Synopsis: The Invisible Asia Podcast is a special edition series in which The Straits Times casts the spotlight on people and communities living in the shadows of their societies where they exist largely unseen and unheard of. Do follow all nine episodes of Invisible Asia over the next two months on The Straits Times podcast channel on Apple podcasts, Spotify or Google podcasts.
The Straits Times' Japan correspondent Walter Sim speaks with Japan's "untouchables", known as the burakumin. They are descendants of a shunned caste from a long-gone era, who are still ostracised in modern times purely because of their lineage. Our series' narrator is Tan Jia Ning.
Official estimates number the burakumin at 900,000, but activists says there are as many as 3 million across the country who have moved out of the hamlets their ancestors once lived in.
The late Japanese politician blocked from becoming Japan's Prime Minister in 2001, chiefly because of his ancestry (9:58)
How burakumin such as abattoir worker Yuki Miyazaki still live in fear of their ancestry being exposed in public (10:23)
Read the full story by Walter Sim: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/i-wanted-to-escape-this-life-by-hiding-who-i-was
Produced by: Magdalene Fung, Tan Jia Ning, Toh Wen Li, Yeo Sam Jo, Ernest Luis & Adam Azlee
Edited by: Adam Azlee
Discover ST's Invisible Asia podcast series:
Channel: https://str.sg/wuZn
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wu3s
Spotify: https://str.sg/wuJH
SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/
Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Invisible Asia Videos: https://str.sg/wuTU
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Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
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ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
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Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
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The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX