japan
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Asia
The empty schools of Japan, bridging Hong Kong and searching for a new Seoul in Yongsan.
Prime mover
Mitsubishi built Tokyo’s first office block in Marunouchi 114 years ago and is now behind the area’s redevelopment into a major financial centre. Overleaf, we dissect a building site.
Going for old
Though the Japanese love vintage, second-hand furniture auctions are new. Now, three entrepreneurs are bringing design classics to market in the country’s first modern and contemporary furniture auction.
Dead simple
Tokyo-based design guru Kenya Hara advises companies, including Muji, on their aesthetic direction. He also runs his own design institute and collaborates with designers. Here, he describes his last meal.
Inventory no. 11
Coloured pencils and shochu from Japan, perfume by La Labo, Labour and Wait's enamelware and a Norwegian post box.
Africa/Middle East
West Africa wants its money back from France, the UAE's "Poetry Idol" and Japan's aid to Africa.
Film stars
The global camera market has rapidly switched to digital. Last year, Japan produced 94 million digital cameras versus 800,000 film cameras. Yet an army of die-hard fans is keeping the film format alive.
Power struggle
Sakhalin, in Russia’s far east, is a short hop from Japan, its former ruler. Marooned during the Soviet era, the region has seen little investment or spoils from its own huge oil reserves.
