Culture Crossroads - Season 9 / Year 2025

Season 9 / Year 2025
Episodes

Helping Foreign Children to Integrate
Bara Kyoushitsu in Kani City, Gifu Prefecture, is a preschool designed to eliminate the number of foreign children who stop attending school because they don't understand Japanese.

Rakugo Leaps Over Language Barriers
RAMUNE, a descendant of Japanese emigrants to Brazil, is a performer of rakugo, Japan's traditional storytelling. Performing in multiple languages, she helps foreigners experience Japanese culture.

The Comedy Club Where I Belong
In a stand-up comedy club in Tokyo, people from all over the world try out bilingual jokes. For James from Australia, comedy has changed his life, helping him find a place where he feels he belongs.

Sing for Ukraine, Sing for Peace
Ukrainian musician Kateryna gives concerts all around Japan playing the bandura. Russia's invasion prompted her to support displaced people in Japan, hoping her music will bring peace to her homeland.

Gearing up for the Japanese Dream
More and more foreign students come to Japan to become certified auto mechanics and find long-term employment. We follow one such student, a young woman from Myanmar who pursues her Japanese dream.

Unforgettable Flavors
Is there a meal you'll never forget? People with international roots living in Japan take you on a tasty exploration of the dishes that brought timely emotional support in their lives.

A Haven for Those Tossed About by History
Hana no Kai is an elderly day care facility in Kobe that welcomes people from diverse backgrounds. It makes the lives of those living out their final years in a foreign land more active and dignified.

A Safe and Comfortable Society for All
A Sri Lankan student participates in the Mie Prefecture "Youth Police Supporters" volunteer program that works with communities to build a safer society by preventing crimes before they occur.
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