nanjing should ultimately be abandoned, political considerations were paramount. If the Chinese simply withdrew and allowed the Japanese to occupy the city, it would undermine China's position in any future negotiations. The Japanese would not be able to present themselves as victors who had triumphed in battle. Similarly, Chiang's chief military advisor, General Alexander von Falkenhausen, was against attempting to hold Nanjing. He deemed it “useless from a military perspective, suggesting it would be madness.” He warned that if Chiang forced his army into a decisive battle with their backs to the Yangtze River, “a disaster would probably be unavoidable.” Chiang's head of the operations bureau Liu Fei argued Nanjing could not be abandoned without a fight as it would crush the NRA's morale. He believed that defending the city could be managed with as few as 12 regiments, although 18 would be feasible. Most at the meeting agreed and Chiang understood Nanjing's international recognition necessitated some form of defense, doomed or not. A second meeting was formed whereupon, Tang Shengzhi, a general staff officer whose loyalties were, lets be honest very flip floppy. During the warlord era, he routinely switched sides, especially against Chiang Kai-Shek. At the meeting Tang stated in regards to Nanjing's international prominence and being the final resting place of Dr Sun Yat-Sen “How can we face the spirit of the former president in heaven? We have no choice but to defend the capital to the death.” Chiang's commanders were all well aware of his intentions. The generalissimo was eager for a dramatic last stand in Nanjing to serve propaganda purposes, aiming to rally the nation and convey to the world that China was resolute in its fight against Japan. His commanders also recognized the rationale behind fighting for Nanjing; however, very few were inclined to embark on what seemed a likely suicide mission. The third meeting occurred the day after the second. Chiang opened by asking, as many anticipated, “Who is willing to shoulder the burden of defending Nanjing?” An awkward silence followed. Then Tang Shengzhi stepped forward. “Chairman, if no one else is willing, I will. I'm prepared to defend Nanjing and to hold it to the death.” Without hesitation, Chiang accepted his offer. “Good, the responsibility is yours.”A little refresher on Tang, he had played a role in Chiang Kai-shek's efforts to unify China by force in the 1920s, when the nation was a patchwork of fiefdoms. However, their relationship had soured on two occasions, forcing Tang into temporary exile, first to Japan and then to Hong Kong. The Japanese invasion of northeastern China in 1931 prompted a loose reconciliation, and since then, Tang had held several important positions, notably organizing war games simulating a Japanese assault on Nanjing. However Tang had often suffered from illness, and crucially, he had not led troops in the field against the Japanese since the onset of full-scale war that summer. Hailing from Hunan province, he was a typical provincial soldier and would likely face challenges commanding respect among elite divisions loyal solely to the central government in Nanjing. He was definitely not the first choice for such a significant task.  Amazingly, while tens of thousands of Chinese and Japanese were killing each other, while Japanese planes relentlessly bombarded Chinese cities including the capital, and while Japanese soldiers committed heinous atrocities against Chinese civilians, the two nations maintained diplomatic relations. China had a fully operational embassy in Tokyo, led by Xu Shiying, a 65-year-old diplomat. This surreal arrangement persisted because neither side was willing to officially declare war. In the fall of 1937, as Japanese armies were heavily engaged on two fronts within mainland China, Xu met with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirota Koki to propose a non-aggression treaty. The proposal was swiftly rejected in Nanjing. By November 1937, Xu was no longer at the forefront of events, and foreign observers shifted their focus from the capitals of the warring nations to Belgium. While large-scale battles raged along the lower Yangtze, representatives from 19 countries convened in Brussels to search for a way to end hostilities. Although China participated in the conference, Japan did not. Japan had received two invitations to join the talks, with its response to the second arriving in Brussels on November 12: a firm rejection. Japan asserted that it preferred direct bilateral negotiations with China, dismissing the Brussels conference held under the auspices of the Nine-Power Treaty, a pact signed in 1922 aimed at ensuring China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Japan argued that intervention by a collective body like the conference “would merely stir national sentiments in both countries and complicate efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution.” The League of Nations had called for a Nine-Power conference a month earlier, which ultimately became a 19-power conference as other nations with interests in East Asia joined. From the outset, Japan opposed the assembly and was absent when the first plenary meeting commenced in Brussels on November 3. Japanese leaders feared that China might attempt to leverage the conference against Western powers, recalling how, in 1895, Japan had been denied its spoils following its first modern war with China due to the intervention of Russia, France, and Germany, who blocked Japan from claiming the strategic Liaodong Peninsula adjacent to Korea. China also exhibited a lukewarm attitude toward the conference. While Japan feared the potential outcomes, China was concerned about the lack of significant results. The proposal to transition discussions from the League of Nations, perceived as ineffective, to the even less authoritative Nine Powers, which lacked formal organization. Nonetheless, the Chinese chose to participate in Brussels, maintaining the pretense that something meaningful could be accomplished. Shortly after Japan's second rejection of the invitation, Wellington Koo made an impassioned plea in Brussels, stating, “Now that the door to conciliation and mediation has been slammed in your face by the latest reply of the Japanese Government, will you not decide to withhold supplies of war materials and credit to Japan and extend aid to China?” In reality, Koo understood that significant Western aid to China was highly unlikely, aside from token gestures. Previous international discussions had momentarily halted Japanese advances in the past; for instance, in 1932, Japanese troops had paused their movements in the Shanghai area just hours before the League of Nations General Assembly commenced. However, that was nearly six years earlier, and circumstances had changed dramatically since then. Rogue states had grown bolder, while democracies seemed increasingly timid. Thus, the Chinese agenda in Brussels was not primarily driven by hopes for substantial Western concessions. Instead, the delegates had been tasked by Nanjing to anticipate the post-conference landscape and to actively seek ways to encourage Europe and America to support Soviet military action against Japan.   China, long reliant on Germany as a diplomatic partner, increasingly felt betrayed, not just by Germany, but also by its fascist ally, Italy. Consequently, it began looking more favorably upon the Soviet Union, Japan's archrival in Northeast Asia, as its main source of international support. The Soviet Union exhibited a firmer stance than the Western democracies at the Brussels conference, joining China in advocating for collective security in Europe and Asia. On November 15th, a small group of officers from the 10th Army gathered for late-night discussions in an abandoned building north of Hangzhou Bay, where they would effectively decide the fate of China. Yanagawa Heisuke, the commander of the 10th Army, presided over the discussions. Fresh from the battlefield since the beginning of the month, he was eager to escalate the fight, a sentiment echoed among the others. It was an unusual meeting, where officers as low in rank as major were making decisions typically reserved for the highest echelons of political power. The agenda included a pivotal question: Should they adhere to Order No. 600 received from Tokyo a week prior, which instructed them to halt their advance along a line from Suzhou to Jiaxing? Or, should they disregard these explicit orders and push forward to seize Nanjing? While the Japanese Army had failed to completely annihilate the Chinese forces around Shanghai, there was a consensus that their adversary was now reeling from recent setbacks, presenting an opportune moment to strike decisively and secure a swift victory. The only remaining question was how aggressively to pursue this goal. Colonel Terada Masao, a senior staff officer within the 10th Army, spoke first. “The Chinese Army is currently retreating toward the capital. We should cross that line and pursue the enemy straight to Nanjing.” Major Iketani Hanjiro, a staff officer recently attached to the fast-moving 6th Division, then offered his input “From a tactical perspective, I completely agree with Terada that we should cross the line, but the decision to attack Nanjing should be considered not just tactically, but also politically. It's not that field commanders can't create a fait accompli to pressure our superiors in Tokyo. However, we must proceed with great caution”. A staff officer raised this question  “What if Tokyo orders us to pull back those smaller units?” Iketani responded “In that case, we will, of course, withdraw them to this side of the line”. Ultimately, Iketani's cautions were set aside, and Terada's aggressive approach prevailed. The majority agreed that the tactical circumstances presented a rare opportunity. Japanese troops in the Shanghai area were poised to advance west, not through small, individual skirmishes but with a substantial deployment of their forces. Officers estimated that if a decisive push was made immediately, Nanjing could fall into Japanese hands within 20 days. However Colonel Kawabe Torashiro, the newly appointed chief of the Army General Staff's Operations Section suddenly arrived at the theater. He was sent on a mission to assess whether the Central China Area Army should be granted greater operational freedom. It was well known in Tokyo that field officers were eager to capitalize on the momentum created by the collapse of Chinese defenses around Shanghai. Kawabe's task was to explore the possibility of allowing forces to cross the line from Suzhou to Jiaxing and move westward in pursuit of the retreating enemy. However, Kawabe was staunchly opposed to further military adventures in China. Kawabe was part of the dwindling faction of "China doves" within the Japanese military. As early as the summer of 1937, he had become alarmed by a letter from a civilian Japanese visitor to the Chinese mainland, warning that Japanese officers were attempting to engineer an “incident” with China to provoke open conflict. This would provide Japan with a pretext to expand its influence in northern China. Kawabe had attempted to alert his superiors, but his warnings fell on deaf ears. They had been lulled into a false sense of security by reports from China that dismissed all talk of war-mongering as baseless and alarmist. When he arrived to the front he stated “I am here to inspect conditions on the ground so that a final decision can be made on where to establish the operational restriction line”. Alongside him came General Akira Muto, recently appointed the commander of the Central China Area Army. He also happened to be one of the architects of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Muto responded promptly: “The line currently stretches from Suzhou to Jiaxing, but we should consider crossing it. This will help us achieve our overall objectives in the theater.” Muto continued, arguing that the 10th Army should be permitted to advance to Huzhou, south of Lake Tai, effectively cutting off communications between Nanjing and the strategic city of Hangzhou. He further claimed that the Shanghai Expeditionary Force should be allowed to capture the vital city of Jiangyin, suggesting, perhaps overly optimistically, that its loss could lead to the fall of Chiang Kai-shek. Ultimately, Muto insisted, Nanjing should also be seized, which he asserted would bring an end to the war. Kawabe listened patiently, a practice he would repeat in the following days as other field officers echoed similar sentiments, eagerly expressing their desire to advance all the way to Nanjing. Yanagawa and his 10th Army exemplified this aggressive mindset. Nevertheless, just as the hawks within the Japanese military and the nation's political leadership appeared to be prevailing in the struggle over China policy, they faced unexpected challenges from a different direction. Germany, a power with ambiguous sympathies in East Asia, was quietly engaged in negotiations aimed at bringing peace. Oskar Trautmann, Germany's ambassador to China, had maintained an objective and neutral stance when he met with Chiang Kai-shek in early November to relay Japan's conditions for initiating peace talks. These conditions included extensive concessions in northern China, such as the withdrawal of all Chinese troops to a line south of Beijing and the establishment of a pro-Japanese regime in Inner Mongolia, bordering the Soviet-controlled Mongolian People's Republic. Chiang dismissed these demands outright, but Trautmann and his superiors in Beijing continued their top-secret efforts. Germany's motivation for seeking an end to the Sino-Japanese War was not rooted in a genuine love for peace, but rather in their embarrassment over witnessing their old Asian ally, China, fighting against their new partner, Japan. Herman Göring, president of the Reichstag and a leading figure in the Nazi party, told a Chinese visitor, “China and Japan are both friends of Germany. The Sino-Japanese War has put Germany between Scylla and Charybdis. That's why Germany is ready to seize the chance to become a mediator.” Germany also feared that a prolonged conflict in China could jeopardize its commercial interests in East Asia and weaken Japan's capacity to confront the Soviet Union, potentially freeing Moscow to allocate more resources to a fight in Europe. In essence, continued hostilities could significantly harm Germany. Japanese field commanders were frustrated by Germany's mediation efforts.  When news of Trautmann's mission leaked, the German diplomat faced severe criticism in the Chinese media, which deemed any negotiation with the "Japanese devils" unacceptable. Additionally, there was the matter of China's ties with the Soviet Union; employing a German mediator raised the possibility of cooperation among China, Japan, and Germany, potentially expanding the anti-Soviet bloc, which would, in turn, pressure Moscow to increase its support for China. By mid-November, however, the complexities of this diplomatic game started unraveling and then Japan took action. At 7:00 am on November 19, Yanagawa issued instructions to his troops in the field. “The enemy's command system is in disarray, and a mood of defeat has descended over their entire army. They have lost the will to fight. The main Chinese forces were retreating west of the line stretching from Suzhou to Jiaxing, and this withdrawal was soon likely to spiral into a full-scale retreat. We must not miss the opportunity to pursue the enemy to Nanjing.” I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Shanghai had fallen, and the Japanese forces pursued their fleeing enemy further west. However they had orders to halt, but would they? Officers from top down deliberating on the issue, with the vast majority pushing for a drive to Nanjing. They thought it represented the end objective of the conflict. They would all be very wrong. 

Aditi Sahasrabuddhe is a political scientist at Brown University and the author of the new book, Banker's Trust: How Social Relations Avert Global Financial Collapse. In Aditi's first appearance on the show, she discusses how central bankers' relationships in the 1920's impacted the global economy, how the ending of those relationships played a part in the Great Depression, how we can apply those principles to the Great Recession and the present, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on July 30th, 2025 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Subscribe to David's new BTS YouTube Channel  Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:50 - Aditi's Intellectual Journey 00:03:57 - Louis Franck at the National Bank of Belgium 00:05:46 - Relationships and Crisis 00:11:07 - Central Bank Club 00:17:06 - Central Bankers and the Butterfly Effect 00:22:33 - Montagu Norman and Benjamin Strong 00:32:06 - Émile Moreau 00:34:48 - Japan 00:38:11 - Benjamin Strong and the Great Depression 00:48:55 - Great Financial Crisis 00:51:18 - India 00:55:25 - Jerome Powell the Central Banker 00:58:23 - Outro

Learn about traveling the world as a deafblind Latina—salsa dancing, sumo-wrestling and becoming a disability advocate. _____________________________ Subscribe to The Maverick Show's Monday Minute Newsletter where I email you 3 short items of value to start each week that you can consume in 60 seconds (all personal recommendations like the latest travel gear I'm using, my favorite destinations, discounts for special events, etc.). Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram ____________________________________ Catarina joins Matt and talks about growing up in the U.S. in an immigrant home with Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage. She reflects on what those identities mean to her as well as her deafblind disability journey with Usher syndrome.  Catarina debunks common misconceptions people have about deafblind people and offers tips on non-disabled people can be better allies to disabled travelers.  She then reflects on how her interest in world travel developed and tells stories from a family trip to Spain in high school and more immersive trips to rural Kentucky, Argentina and Korea in college.  Next, Catarina talks about her first solo-trip with the white cane to Montreal, her love for Salsa dancing around the world, and her recent trip to Japan where she had epic tea experiences and got to try sumo-wrestling.  She then talks about the trip she led to Portugal for disable travelers and reflects and the power and impact of that experience.  Catarina next takes us on her journey of becoming an intersectional activist and building a fully remote company to smash disability stigmas. She explains how she designs her travel lifestyle and offers trips for disabled travelers as well as those traveling with a relationship partner.  And finally Catarina reflects on how traveling to nearly 40 countries has impacted her as a person.  FULL SHOW NOTES INCLUDING DIRECT LINKS TO EVERYTHING DISCUSSED ARE AVAILABLE HERE. ____________________________________ See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that's not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn  See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See HowI Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ____________________________________ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Please Leave a Rating and Review. It really helps the show and I read each one personally.  You Can Buy Me a Coffee. Espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Title: Million Dollar Monday - Eli Facenda Summary: In this Million Dollar Monday episode, Seth Bradley interviews Eli Facenda, who shares that he made his first million through an international youth sports tour company. The business was growing fast until COVID wiped it out completely. He made his last million through his current business, which helps entrepreneurs use credit card points to take luxury trips for a fraction of the cost. Now, Eli is focused on making his next million by scaling the same business through lower-ticket, community-driven, and digital products, while maintaining his high-ticket services. Links to Watch and Subscribe: https://youtu.be/o8qmXoQf8LE Bullet Point Highlights: First Million: Built through a youth sports international tour company (pre-COVID) Business Model: Organized overseas travel for youth teams and families Impact of COVID: Entire business was decimated by travel restrictions Last Million: Made via a business helping entrepreneurs maximize credit card points for luxury travel High-ticket offers: $5K–$15K services, hit $1M revenue in 2024 Next Million Strategy: Scale through lower-ticket products, community offerings, and digital content (YouTube, affiliates) Goal: Reach more people without sacrificing service quality at the high-ticket level Approach: Reverse path—starting high-ticket, moving into scalable, lower-ticket reach Transcript: Seth Bradley (00:00.16) Welcome to Million Dollar Monday with Eli Facenda. Let's just jump right in. Let's do it. Yeah. How did you make your first million?   So I actually made my first million in a tour company. Now I made the first million. I didn't get to keep the first million, but what we were doing, we were running sports trips all over the world. This is actually part of how I fell in love with the travel industry and the work that I'd now do with points. And ultimately what we were doing, we were creating these international tour packages for youth sports teams and families to go on these international tours. So think of like a 14 year old baseball team in your, you're in San Diego. We'd like do a selection of kids.   from that area, the families would come and they would go to Japan or Italy or wherever and travel for 10 days, experience the culture, have an educational tour and also play the local teams. So we did that in a variety of sports, ice hockey and baseball and lacrosse, all these different sports and we were growing a lot and then that was ramping right until COVID and that just decimated the entire business. it took us about two years to get to a million and then we started to double almost every year for a few years and that was like,   really really tough break in COVID but that was the first night.   Man, nobody saw that coming. I No,   Eli Facenda (01:09.548) definitely you know group large or large group sports international travel was like the worst potential like you can't go overseas and you definitely can't do it with 60 people so it was a brutal industry to be in   Yeah, there were certain sectors that just, I mean, there was nothing you could do. We opened up our first gym actually two weeks before COVID hit in 2020. So we had our, us like two years to open and then our grand opening. And then we had a bunch of free clients in those first two weeks. And then they ended up being free clients for about a year because we couldn't charge them. Cause we couldn't get them back in the gym. We're doing online workouts and all that kind of stuff. Isn't that? Hey, we adapt man.   Yeah, the true entrepreneurial muscles are definitely strengthened in times like that though. mean, like the people that bounce back and figure it out, like you just have a new sense of confidence of like, you know, I can handle anything.   Yeah, man. I mean, you pivot, right? Like I actually ended up launching my first podcast during COVID because I was stuck inside and it was like, all right, let's do this. Let's get on Zoom and interview people and all that kind of stuff, man. So that leads us right to the next question, man. How'd you make your last million? How'd you make that transition?   Yeah, so the last million that I made was in the current business that I have. so essentially what we've been doing there for about four years now is helping entrepreneurs maximize their travel on credit card points. So helping them get their dream bucket list trips, these 30, 40, $50,000 trips all over the world for about 90 % off by leveraging credit card points. And we've traditionally had some pretty high ticket services. I mean, not crazy expensive, but like,   Eli Facenda (02:40.046) know, 5, 10, 15K in that range has been the main service. And so we cracked our first million about two years in. So that was 2024. Actually, it was the first year we made a million there.   Awesome man, awesome. How about your next million? Where are you scaling to?   Yeah, so the next million I want to make is the same business. I love what I do. I really enjoy it. And what I want to do is do it in a more community oriented and lower ticket way. So I want to have bigger reach, more digital products, more of the community, more affiliate services and stuff like that. And I'm really excited about kind of cracking the code on that because we've done it decently with the higher ticket stuff, more agency level service level stuff, which is great. And we're still cranking on that. We're going keep growing it. But I really want to see what we can do with   So the lower ticket stuff, creating awesome stuff on YouTube that leads to different channels and distributions there. So that's the next million and same business, just different type of money.   love it man. Yeah, that's kind of opposite of how some people approach it, right? You usually start with a lower ticket and then you have to build up that base before anybody will give you, you know, higher, pay for that higher ticket product, but you're kind of working backwards because you want to help more people.   Eli Facenda (03:44.398) Totally, exactly. Yeah, there's a limit. mean, what we do in the high ticket is incredible, but it really is a specialized skill. Like you think about like a bookkeeper or an accounting firm or something, there's like a million bookkeepers. There's like 50 people that know points and travel to the level that I need them to know it to really serve clients with the highest level. So there's a real limit on the ability to scale that. It's also just like, we want to be able to do really quality work for less people, but then serve more people with the other stuff too. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Eli Facenda Links: https://www.instagram.com/elitravelguy/ https://x.com/elitravelguy https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-facenda/ https://www.facebook.com/eli.facenda https://www.youtube.com/@elifacenda https://www.threads.com/@elitravelguy https://www.skool.com/@eli-facenda-5305?t=posts

[REBROADCAST FROM May 2, 2025] This year marks the thirtieth annual Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington festival, where high school big bands from around the country are selected to compete and perform. But this year, in honor of the anniversary, Jazz at Lincoln Center opened applications up to schools around the world, and bands from Australia, Japan, and Spain were selected to participate. To help preview the festival, students from the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music big band, selected this year, perform live.

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 18:00 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 03:00 (JST), August 19

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 14:00 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 23:00 (JST), August 18

EP289 Kaila Yu is on the Mount Rushmore of Asian American models and influencers from the early 2000's. She joined the show to talk about her new book Fetishized (available August 19, 2025) and also share her thoughts about the modern culture and the historical media exploitation of Asian women. From Kaila's website https://kailayu.com/ : Kaila is an author based in Los Angeles. Her debut memoir, ‘Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty,' will be published on August 19th, 2025, with Penguin Random House's Crown Publishing.She is also a luxury travel, food, and culture writer and on-camera correspondent based in Los Angeles, who has written for The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and more. She's a certified PADI scuba diver, freediver, and mermaid.Her former band, Nylon Pink, has toured in Australia: Melbourne and Sydney, played in Shanghai at the launch party for Havaianas in China, Costa Rica, played at the Hard Rock in Tokyo, Japan, Macau, China, and Penang, Malaysia.You can follow Kaila on all her social media accounts as just @KailaYuLinks from episode: Man Accused of Killing 8 in Atlanta Pleads Guilty https://www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1021144933/georgia-man-pleading-guilty-to-4-of-8-atlanta-area-spa-killingsRemembering the victims of Atlanta Spa Shootinghttps://people.com/crime/victims-of-atlanta-spa-shootings/Jeremy Lin, Knicks top NBA jersey saleshttps://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/11845/jeremy-lin-knicks-top-nba-jersey-salesThe Dangerous Privilege of Yellow Feverhttps://www.newsweek.com/dangerous-privilege-yellow-fever-opinion-1577449Main Show Sponsors:Right Honda:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://righthonda.com/Right Toyota: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.righttoyota.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arcus Foundry: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://arcusfoundry.comAutocannon Official Gear: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.autocannon.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Hard Parking with Jhae Pfenning:email: Info@HardParking.com Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.Hardparking.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/hardparkingpodcast/Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/hardparkingpod/YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@HardParking

This week on Nintendo Pow Block:⁠⁠Edward Varnell⁠⁠⁠ goes solo to cover a packed week of Nintendo news. Nintendo is teaming up with the Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance to bring competitive gaming to schools, letting over 80,000 students jump into Smash Ultimate, Splatoon 3, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with free NSO memberships and codes to get them started.On the flip side, Pokémon scalpers are at it again. McDonald's Japan had to pull its Pokémon card Happy Meal promo in just 24 hours, and scalpers showed up in full force at the 2025 Pokémon World Championships to snatch up exclusive merch for resale—leaving fans frustrated once more.Edward also chats about the chances of Tekken 8 making it to Switch 2, Bandai Namco's accidental tease of a Tales of Xillia remaster, and the surprise arrival of Chibi-Robo on the GameCube NSO Expansion Pack. It's a fun mix of esports, Pokémon chaos, and some classic Nintendo goodness.This and more on Nintendo Pow Block!Follow our Hosts: ⁠⁠Edward Varnell⁠⁠, Cofounder of ⁠⁠Boss Rush Network⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Corey Dirrig⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Founder of Boss Rush Media and the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Network⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Boss Rush Community: Join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush Network Community Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Boss Rush Network: Follow Boss Rush Network on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X/Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support Boss Rush Network:Support Boss Rush on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and buy merch on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Store.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boss Rush on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website at BossRush.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more great content.Thank you for your Support!Thank you for watching or listening to Nintendo Pow Block, the Nintendo podcast from Boss Rush Network! If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe to the channel, give the video a Like, and hit the notification bell so you never miss an episode. If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app, please leave us a 5-star rating and a review—it really helps! For more great content, visit our website at BossRush.net. Thanks for your continued support of Nintendo Pow Block and our independent endeavor with the Boss Rush Network!

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - French News at 14:00 (JST), August 18

Eighty years on from Victory over Japan day in 1945, the contribution of British and Commonwealth soldiers in a brutal battle against the Imperial Japanese armed forces is often overlooked. The fact that the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved the lives of many in prisoner of war camps is even less discussed. Featuring voicenotes from readers whose family fought in Asia and the Pacific, Venetia and Roland dive into this tangled history and reflect on the legacy they have left behind. Plus, The Telegraph's Gareth Corfield gives the inside scoop on the story behind the biggest British data leak in history - the Ministry of Defence's Afghan list - and how Iran is using it to hunt for MI6 spies. Read David Blair's piece: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/06/the-bombing-of-hiroshima-saved-my-grandfather/Read more VJ Day veteran accounts: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/15/vj-day-80th-anniversary-veterans-who-were-there/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two back to back conversations with buyers who are seeking to purchase a second hand property, get a short term stay license, and leverage their investment into residency using a business manager visa. Is their plan feasible? Also - how acceptable are tattoos in Japan, and how would those influence potential business proceedings?

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Spanish News at 13:00 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Vietnamese News at 20:00 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Portuguese News at 18:00 (JST), August 18

Writer and artist Felipe Smith joins Dave for an in-depth, two-part conversation exploring his career and acclaimed work on MBQ, Peepo Choo, TMNT, and All-New Ghost Rider. They dive into Felipe's early inspirations growing up in Argentina, including Simon Bisley and Frank Frazetta. Felipe talks his groundbreaking achievement as the first Western artist to create a serialized manga in Japan, the intense demands of life as a mangaka, and the contrasts between U.S. and Japanese comic industries.Subscribe to Cringe Musume https://www.youtube.com/@cringemusumeFollow Felipe On Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/felipesmithart/?hl=enhttps://www.westcoastdavengers.com/direct-edition-podcast

Kanzler Merz und weitere Europäer begleiten Selenskyj nach Washington. Außenminister Wadephul fliegt nach Japan. Und SPD-Chef Klingbeil will nicht provozieren. Das ist die Lage am Montagmorgen. Die Artikel zum Nachlesen: So gehen Selenskyj und die Europäer in das Treffen mit Trump US-Präsident verkündet Handelsabkommen mit Japan Überlebt die SPD diese Koalition – und wenn ja, in welchem Zustand? +++ Alle Infos zu unseren Werbepartnern finden Sie hier. Die SPIEGEL-Gruppe ist nicht für den Inhalt dieser Seite verantwortlich. +++ Den SPIEGEL-WhatsApp-Kanal finden Sie hier. Alle SPIEGEL Podcasts finden Sie hier. Mehr Hintergründe zum Thema erhalten Sie mit SPIEGEL+. Entdecken Sie die digitale Welt des SPIEGEL, unter spiegel.de/abonnieren finden Sie das passende Angebot. Informationen zu unserer Datenschutzerklärung.

Need personalised guidance for planning your Japan trip?Send me a DM on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram @japan.experts⁠⁠⁠Join the ⁠⁠⁠Japan Experts Community on Facebook⁠⁠⁠Grab one of my FREE Japan Travel Guides:⁠⁠⁠T⁠⁠⁠⁠he Complete Japan Travel Guide: the 7 steps to creating your unique immersive experience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hidden Japan: 10 Authentic Cultural Experiences⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This Day in Legal History: Nineteenth Amendment RatifiedOn August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote and marking a major legal milestone in the struggle for gender equality. The amendment states simply: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged… on account of sex.” Its passage capped off more than 70 years of organized activism, dating back to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Suffragists like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Alice Paul played pivotal roles in maintaining momentum across generations, despite fierce opposition.The road to ratification was grueling. Congress passed the amendment in 1919, but it still required approval from three-fourths of the states—36 at the time. Tennessee became the critical 36th state, narrowly approving the amendment in a dramatic vote where a 24-year-old legislator, Harry T. Burn, changed his vote after receiving a letter from his mother urging him to support suffrage. That moment tipped the scales and enshrined the right to vote for women nationwide.Before the amendment, several western states had already extended suffrage to women, but many others actively suppressed it. The legal recognition of women's voting rights through constitutional amendment removed any ambiguity and forced all states to comply. The Nineteenth Amendment not only transformed the electorate but also reshaped American democracy by recognizing women as full political participants.The Trump administration is accusing a federal judge in Boston of undermining the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court by continuing to block the administration from firing staff in the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun had issued an injunction requiring the reinstatement of employees let go in a mass layoff, despite the Supreme Court having recently paused a broader version of that order. The Justice Department has asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene, arguing that Joun's refusal to lift the narrower injunction contradicts the Supreme Court's ruling and undermines the rule of law.The judge's decision stems from a lawsuit challenging Secretary of Education Linda McMahon's plan to lay off over 1,300 department employees, part of President Trump's broader goal of eliminating the department—something only Congress can authorize. The plaintiffs, including students and advocacy groups, focused specifically on the Office for Civil Rights, which was set to lose half its staff. They argue that lifting the injunction now would effectively reward the administration's ongoing failure to comply with the court's order, as the terminated employees have not yet been reinstated.Judge Joun, appointed by President Biden, criticized the Supreme Court's ruling as "unreasoned" and pointed to the administration's continued noncompliance. The 1st Circuit has asked the plaintiffs to respond promptly to the Justice Department's request, signaling an expedited review.Trump administration claims judge defied Supreme Court to bar Education Department firings | ReutersFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is preparing for what may be his final speech at the annual Jackson Hole conference, facing a complicated economic picture that challenges his data-driven policy approach. In past years, Powell used the conference to pledge aggressive action against inflation and, later, to support the labor market. Now, with inflation still above target and signs of economic slowdown emerging, Powell must decide whether to prioritize price stability or job preservation.The Trump administration and many investors expect interest rate cuts at the Fed's September meeting, but Powell's messaging—how he frames future actions—may matter more than the decision itself. Internally, Fed officials are split: some want to move quickly to protect jobs, while others want to wait for clearer evidence that inflation won't rebound. Powell has previously styled himself after past Fed chairs like Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan, with Volcker's inflation-fighting resolve and Greenspan's forward-looking leniency both offering competing models.Recent economic data has sent mixed signals. Revised job growth numbers were lower than initially reported, supporting arguments for easing monetary policy, but inflation has edged up again. Trump's tariff policies add further uncertainty, though their economic impact has so far been less severe than feared. With the economy growing slowly and inflation still above the Fed's 2% target, Powell must decide whether to stay the course, cut rates cautiously, or begin a broader shift.Powell has used Jackson Hole to battle inflation and buoy jobs; he's now caught between both | ReutersNovo Nordisk's shares rose by up to 5% after receiving accelerated U.S. approval for its weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis), a progressive liver disease that affects about 5% of U.S. adults. This marks the first GLP-1 drug approved for MASH and offers a significant, if temporary, advantage over competitor Eli Lilly, which is still in clinical trials for its own MASH-targeting drug, tirzepatide.The news was a welcome reversal for Novo, which recently lost over $70 billion in market value following a profit warning and leadership change. The company, once Europe's most valuable publicly traded firm due to Wegovy's success, has seen its share price drop sharply over the past year amid intensifying competition in the obesity drug market and the rise of compounded copycat drugs.Although Novo now holds a short-term lead in the liver disease market, analysts expect that exclusivity will be brief once Eli Lilly gains approval. Novo has also submitted applications in Europe and Japan, signaling its intention to secure broader global use for Wegovy beyond weight loss.Shares in Novo Nordisk rise after Wegovy gets US nod for liver disease treatment | ReutersNorton Rose's ambitious tech partnership with NMBL Technologies has ended in failure and mutual lawsuits, highlighting how difficult it is for Big Law firms to pivot from selling legal services to selling tech products. The firm's Chicago office, launched in 2022 as an “innovation hub,” aimed to introduce 150 clients to Proxy, a legal workflow tool developed by a new partner, Daniel Farris. But three years later, not a single sale was made. NMBL claims Norton Rose didn't uphold its end of the deal and stifled the rollout, while the firm says clients weren't interested and is seeking damages for the investment.The fallout underscores broader challenges law firms face as they increasingly invest in artificial intelligence and legal tech amid growing demand and rising budgets. Unlike traditional legal work, selling products requires different infrastructure and skills—such as dedicated sales teams—that most law firms lack. Despite producing marketing materials and training resources, NMBL alleges that very few Norton Rose lawyers engaged with the product and that the firm failed to meaningfully promote it.NMBL is seeking $15 million in damages, accusing the firm of using the deal merely to recruit talent, while Norton Rose wants $250,000, calling the product commercially nonviable. The firm also allegedly created a shell subsidiary, LX, to meet contract terms but never properly funded or activated it. This case illustrates the steep learning curve law firms face in transitioning to tech-based business models and the internal resistance that can derail innovation.Firm's Failed Tech Venture Foretells Big Law's AI Sales Struggle This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

ZeroLift is back after a two-year break, and what better way to return than with the legendary 'Wangan King,' GTR Dan! Step back in time with us to the early 2000s, when 800whp machines were a common sight on Tokyo's iconic expressways, and Dan lived the ultimate Japan street racing dream. Get ready to immerse yourself in a memorable chapter of his life.

In this solo debrief, Andrew recounts his visit to Matsuura's plants in Japan, where he observed firsthand the discipline and detail that define Japanese manufacturing. He describes how Matsuura trains new employees years in advance, the precision of their hand-scraping process, and the consistency achieved by grinding every pallet on a single master machine.He also discusses the innovations he saw in Matsuura's hybrid LUMEX metal 3D printing and machining technology, spindle balancing rigs, and integrated chip briquetting systems. Beyond the machines themselves, he reflects on Matsuura's culture of multi-generational leadership, long-tenured employees, and a genuine curiosity about how customers use their equipment.Andrew explains the real opportunities in palletized five-axis automation, from reducing setups to unlocking flexible, high-mix production. He emphasizes that these machines require not just investment, but vision and continuous learning to realize their full potential.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life is an interesting take on the Isekai genre. And while it starts out like a number of other ones. Where someone is summoned to another world and thus their journey begins. However in this world people are summoned all the time and always from Japan. And that is what truly sets this apart is that they are not summoned to that world for a noble reason and you get to see the side after the effects of that and how that world has changed from the summoning of people to their world . Which made this show great for us. Not only does it take that approach but it also does its own take on magic and time travel. And this one was honestly one that we enjoyed. The character development is solid and the story made us wish that there was a second season.Next Week's Pick: "Am I Actually The Strongest"Have you had the chance to watch The Executioner and Her Way of Life or any of our previous selections? We'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations for future picks!Deals for You:Supporting your anime binge sessions is what we do best! Here are some exclusive deals that'll make your anime-watching experience even better.Crunchyroll Affiliate Offers:Get 15% off your first anime merch order here.Stream your favorite anime with Crunchyroll. Start Your Free TrialTokyoTreat Special: Use code "FEATUREDANIME" for $5 off your first box through this TokyoTreat link.Looking for some podcast merch? We've got you covered:Main StoreAlternative ShopSupport Our PodcastLove what we do? Support the podcast through Patreon! You can get access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, and more.Support us on PatreonStay Connected With UsDon't miss out on our latest episodes or discussions! Join us across our social channels and be part of the community:Contact UsAnime List: Check out our anime list on MyAnimeList.Twitch: Watch us live on twitch.tv/featuredanimepodcastEmail: info@featuredanimepodcast.comX (Twitter): @ThoseAnimeGuysFacebook: Featured Anime PodcastDiscord: Join our DiscordAnime Info and Our Ratings: Producers: EGG FIRM, SB Creative (GA Bunko), Warner Bros. Japan, Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures, CREEK & RIVER, Tokyo MX, BS11, AT-X, ABEMAStudio: J.C.STAFFSource: Light NovelGenres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Isekai, YuriAired: April 2022 - June 2022Number Of Episodes: 12Our Scores: Jack's Score: 8 / 10 Rick's Score: 8 / 10

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Persian News at 13:30 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Russian News at 12:30 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - Arabic News at 15:00 (JST), August 18

It looks delicious at first sight. Perfect ramen, glossy sushi, fluffy pancakes until you realize it's not real. Welcome to the world of Japanese food replicas, or sampulu (サンプル), where plastic food is not just decoration, it's a multi-million dollar industry and an art.We explore the intriguing history of Japan's hyper-realistic restaurant windows. Spawned from functionality and refined through craftsmanship, these mock foods have assisted diners in comprehending menus for more than a hundred years particularly when words do not suffice. Check out our social media below

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 18:00 (JST), August 17

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 04:30 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 03:00 (JST), August 18

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 23:00 (JST), August 17

NHK WORLD RADIO JAPAN - English News at 14:00 (JST), August 17