Best of 2025: Why everyone's going to Japan

In this episode of The Story, host Manveen Rana interviews Matt Alt, a Tokyo-based translator and writer, about the phenomenon of "kidulting" and how Japan has influenced this trend in the West. Alt explains how Japan's economic downturn in the 1990s led its youth to embrace fantasy and childish pursuits, a trend that later emerged in the West following financial crises and events like COVID-19. The conversation covers the rise of anime, manga, and video games, and how these cultural exports have shaped Western perceptions of Japan, making it an aspirational destination and influencing various aspects of Western culture, from sports to home organization. Alt argues that Japan's ability to blend fantasy and reality offers a beacon of hope and creativity in the face of modern challenges.