Interviewed by Sophie Coureau – staff writer at Chinriu Honten Limited

What is NIHON ICHIBAN about and why did you start it?

Japan is a country with a very rich heritage and abundance of great food, craft and design products.  But knowledge about these original products is very low and it also is very hard to purchase authentic products for most foreigners.

This is a video about cool and not so cool facts about Japan by graphic designer Kenichi Tanaka. It received a lot of attention by Japanese and foreign media and got translated in many languages such as English, Spanish and Chinese. Tanaka says: “I created this information graphic motion piece as my final thesis project. My objective is to make Japanese people think about what is happening in their own country, and that some aspects of Japanese culture are not that normal. The English narration offers a point of view on Japan that isn’t usually considered by Japanese people, and therefore conveys a ‘foreign’ perspective. I hope audiences will learn about some of the weird aspects of Japanese culture.”