Merlion And Mt. Fuji, The: 50 Years Of Singapore-Japan Relations

Anime, Manga, Sushi, Teriyaki, J-pop, Harajuku Fashion... these are just some of the cultural exports from Japan that the rest of the world have embraced, and Singapore is one of Japan's biggest fans. Singaporeans have benefited not just by being consumers of many technological advances from Japan (such as Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, Panasonic, and Sony) but also through economic, political, and intellectual exchanges over the past 50 years since the start of bilateral ties between these two nations. In 1868, Japan was the first East Asian country to undergo rapid modernization, and its development has been shared with Singapore from the 1970s onwards as the Japanese growth model was emulated by the Four Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan). Currently, as the most advanced economies in Southeast and Northeast Asia respectively, Singapore and Japan continue to be demonstrative case studies of economic development in the region. There are also similarities between these two—an aging population, changing geopolitical realities, mature economies, and environmental challenges. "The Merlion and Mt. Fuji" is not just a historical account of their bilateral cooperation but also includes honest narratives about what it is like being a Singaporean student on exchange in Japan, an anime and manga fan outside Japan, and an appreciation of omotenashi.