{"podcast":{"title":"theTokyoBill Japan news brief","slug":"thetokyobill-japan-news-brief-7021133","podcast_index_feed_id":7021133,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/thetokyobill/feed.xml","website_url":"https://thetokyobill.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/18853352/theTokyoBillninja1988.png","author":"TokyoBill","episode_count":20,"summary":"Recent stories in and about Japan that just happened to catch my eye! I’m TokyoBill, a long-term expat from Canada with an interest in the Tokyo craft beer scene. For more of my writings, you can visit theTokyoBill.jp – thanks! 最近、たまたま目についた日本国内や日本に関するニュースです！私はTokyoBillと申します。カナダ出身で、東京のクラフトビールシーンに関心を持つ、長年の在住外国人です。私の記事をもっと読みたい方は、theTokyoBill.jp をご覧ください。よろしくお願いします！","last_synced_at":"2026-07-26T04:17:09.848352+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/thetokyobill-japan-news-brief-7021133"},"episode":{"title":"Mayor's maternity leave sparks national debate - June 20, 2026","slug":"mayor-s-maternity-leave-sparks-national-debate-june-20-2026","published_at":"2026-06-20T11:38:34+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/thetokyobill-japan-news-brief-7021133/mayor-s-maternity-leave-sparks-national-debate-june-20-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/thetokyobill-japan-news-brief-7021133","url":"https://thetokyobill.podbean.com/e/mayors-maternity-leave-sparks-national-debate-june-20-2026/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/dfstnzfyma2sxdi4/theTokyoBill_06202026.mp3","summary":"In today’s episode: National Ballet of Japan wins prestigious UK Critics’ Circle award; Japanese firms have quietly exited World Cup sponsorship altogether; Japanese Wagyu beef faces tariff barriers in obsessed US market; Chicken prices hit record high, forcing changes to bento menus; Authorities investigate alleged ice cream cartel; Raccoons devastate watermelon farms across Chiba Prefecture; Japanese mayor’s maternity leave sparks unprecedented national debate","meta_description":"In today’s episode: National Ballet of Japan wins prestigious UK Critics’ Circle award; Japanese firms have quietly exited World Cup sponsorship altogethe…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":515,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/thetokyobill-japan-news-brief-7021133/episodes/mayor-s-maternity-leave-sparks-national-debate-june-20-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/thetokyobill-japan-news-brief-7021133/mayor-s-maternity-leave-sparks-national-debate-june-20-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}