Kohei Take
Little wonder
Japan’s mini-car boom was rooted in affordability and low taxation. Then Honda tasked an F1 engineer with its new project, putting high-spec design at the heart of the kei jidosha.
The hand made tale
In a globalised market flooded with faux-artisan branding, real craftsmen are endangered. But in Kyoto, where tradition rules, a new initiative is refreshing generations-old techniques to bring Japanese craft to a worldwide audience.
Do it yourself
Monocle meets five creative businesses and entrepreneurs who have gone their own way, and we ask them how, and why, they did it.
Renewal process
Having seen its film business nosedive thanks to the digital onslaught, Japan’s Fujifilm has found another lucrative avenue – skincare.
Rich pickings
As the Shinkansen continues to speed north in Japan, operator JR East is also diversifying its retail – with apples.
Grey matters
Getting old is inevitable but providing for people when they do is too often skirted. Monocle has tracked down those making a difference and showing up the authorities in the process.
Revitalising retreats
Be it yoga in Brazil or hot springs in Japan, these destinations won’t recharge your batteries – they’ll replace them with hybrid engines.
Expo 58: Don’t stop moving
Millions of Japanese rise early every morning to get together and do radio exercises – the rest do them at work. We explore the cultural phenomenon of ‘rajio taiso’.
Special delivery
Monocle offers an insight into the world's most efficient and well turned-out logistics companies, from transporting cash in South Africa to packing delicate contemporary art in London.
