The Monocle Minute

Japan Airlines has come up with a smart solution to reduce pressure on Tokyo’s overcrowded metro system. The flag carrier has launched a same-day delivery service costing ¥4,500 (€28) per bag to encourage both tourists and residents to leave their luggage at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 and travel light to their destination. Their bags will then be taken to wherever they are staying.

Japan Airlines hopes that the initiative will offer passengers a more efficient way of moving around the city. This isn’t the first time that the carrier has tried to encourage travellers to bring less with them. Last year it introduced a clothing-hire service that enabled passengers to rent pre-owned garments for the duration of their stay. Japanese tourism is at an all-time high: in September 2.87 million people visited the country, about 8 per cent above pre-pandemic levels. All ideas to keep its cities clutter-free are welcome.

It’s set to be a big 2025 for the world’s most beloved Roman-bashing Gauls, Asterix and Obelix. French publishing house Les Éditions Albert-René has teased the next title in the renowned comic book series, which has sold some 400 million copies worldwide, with the release of a single page depicting the eponymous pair alongside canine companion Dogmatix in a beach destination. The exact location will be unveiled closer to the publication date, which has been slated for mid-October.

But the mighty Gauls, originally conceived by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, are not the only ones being reunited for the occasion. Scriptwriter Fabrice Caro, known as Fabcaro, is once again collaborating with illustrator Didier Conrad to bring the new series to life. This year marks Asterix’s 65th anniversary and, with an animated Netflix series set for release in 2025, it’s clear that Asterix and Obelix aren’t done yet.

China’s annual Central Economic Work Conference is expected to convene today as policymakers contend with deflationary pressures on the back of a property slump. Earlier this week the country’s central bank announced plans to loosen monetary policy for the first time in 14 years. The move follows months of stimulus, including several interest-rate cuts, looser property-sector rules and liquidity support for stock markets.

Though the meetings will take place behind closed doors, all eyes will be looking for clues about how policymakers plan to steer the world’s second-largest economy through entrenched deflation and looming US tariffs. “Beijing is trying to hold a lot of dry powder [cash reserves], just in case the situation between the US and China deteriorates economically, politically and even militarily,” Shaun Rein, the founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group, tells The Monocle Minute. “But the reality is that the country has the scale to withstand turbulence. For most companies and investors, despite the sluggish economy, China is the next China.”

Monocle touched down in Athens on Monday evening for a pre-launch event at Athénée restaurant for Greece: the Monocle Handbook. The title is the latest in a series that has already covered France, Spain and Portugal.

The event was held in partnership with the Greek National Tourism Organisation and the ministry of tourism. Olga Kefalogianni, the country’s tourism minister, was on hand to make a speech, as was Monocle’s editor in chief, Andrew Tuck, who talked about the European nation’s potential. Some 200 guests were in attendance, including Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, the prime minister’s wife and co-founder of fashion brand Zeus + Dione. The drinks were pretty good too.

Swiss graphic designer Dafi Kühne explains why legibility is relative and we meet the president of the Instituto Sergio Rodrigues. Also, the architect Jeanne Autran-Edorh reflects on timelessness in architecture.