From ramen shops to sushi stands, there’s no doubt that eating out is big business in Japan. But authentic, local dining is off-limits to many foreigners due to the formidable language barrier that persists outside major cities. Could an app get tourists to pick up the chopsticks?

Japan is experiencing a tourism boom. But its struggling countryside is absent from most itineraries, with limited access for foreign visitors and areas marred by runaway development. Could spreading the word about Japan’s rural charm bring tourists and locals back to its dying towns?

Driven by an increasing sense of loneliness, the concept of a shared house is being adopted by Japan's young singletons. Yet with so many people in Japan struggling with social anxieties, how are these micro-communities forming?

With more than ¥1 million in monthly sales, DIY-tool.com is catering to the rapid uptake of DIY in Japan. Shifting attitudes towards the home have enabled people to see how DIY can be both useful and enjoyable. But in a society that fetishises the new, what’s the appeal of fixing up the old?