Japanese culture is rapidly colonising the West, from our theatres to our cinemas, to our streaming services and our bookshops, to the food we eat and the clothes we wear, even the footballers we cheer on. This year alone I must have written half a dozen articles on different areas where Japanese culture is making its mark worldwide (and especially in the UK). Some are quite surprising, such as novels. By one estimate, a quarter of the two million translated novels in the UK last year were Japanese. It has become almost de rigueur to be seen reading the latest volume by Banana Yoshimoto, Sayaka Murata, et al.

Though we all long ago surrendered to sushi, the next target for Japan’s imperial ambitions could be British hospitality

Netflix is turning Japanese in a big way, increasing its anime catalogue to 891 shows in 2023, with the share of viewers in the UK growing from 3 per cent to 9 per cent. The streaming platform has the live-action version of One Piece – probably the most famous manga series in Japan – as well as one of the country’s best-loved sitcoms, the gentle gay rom-com (with cooking) What Did You Eat Yesterday? Then, of course, there is Shogun on Disney , which swept the board at the Creative Arts Emmys.

As for theatre, Studio Ghibli is in the process........

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