Cultural Influences: China’s regions reverse the flow

Cultural Influences: China’s regions reverse the flow

When thinking about a country, one’s mind tends to go straight to its largest cities: the metropolises of Tokyo, London, Seoul and Shanghai. And rightly so, since they tend to be the primary drivers of a nation’s economic growth: London, for example, generates about...
Foreign but not Alien: International brands in Japan

Foreign but not Alien: International brands in Japan

Less than 25% of the Japanese population own a passport, and even among the younger generation outbound travel has dropped significantly since its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is perhaps unsurprising that they then understand the tropes and perceptions...
Okinawa’s Moment: Rethinking Japan’s hinterland

Okinawa’s Moment: Rethinking Japan’s hinterland

It doesn’t take a pandemic to make Tokyo a challenging place to live in the summer months. But when the trials of two people working from a tiny apartment in stifling heat got too much, I decamped to Okinawa and six weeks later am still here. If this sounds sybaritic,...