Japan does it better?: From Myth to Reality, Exploring Japan Beyond the Idealization

Is everything really better in Japan? Cristian Martini Grimaldi, freelance journalist who has been living in Japan for almost a decade, decides to explore if this is really the case. This book is the English version of his Bestseller “In Giappone lo fanno meglio?” (with many extra chapters added) .The idea for this work started from a simple observation. Japan is more idealized than actually experienced. As a young American student disappointed by his life in the Rising Sun once confessed to the author: “For years I have looked at Japan from afar and I thought it was the perfect country. On the internet everything looked great. Only by living there I discovered that reality and what's on YouTube are two very different things". The author will go sneaking into unexplored social and cultural niches to demonstrate how little known - but very misunderstood - this country still is (including living for ten days in a Shinto shrine; he will interview an elderly German professor who teaches the Japanese "how to die"; will participate in the first "moral" class in middle school; will - by pure chance - find himself on the scene of a terrible suicide/murder case; with a crew of professional cleaners he will get inside the home of a kodokushi, someone who died alone and his corpse was only found many days later; he will interview a woman who had experience in the adult industry and will reveal how very young beautiful women get tricked into acting in porn movies; he will also investigate why the mixed Japanese baths are quickly disappearing). Dozens of stories, accompanied by over 100 original photos (many 'stolen' via smartphone), which will forever change the way we look at this unique country.Read more