Everyone wants to be accepted. And Panasonic is changing its rules in Japan to facilitate acceptance of LGBT employees. It’s putting the company at the forefront of change in a notoriously conservative country and giving future employees an incentive to work somewhere that will truly accept them.

Alfa Romeo's sales in Japan have doubled after the brand began specifically targeting the LGBT market. It's sponsoring gay film festivals and pride events, where it hands out red Alfa Romeo condoms - a sign of growing acceptance.

With Haruki Murakami at its centre, Japanese fiction is booming overseas. The literary journalMonkey Business: New Writing from Japanis proof that the acclaimed writer is part of a lush literary landscape. Could the nation’s novels be an overlooked piece of the ‘Cool Japan’ puzzle?

Will L'Oréal’s new volume-boosting 'Miss Manga' mascara – designed to recreate the Japanese ‘anime eyes’ look – appeal to Western women? And how will real anime fans react to the appropriation of their subculture?