Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/smalltalkjapan Articles from this week's episode Forced head shave for transgender inmate a human rights violation: Osaka lawyers https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240312/p2a/00m/0na/007000c Japan high court rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/03/44aa6f4888ea-japan-court-says-same-sex-marriage-ban-in-unconstitutional-state.html Space One rocket explodes immediately after liftoff in Japan【Videos】 https://soranews24.com/2024/03/14/space-one-rocket-explodes-immediately-after-liftoff-in-japan%E3%80%90videos%E3%80%91/ Opinion: Japan must reform its refugee and immigration system to avoid further tragedies https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240306/p2a/00m/0op/002000c School rules presuming black, straight hair perplex children with foreign roots in Japan https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240311/p2a/00m/0na/018000c Hokkaido's Niseko to introduce lodging tax of up to 2,000 yen a night https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/03/6007ac6157d0-hokkaidos-niseko-to-introduce-lodging-tax-of-up-to-2000-yen-a-night.html