As noted in my post THE INBOUND TRAGEDY (03/05/2020), although tourism in Japan represent only about 2,3% of the GNP (over 32 M tourist in 2019) tourists are very very “visible”, giving a perception that without tourism industry japan’s economy might collapse.
Japan’s actual re-entry limitations for foreigners isn’t a positive message but anyway the travel industry is only very slowly re-opening routes. So the basic mathematics are for July and August 2020 = 2.8 M foreign residents + 3.8 M Japanese nationals not going abroad – 5.6 M tourists not coming = ?
The actual challenge being how to create an attractive offer of NEW NORMAL tourism in Japan towards this populations. This could be a huge opportunity for Japan to shift from a criticized mass tourism economy to a contents oriented tourism enhancing it’s potentials as cultural, gastronomy, meditation etc.
I am convinced that this is the card Japan should bet on, regions have a uniq chance to promote their terroir and heritage, attracting also potential long term resident, counteracting depopulation due to aging.
And we, at exprime inc, are convinced we can help by providing our expertise in designing new ways of discovering Japan.

THE JAPAN EXCEPTION ? (09/06/2020)

Japan is certainly not the only country with a fuzzy stance on figures and announcements from public authorities, but still…to use doubt is certainly a way to have people/population go for the self-restrain the government is not able to mandate.

After figures, key words are in trend : following “LOCKDOWN”, “TOKYO ALERT “is the new message Tokyo Governor Koike is promoting, together with red lighting of landmarks (as Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and Rainbow Bridge) in order to keep the population cautious in their coming to “NEW NORMAL” life (“We need a new approach to resume our daily social and economic activity” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe). 

All having a quite vague and very changing explication, leaving each and everyone to define it in its own terms and standards.
It does seem to be working, in Japan anyway.

THE JAPAN EXCEPTION ? (07/06/2020) 

In Japanese, god is “kami”(神), an homophone for the imperial court and by extension the government, the authorities “kami”(お上、御上), leading to a black humor pun : the government helps those who help themselves ! (small businesses in Japan today will fully understand the irony)

Natural disasters are common in Japan, and the Japanese resilient response is to endure (耐える). A pragmatic approach of not predictable, not influenceable happenings, earthquakes, tsunamis or Corona. Somewhere the decisions from “above” being in the same register.

As a result, as lately seen in 2001, Japanese are able to show an astonishing solidarity (団結 to bind the group), even if the very concept of volunteering is very differently lived.

Another result is the very little contestation towards the government decisions. A very recent and very exceptional exception is the pull back Prime Minister Abe was forced in concerning Mr Kurokawa’s (head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutor’s Office) scandal. Let us see if “stay home” and “new normal” will influence this aspect of japan’s exception. 

THE JAPAN EXCEPTION ? (04/06/2020) 

Mask used to evoke protection, concealment, seduction… banned for secularism or security reasons, they are now part of our daily life.

How should we approach a person whose expression, smile or fury, we can’t see?

If even your smart phone doesn’t recognize you … Transparent masks erasing their very existence, masks reproducing real or grotesque facial expressions in an identity or communication attempt, masks as a branding support, masks that deliver a message (political commitment, solidarity etc ), tech-masks for utilitarian purpose (reading lips necessity), security purpose (as face recognition is quite out of the way), or fun, accessorized masks’ covers, matching as shoes and bags, with inter-changing decorations as manicure deco…

Then, to keep their premium fonction, masks need to be washed at 60 degrees for over 30 mn in a washing machine, a challenge in Japan where most machines run only with cold water. After the underwear washing machine (a hit in Japan), the still-to-be-invented “mask washing machine” surely has a bright future.

And surely more to come as pictures of balloon hats and hullahoop belts are blooming. 

A JAPAN EXCEPTION ? (18/05/2020)