Take an everyday video on any suburban transport network, add anime-style music and a rosy filter, and it’s suddenly a scene from the Japanese holiday of your dreams.
That’s the “Japan effect“: a Gen Z social media trend satirizing the often-romanticized image of the Asian country, which welcomed a record number of visitors last year.
Residents of Kyoto and other tourist hotspots have expressed exasperation with selfie-taking crowds, and now an online backlash against Japan fever is growing.
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