This interview focuses on Hillary's travels to Japan, her love of Japanese culture, and her successful entry into the Airbnb market in Ito, voted one of Japan's top lodging destinations.
In January 2025, Japan’s inbound tourism market reached a historic turning point. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of foreign visitors to Japan that month hit 3,781,200, the highest monthly total on record. This figure represents an astonishing 40.6% increase year-on-year and far surpasses the previous record of roughly 3.49 million set in December 2024.
In March 2023, a Hong Kong student at a Japanese university was arrested for allegedly inciting secession, based on Article 20 and 21 of the Hong Kong national security law, sending shockwaves across Japan and the international community.
This article leads off the magazine’s special feature, “Prepare for the ‘Information Warfare Crisis.’” Yet, it is intended neither as an introduction nor as a summary of the other essays following this one.