James Taylor and Jon Steele return with another packed episode of JTET. In part 1, James reviews 9 games from J2 matchday 10 (start to 07:20), then he’s joined by Jon to analyse Montedio Yamagata v Ehime FC (07:20 to 22:40) and elect a Most Bravo Player (22:40 to 27:20). To round out the episode, the boys take a deep breath before looking ahead to …

Why are nuclear weapons back at the forefront of international politics? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss Ankit's new book, The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on iTune…

After the rest of the Levain Cup Round 2 games were played last Wednesday, Jon Steele covers all of the action from a J2 standpoint in an 8-minute mini-pod. All 5 of the J2 v J1 ties last midweek went into extra time, but in the end only one 2nd-tier side made it through to the next round! Jon also nominates a Most Bravo Player from the midweek mad…

Alan Gibson returned to the podcast, to help Jonny and Ben review goings-on from last midweek, and how the four Kansai clubs are faring after 11 rounds. We chat about the three J1 games - including Steve Holland's ouster at Yokohama F.Marinos after their home loss to Shimizu - and the conclusion of the 2nd round of the 1st round of the Levain Cup l…

How sustainable is this trade war? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the Trump tariffs and the implications for Asian geopolitics.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on iTunes here; if you use Windows or Android, you can …

Jon Steele and James Taylor were reunited after a week of solo pods for this episode of JTET. In part 1, James runs through 9 games from J2 matchday 9 (start to 09:20), before chatting with Jon about Kataller Toyama v Renofa Yamaguchi (09:20 to 26:35). There’s also Most Bravo Player discussion and mention of the J.League’s official awards for Febru…

In a fashionably late mini-pod, Jon Steele looks back at last Wednesday's Levain Cup action from a J2 perspective. There were derby wins for Imabari (in their rescheduled Round 1 game) and Iwata, as well as a night to remember for Yamaguchi as they slayed a J1 giant in the form of Kashima Antlers. Jon also picks a Most Bravo Player, and previews th…

Sean Carroll made a very welcome return to the podcast this week, as we round up J1 Matchday 10, and the surprises and disappointments of the season so far. We begin with the history makers in the top two, Fukuoka and Kyoto both flying higher than they ever have in the top flight, then move on to the incredible story that is Okayama, after their aw…

(sketch by Kaori Rei)Today we are going to sit down with an old friend.It was over seven years ago when I first had Tim Rowe on the podcast, and we mapped out what we saw as the future of startup innovation in Japan. In today's short episode, we talk about what we got right. what surprised us, and what we think is next for Japanese startup innovati…

A bit later than scheduled (sorry!), James Taylor gives us a solo review of all of last weekend's J2 action (Round 8 of the season). In a 10-minute pod, James also nominates a Most Bravo Player for the matchday, and previews the Round 9 matches coming up this weekend. *Jon Steele is working on a review of the midweek Levain Cup action from a J2 per…

Jonny and Ben round up two full rounds of J1 fixtures, with a focus on the weekend's Matchday 9, in our new episode. We begin with the new frontrunner for game of the season - Kyoto's remarkable away win over Kashima on Sunday - before discussing the hard fought draw between Machida and Kawasaki, and the rest of an eventful Sunday chock full of tre…

In this episode of JTET, James Taylor reviews 9 of the J2 matchday 7 games (start to 05:00) to start off, then chats to Jon Steele about Fujieda v Nagasaki (05:30 to 16:00), Most Bravo Players (16:00 to 19:55), and the league and Levain Cup matches coming up over the next week (19:55 to end). Thanks for your support of the J-Talk Podcast and J-Talk…

Regular JTET co-hosts Jon Steele and James Taylor step up for an update of the goings-on in J3 during March. In part 1, Jon and James focus on the top half of the table (start to 14:25), and after the break they shift their gaze downwards to the bottom half (14:25 to end). Thanks for your support of the J-Talk Podcast, J-Talk: Extra Time, and J-Tal…

J1 returned after the international break over the weekend, and Daniel Hawkins joined Jonny and Ben to chat about goings-on at Avispa Fukuoka. After a brief review of Japan 0-0 Saudi Arabia, and our review of Kashima's hard-fought win over Kobe (to 9:07), Daniel hopped on board to discuss Avispa's draw with Machida on Saturday, how the club's new s…

Today we are going to break down some startup stereotypes.I sit down with Kunio Hara, co-founder and CEO of Beatrust and break apart the stereotypes of the uncreative Japanese enterprise and the young startup founder, and Kunio explains how Beatrust is already teaching old dogs new tricks.It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.Show …

In this episode of JTET, Jon Steele and James Taylor review the second part of the Levain Cup 1st round. Jon kicks things off with a roundup of 5 games (start to 05:55) and is then joined by James to talk about Fukushima v Sapporo (05:55 to 21:50) and Omiya v Iwaki (21:50 to31:00), and select a Most Bravo Player (31:00 to 34:10). James rounds out t…

This week, JEF Chiba supporter Alan makes a JTET debut to help us to make sense of his side's fantastic start to the 2025 campaign. To get things started, James round up most of the on-field action from Round 6 (Start to 03:30), then Alan joins Jon to chat about JEF's last-gasp win on the road at a blustery JIT Recycle Ink Stadium (03:30 to 18:50).…

The Samurai Blue cruised into their eighth-straight World Cup with a 2-0 win over Bahrain last Thursday night, and Dan Orlowitz joined Jonny and Ben to review the game, and speculate on how Japan might prepare for the showpiece event, more than a year out (to 31:31). Then we review the Levain Cup results from last Thursday afternoon, and look ahead…

In this week’s streamlined JTET, James Taylor kicks things off with a roundup of the J2 matchday 5 games (start to 05:30) before being joined by Jon Steele for analysis of Iwata v Kofu (05:30 to 14:30), Most Bravo Player selection (14:30 to 19:30) and a look ahead to upcoming league and Levain Cup matches (19:30 to end). Thanks for your support of …

Jonny and Ben kick off this new episode with a good news/bad news ACL review (to 14:56), then they're joined by Jon Steele to chat about Yokohama FC's victory over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday, and the season so far for the Mitsuzawa outfit (to 41:02). Then we run through all of the other games from J1 Matchday 6, including Yokohama F.Marinos and Kobe …

The Asia Geopolitics podcast discusses the latest developments in Washington and their implications for Asia policy. The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the Trump tariffs and the implications for U.S. foreign policy.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diploma…

What does Rodrigo Duterte's arrest mean for the Philippines and international law? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest on a warrant from the International Criminal Court.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The …

After another busy weekend of J2 action, JTET is back to run through all of the big talking points from Round 4 of the 2025 season. James starts things off with a quick round-up of the bulk of the fixtures (Start to 04:15). After that, you'll hear Jon in conversation with Akita supporter Martin Spivey as they discuss his trip to ND Soft Stadium in …

Jonny and Ben are back to round up all eight games from J1 Matchday 5 played on the weekend, while they were also pleased to welcome Ralf Seidl back to the pod to discuss Urawa's first win of the season. After an ACL review dominated by Hiroshima's disastrous oversight in fielding an ineligible player in the first leg against Lion City of Singapore…

New JTSC host Victor Arroyo returns after an unexpected hiatus to review all 8 matches of an entertaining opening round of the J3 season and selects his goal of the week. .By Ben Maxwell

Jon and James are together again to look back at an action-packed round of J2 action! First of all, Jon runs you through the scores from most of the Round 3 games (Start to 05:30), then sits down with James to talk about Tosu v Imabari, our Match of the Week, in detail (05:30 to 25:40). Then it's time to nominate our Most Bravo Players (25:40 to 29…

We round up two full rounds of top flight fixtures (with a focus on the weekend's Matchday 4) in this week's episode, towards the end of which we're joined by Neil Debnam to chat about the early days of Shigetoshi Hasebe's reign at Kawasaki. We begin with the games involving the top three - new leaders Kashiwa, who climbed to the summit with a win …

While American AI startups are dominating the headlines, one Japanese company has begun rolling out "AI employees" to famously cautious Japanese enterprise customers.Today we talk with Shota Nakagawa the CEO of Caster and discuss their model of human-AI collaboration, why Japan is positioned to lead real-world AI deployment, and the big steps neede…

What can be gleaned from the first month of the second Trump administration about the U.S. approach to world affairs? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the evolving U.S. approach to alliances and much more.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia…

James, Jon, and special guest Sean Carroll look back at another busy weekend of J2 action. James gets things started with a quick review of most of the Round 2 action (Start to 03:00), before Jon and Sean sat down to talk about Omiya's home win over Kofu in depth (03:00 to 15:00). The boys also discuss Omiya and Kofu's prospects for 2025 in more de…

Jonny and Ben were pleased to welcome Stuart Woodward back to the pod, to chat about his trip to Hiroshima for Yokohama F.Marinos' visit to Sanfrecce on Sunday, a cagey affair settled by a correct, but unfortunate, penalty decision against visiting defender Jeisson Quinones that saw Hiroshima stay perfect after two rounds (to 27:20). Then in Part 2…

What does American anxiety over DeepSeek reveal about the state of US-China competition in AI? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the rise of DeepSeek and the state of geopolitical competition over artificial intelligence technologies.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subs…

The JTET boys are back to pick over the bones of the opening round in J2 2025! Kicking off a new, streamlined pod format, Jon runs through the scores on the doors from Round 1 in a whistle-stop roundup (Start to 03:15). Jon then sat down with James to discuss their 'Match of the Week', focusing in detail on Omiya's return to J2 life against Yamagat…

J1 is back, and on this episode (after a brief ACL review at the start of the pod) Jonny and Ben review all of the top flight action, beginning with stirring wins for Okayama, Cerezo Osaka and Kawasaki, then moving on to clashes involving presumptive title challengers, before rounding up the final group of games.…

Welcome to Disrupting Japan. Straight talk from Japan’s most innovative founders and VCs.I’m Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me.There is so much happening in Japan right now.Startups and innovation are beginning to reshape Japan with the same dynamism we saw during the post-war boom or the Meji-era re-opening.And I’ve been in the middle of this …

With the new J2 season hurtling into view at the weekend, the JTET crew finish off their 2025 season preview with five more teams covered in depth. James and Jon get things underway by running the rule over newly-relegated Tosu (Start to 09:20), followed by Yamaguchi (09:20 to 19:15), and then Oita (19:15 to 29:00). The boys then welcome special gu…

We wrap up our top flight previews with the final five teams, and a heavy Kansai focus, as Alan Gibson guests in Part 1 to chat about his long weekend in the Tokyo area - including the Super Cup - and then help us preview defending champions Kobe (to 38:25) and Gamba Osaka (to 1:03:55). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben discuss Cerezo Osaka (to 1:22:35)…

With the big J2 kick-off less than a week away, the JTET team continue with their team-by-team previews of the 2025 season. In this episode, Jon and James begin in Shikoku, discussing newly-promoted Imabari (Start to 09:15), and their rather-more-established prefectural neighbors Ehime (09:15 to 17:20). After that, Tokushima come under the microsco…

Hot on the heels of Part 1, JTET is back to preview another five teams who are getting ready for the 2025 J2 season. This time, Jon and James get things underway by talking about Consadole Sapporo (Start to 08:45), and Montedio Yamagata (08:45 to 16:45). After that, a trio of special guests are on hand to give us their thoughts on the year ahead. F…

The second Trump term is nothing like the first. The implications for Asia are massive. The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the early days of the second Trump administration in the United States.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics …

Victor Arroyo makes his debut as the new host of JTSC, previewing five teams ahead of the new 2025 J3 season: 0:00-3:05 Intro 3:05-5:30 Azul Claro Numazu 5:30-7:50 Fukushima United FC 7:50-10:05 Gainaire Tottori 10:05-12:20 FC Gifu 12:20-15:15 Giravanz Kitakyushu 15:15-End Outro Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/jtalkpod…

With not long until the big kickoff for 2025, Jon Steele and James Taylor got together for the first J2 season preview pod. After a brief word of thanks to departing JTSC host Mike Innes, Jon and James talked about five teams: 04:00 to 10:15 Jubilo Iwata 10:15 to 16:10 Fujieda MYFC 16:10 to 25:05 Mito Hollyhock 25:05 to 34:45 Ventforet Kofu 34:45 t…

We have another bumper round of J1 previews for you this week, as we edge closer to the start of the new season. In Part 1 Jonny and Ben preview Hiroshima (to 21:20) and Kashiwa (to 48:25), before they're joined by three terrific guests. In Part 2 Daniel Hawkins chats about Fukuoka (to 1:13:17), then in Part 3 Ralf Seidl discusses Urawa (to 1:45:25…

Japanese business loves paper.From fax machines, to business cards, to massive project binders. Paper processes are slow to die in Japan, especially in industrial facilities.Today we talk with Jumpei Yoshida of Kaminashi who explains why that's finally changing and how foreign workers are driving the transformation.It's a great conversation, and I …

Now that we're up and running, our J1 season previews roll on galactically on this episode, with five more teams under the microscope. We begin with a J-Talk crossing of the streams, as Jon Steele guests to preview promoted clubs Yokohama FC (to 42:15) and Shimizu (to 1:09:00), before Jonny and Ben run the rule over Shonan (to 1:29:30) and Yokohama…

Welcome to our previews of the 2025 J1 Season! In Part 1, after some housekeeping at the start of the episode, we chat with Lewis White about Tokyo Verdy (to 32:05), and to Ryo Nakagawara about Machida (to 1:01:00) and FC Tokyo (to 1:40:20), before Jonny and Ben discuss Niigata (to 1:56:23) and Kashima. For each club, we follow the same format: A b…

Most outside of the energy industry are (pleasantly) surprised to learn how aggressively startups and CVCs are pushing decarbonization forward.Decarbonization is a fascinating and incredibly important issue, so please join me on this short but special episode.It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.TranscriptWelcome to Disrupting Jap…

Welcome back to a new year, and a new season of J-Talk! On our first episode of 2025, Dan Orlowitz joins Jonny and Ben to chat about how the J.League can build on their successful 2024, and what will be new or different this season, before we discuss the 2026 "0.5 Season", or as it will be known from this point on: The 2026 Chaos Energy J.League Cu…

How will the Biden administration's approach to Asia be remembered? The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast hosts Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) and Katie Putz (@LadyPutz) discuss the Biden administration's policy legacy in Asia.If you’re an iOS or Mac user, you can also subscribe to The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast on iTunes here; if you use Windows…

Japan is lagging behind in AI, but that might not be the case for long.Today we sit down with Jad Tarifi, current founder of Integral AI and previously, founder of Google’s first Generative AI team, and we talk about some of Japan's potential advantages in AI, the most likely path to AGI, and how small AI startups can compete against the over-funde…