Japanese traditional crafts are facing a significant decline, largely attributed to reduced domestic spending power. A recent article from the South China Morning Post highlights ongoing efforts to revive interest in these crafts, particularly in Europe. This movement echoes the 19th-century Japonisme, which celebrated Japanese art and aesthetics in the West. Notably, Bizen ware pottery from Okayama was showcased in Italy and France in April 2024, with support from the Mission of Japan to the EU. Taiga Mori, a Bizen ware potter, expressed newfound confidence after receiving international praise and orders from a Belgian dealer. The production value of traditional crafts has drastically fallen, from 328.8 billion yen (approximately US$2.3 billion) in 1997 to just 92.7 billion yen (around US$625 million) in 2017. The mission aims to attract wealthy buyers in the US and Europe to invest in traditional Japanese artworks, hoping to reverse the trend of decline in these crafts [3ff01b20].
In addition to the challenges facing traditional crafts, Japan's cities are also grappling with the implications of a declining population. A recent piece by Alex K.T. Martin in The Japan Times discusses the future of Japan's urban areas, referencing a 1920 prediction about the country's state a century later. While some predictions have proven accurate, such as increased life expectancy and solar energy usage, Professor Tomoya Mori warns that half of Japan's cities could vanish in the next hundred years due to population decline. Fukuoka is noted as a metropolitan area that may experience growth despite these challenges. The article underscores the critical role of quality journalism in combating misinformation during these transformative times [8ece3ca3].