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This Washington Post article says that Japan’s biggest export is its culture. The number of people learning Japanese has increased by a factor of almost 25 in the last six years. Anime, cell phone accessories, and sushi are now extremely popular internationally. Certainly, living in a shipping lane on the Pacific Rim, I get to experience a lot of the crossover, and my travel lets me experience the real thing. Japanification has been in full swing for years.

But that’s not all. The article points to the new Centre Pompidou in Metz, France, the design for which was won by Shigeru Ban. (Picture attached.) I’m not quite sure what Japan’s claim to fluid architecture is, since that’s been a trend of late, or what that has to do with a cultural invasion, but it’s pretty.

So, when I asked my 13-year-old brother what he wanted from Japan last month, I expected him to select something like DragonBallZ, or Beyblade (which caused a coworker to scramble around Shibuya for her son’s benefit), or Yu-Gi-Oh! (which was what he wanted so badly a year ago). What did he want? “More candy.” I had sent a small care package of weird Japanese candy from my April trip to Japan, and was happy to send more. It’s funny what’s funny about Japan.