Amid heightened political and diplomatic tensions between Japan and China, I recently visited Shanghai.
I plan to publish a separate article on this visit, but my main observations can be summarized as follows:
(1) Although the Chinese government has issued travel advisories discouraging travel to Japan, many Chinese nationals continue to travel back and forth between the two countries, as evidenced by the level of congestion at airports;
(2) While digital payment systems are highly advanced, there appears to be a partial backlash—or recalibration—due to inconveniences faced by foreign visitors; and
(3) The development of infrastructure, including the widespread adoption of EVs and the expansion of high-speed rail, continues to be striking each time I visit.