About Nihon Wire

Nihon Wire is your daily briefing on Japanese culture — anime, games, food, tech, and everything in between. We source stories directly from Japanese media that most English-language outlets miss, and deliver them in a 10-15 minute daily podcast.

What makes us different

Most English-language coverage of Japan comes from a handful of Western outlets. We go straight to the source — Japanese news sites, social media, and communities like Hatena Bookmarks and Togetter — to find stories that haven't crossed over yet.

When we say "Straight from Japan. No filter." we mean it. Our stories come with insider commentary from a Tokyo-based perspective, not tourist-guide fluff.

The podcast

Nihon Wire Daily is a 10-15 minute daily podcast covering the top 3 stories from Japan. Friday episodes are free for everyone. Monday through Thursday episodes are available to Patreon Insiders for $5/month.

The news site

Every story we cover — and many more we don't get to on the podcast — is published as a full article on this site. All news articles are free to read, always.

AI disclosure

This is an AI-assisted production. News collection is automated, scripts are generated with AI assistance, and audio is produced using AI tools. All content is reviewed and curated by a human editor based in Tokyo. We believe in transparency about our production process.