It¡¯s a quarter past 11 p.m. and Mainichi Shimbun political reporter Kenta Miyahara, having just wrapped up his nightly informal chat with a politician he covers closely, begins to set up his smartphone, tripod and lighting in a cluttered office devoid of any of his colleagues.

After testing the microphone a few times, he shouts into his phone mounted on the tripod.

¡°Hey guys! It¡¯s Kenta Miyahara, aka ¡®Bunya Kenta,¡¯¡± the 27-year-old says in an upbeat tone, employing the Japanese slang for ¡°newspaper journalist.¡±