Trends in Japan

The appeal of Japanese craftsmanship is the way traditional techniques are combined with cutting-edge scientific technology to create unparalleled products — and textiles are no exception. Recently, the fashion industry has been focusing on creating environmentally friendly, sustainable and ethical products. To support this, the Japanese textile industry has been dreaming up a range of futuristic new materials.

Despite the absence of trash cans, Japanese streets and downtown areas are not covered with garbage, and scenes of Japanese sports fans picking up trash after games have garnered attention around the world. All this adds up to Japan having an international reputation for being clean. Let's take a look at some hygiene-related technologies and initiatives that focus on sanitization and sterilization.

City pop, a Japanese music genre from the mid-1970s, has recently been drawing attention from around the world. Some music videos have over 50 million views on video-sharing sites, and a song ranked number one on the viral charts of a major music subscription service for more than two weeks. But why is city pop suddenly growing in popularity among music fans around the world?

Records show that sake has been brewed in Japan for around 1400 years. In the 19th century there were nearly 30,000 sake breweries in Japan, and while there are now various other types of alcohol to enjoy besides sake, today the number of sake breweries has fallen to about 1,600 (as of 2018). On the other hand, the popularity of high-quality sake is growing overseas.