I think we’re turning Japanese

Japanese culture is rapidly colonising the West, from our theatres to our cinemas, to our streaming services and our bookshops, to the food we eat and the clothes we wear, even the footballers we cheer on. This year alone I must have written half a dozen articles on different areas where Japanese culture is making its mark worldwide (and especially in the UK). Some are quite surprising, such as novels. By one estimate, a quarter of the two million translated novels sold in the UK last year were Japanese. It has become almost de rigueur to be seen reading the latest volume by Banana Yoshimoto, Sayaka Murata, et al.

Netflix is turning Japanese in a big way, increasing its anime catalogue to 891 shows in 2023, with the share of viewers in the UK growing from 3 per cent to 9 per cent.