New Books in Japanese Studies

Marshall Poe

Japan

World War II

Japanese Literature

Japanese Culture

Manga

Cold War

Colonialism

Cultural Exchange

Anime

Tokyo

Anachronism

Japanese Buddhism

Estonian-Japanese Relations

Cultural Identity

Buddhism

World War I

China

Macau

Frederick Rutland

Modern and Contemporary Japanese Women Writers

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to ... more

27 ratings

Publishes	Daily	Episodes	511	Founded	6 years ago
Number of Listeners		Categories	EducationBooksArts

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Latest Episodes

Ashton Lazarus, "Performing Transgression: Crowds and Bodies in Heian Japan" (Harvard UP, 2026)

What happens when performance defies social and political boundaries? Performing Transgression: Crowds and Bodies in Heian Japan (Harvard University Press, 2026) offers

a new cultural history of non-elite spectacle in Heian Japan

(794–1185), uncove... more

24 Jul 2026 • 1 hr 7 min • Most popular

Stephen G. Covell, "The Teaching and Teachings of Temple Buddhism in Contemporary Japan" (U Hawaii Press, 2024)

How have Buddhist teachings come to be in modern and contemporary

Japan and how are they taught? This pioneering work seeks to answer

these questions by highlighting the public teachings of Temple Buddhism

institutions, in particular Temple Buddhi... more

12 Jul 2026 • 1 hr 1 min • Popular

Martina Baradel, "21st Century Yakuza: Death of Japanese Organised Crime" (Oxford UP, 2026)

Once

dominant and institutionalised, the Yakuza, one of Japan's best known

criminal organisations, is now shrinking under the combined pressure of

legal exclusion, social stigmatisation, and market regulation. Their

membership has dropped from mo... more

5 Jul 2026 • 1 hr 5 min

Alan Brender, "Pink Tsunami: The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave that has Swept the World" (Headpress, 2026)

In his latest book, Pink Tsunami: The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave that has Swept the World (Headpress 2026), Alan Brender delves into Hello Kitty the marketing wonder and cultural phenomenon, who has been around for 50 years. There are theme parks, resta... more

1 Jul 2026 • 59 min

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Recent Guests

Stephen Covell

Mary Meader, Professor of Comparative Religion and Professor of World Religions and Cultures at Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University

Episode: Stephen G. Covell, "The Teaching and Teachings of Temple Buddhism in Contemporary Japan" (U Hawaii Press, 2024)

Martina Baradel

Author; Associate Professor of Sociology of Organised Crime

University of Nagoya / University of Oxford

Episode: Martina Baradel, "21st Century Yakuza: Death of Japanese Organised Crime" (Oxford UP, 2026)

Alan Brender

Author of Pink Tsunami, The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave That Has Swept the World

Headpress

Episode: Alan Brender, "Pink Tsunami: The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave that has Swept the World" (Headpress, 2026)

Yoshiko Nakano

Professor, Department of International Design Management, Tokyo University of Science; former Japanese studies faculty, University of Hong Kong

Tokyo University of Science

Episode: Yoshiko Nakano and Georgina Challen, "Meiji Graves in Happy Valley: Stories of Early Japanese Residents in Hong Kong" (Hong Kong UP, 2024)

Georgina Challen

Research assistant and part-time PhD candidate, University of Hong Kong; author and co-researcher

University of Hong Kong

Episode: Yoshiko Nakano and Georgina Challen, "Meiji Graves in Happy Valley: Stories of Early Japanese Residents in Hong Kong" (Hong Kong UP, 2024)

Lewis Ryder

Author of Connoisseurs and Conmen, The Contest for Cultural Authority in Early 20th Century Britain

University of Lincoln

Episode: Lewis Ryder, "Connoisseurs and conmen: The contest for cultural authority in early twentieth-century Britain" (Manchester UP, 2026)

Hannah Shepherd

Professor of history, Yale University

Yale University

Episode: Hannah Shepherd, "The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region" (U California Press, 2025)

Jeremy Yellen

Scholar and author focusing on the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Cornell University Press

Episode: Jeremy Yellen, "The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: When Total Empire Met Total War" (Cornell UP, 2019)

Dr. Matthieu Felt

Japanese studies scholar specializing in Japanese myths and literature

University of Florida

Episode: Matthieu Felt, "Meanings of Antiquity: Myth Interpretation in Premodern Japan" (Harvard UP, 2023)

Host

Samee Siddiqui

Co-host of the New Books Network

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#215

Japan/Arts/Books

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Martina Baradel, "21st Century Yakuza: Death of Japanese Organised Crime" (Oxford UP, 2026)

Q: Why is the Yakuza not dead despite significant membership declines, and what comes after a mafia begins to die?

The book argues that the Yakuza are weakening rather than collapsing; their strength has eroded due to legal crackdowns and economic shifts, and there is a broader ecosystem of predatory groups that may fill governance voids differently, including online actors that operate outside traditional Yakuza structures.

Martina Baradel, "21st Century Yakuza: Death of Japanese Organised Crime" (Oxford UP, 2026)

Q: What governance functions have the Yakuza provided historically, and how far back do we need to go to see these functions?

Historically, the Yakuza emerged from Bakuto gamblers and Tekiya peddlers and gradually took on roles similar to private enforcers and regulators of markets, evolving into a highly bureaucratic organization with a clear hierarchy, rituals, and dispute settlement mechanisms that underpin their governance functions.

Martina Baradel, "21st Century Yakuza: Death of Japanese Organised Crime" (Oxford UP, 2026)

Q: Could you start us off by introducing yourself a little bit and tell us why you decided to write this book? What kinds of questions did you want to ask that motivated this whole project?

I'm an Associate Professor of Sociology of Organized Crime at the University of Nagoya and Associate Member at Oxford. My fascination began with a summer in Japan where I encountered Yakuza on a beach, which led me to realize there was little written academically about them. This sparked a long research project, culminating in a PhD, a Marie Curie Fellowship, and ultimately the book that synthesizes my fieldwork and theoretical approach to Yakuza governance.

Alan Brender, "Pink Tsunami: The Hello Kitty Kawaii Wave that has Swept the World" (Headpress, 2026)

Q: What do you hope people learn or leave with about Hello Kitty and her place in popular culture?

I want readers to remember that Hello Kitty is a Japanese creation that transcends simple categorization; she's a versatile mascot that appeals across ages and cultures, and her appeal is sustained by continual adaptation through design, marketing, and cross-cultural collaboration, even as debates about her identity and branding persist.

Alicia Volk, "In the Shadow of Empire: Art in Occupied Japan" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

Q: You could unpack what you argue about the infrastructure for art becoming a vital arena for democratic reform in the occupation years.

Volk explains that postwar democratization of art involved dismantling state-controlled hierarchies, abolishing old academies, and creating open, inclusive spaces for artists to submit work and participate in exhibitions without centralized judging authority, reflecting broader democratic reforms after defeat.

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Frequently Asked Questions About New Books in Japanese Studies

What is New Books in Japanese Studies about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show features in-depth conversations with scholars about recently published books and ongoing research in Japanese studies and related East Asian fields. Episodes cover a wide range of topics—from imperial and urban history, postwar art and culture, and cinema to manga, textiles, climate law, and regional histories—offering nuanced interviews that connect archival work, theoretical frameworks, and long-running scholarly debates. Listeners can expect accessible yet rigorous discussions that situate new books within broader conversations about Japan, its neighbors, and cross-cultural exchange, often with attention to methodology, translation, and the evolving landscape of East Asian studies. A notable strength is its consistent emphasis ... more

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New Books in Japanese Studies launched 6 years ago and published 511 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on New Books in Japanese Studies?

Recent guests on New Books in Japanese Studies include:

1. Stephen Covell
2. Martina Baradel
3. Alan Brender
4. Yoshiko Nakano
5. Georgina Challen
6. Lewis Ryder
7. Hannah Shepherd
8. Jeremy Yellen

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