japan
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Up the wall
The new Marunouchi Park Building in Tokyo features a soaring office tower and a replica 19th-century building. But its most intriguing element is a garden that rethinks urban green space.
Asia
South Korea employs a German-born TV celebrity for an image overhaul, Shanghai starts “digging for China” and Japan pioneers a less gory method of conducting autopsies. A round-up of stories from across Asia.
Asia
Why English-style village shops are popping up in rural China and how the hutongs of Beijing may be given a reprieve. Plus, the latest figures on who is living the longest.
Raising the steaks
Omi beef from Japan’s Shiga prefecture is little known internationally. But its butter-soft consistency means that restaurateurs, meat producers and diners from New York to Australia are taking notice.
Field trip
Some smaller initiatives have gone beneath the radar. In Japan, a scheme to encourage jobless young citizens to move from town to work the land could be a global template for rural living.
Manga juice
A manga about wine has proven a hit with readers in Japan. Written by a brother and sister duo, there’s a French edition and it is being made into a Korean TV series.
Fashion
Tomorrowland's new Tokyo store, the Japanese womenswear label inspired by menswear, Lebanese designer Rabih Kayrouz's new ready-to-wear collection, and a Q&A with Monocle favourite Oliver Spencer.
Spokes people
A Japanese firm once making bikes for professionals has expanded to include customisable models for design-conscious city dwellers who enjoy a leisurely jaunt on two wheels.
