Japan sits on the frontline of the defining challenges facing advanced democracies: demographic decline, economic stagnation, and rising geopolitical tension in an increasingly unstable world.
Under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the country is attempting a delicate balancing act – reviving growth while expanding defence capabilities and responding to the strategic challenge posed by China. Our Japan tour explores how domestic pressures and international realities are reshaping Japan’s politics, economy, and society.
Led by author and journalist Tom Feiling, the programme combines high-level political access with on-the-ground reporting – from depopulating rural communities to the power centres of Tokyo.
Japan Tour: Background
Japan faces a series of long-term structural challenges that increasingly shape its economy, society, and global position. The most serious threat is demographic: the country has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and one of its oldest populations, leading to labor shortages, hollowed-out rural towns, and mounting pressure on healthcare and pension systems. The population has been declining for years, and government efforts to reverse the decline have seen minimal success.
Economically, Japan has struggled with low growth and stagnant wages since the collapse of its asset bubble in the 1990s. While it remains a major industrial and technological power, many younger Japanese feel economically insecure, especially compared to earlier generations that experienced rapid postwar growth. Long working hours (evidenced by the salaryman culture), expensive urban living, and a push towards using robotics has left Japan’s workforce insecure and discontent.
Socially, issues such as social isolation, declining community life, overwork, and loneliness receive significant public attention. Younger generations are increasingly detached from traditional expectations around career, marriage, and gender roles, creating tension between modern lifestyles and older social norms.
Geopolitically, Japan remains heavily dependent on the United States for security under the U.S.-Japan alliance, especially as regional tensions rise with China (exacerbated by a new, strongly anti-China PM). That dependence has fueled debate about military rearmament and whether Japan should take a larger independent defense role as the US becomes a less reliable ally. At the same time, Japan faces difficult choices about immigration, energy security, and economic competitiveness as it tries to maintain stability in the face of long-term decline.
Japan Tour: Reading List
Alone in Japan: A Journey to the Future, Tom Feiling
A Short History of Japan, Christopher Harding, Pelican 2025
Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival, David Pilling, Penguin
2014
Inventing Japan: From Empire to Economic Miracle, Ian Buruma, Orion 2005
Lost Japan, Alex Kerr, Penguin 2015
Peak Japan: The End of Grand Ambitions, Brad Glosserman, Georgetown
University Press, 2019
Japan’s Quiet Transformation: Social Change and Civil Society in the Twenty-First Century, Jeff Kingston, Routledge Curzon 2004
The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall, Chizuko Ueno, TransPacific
Press (Victoria, Australia) 2009
Itinerary
Arrival in Hiroshima and welcome dinner.
We open with an overview of Japan’s core political dilemmas: a shrinking and ageing population, weak long-term growth, and mounting fiscal pressures. These domestic constraints frame every major policy decision, from immigration to defence spending.
We also introduce the geopolitical context – Japan’s reliance on the United States for security since 1945, and the growing pressure to assume a more independent and assertive role in regional defence.
Overnight Hiroshima
Hiroshima provides the starting point for understanding modern Japan’s strategic identity. A visit to the Peace Memorial sites frames the country’s post-war pacifism and the constitutional constraints that have shaped its military posture.
We travel to Kure, home to a major naval base, where discussions focus on Japan’s rapid shift in defence policy. As tensions rise in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, Japan is increasing military spending and expanding operational capabilities. Conversations with defence figures explore how Tokyo is preparing for potential regional conflict scenarios involving China.
Continuing into the Inland Sea, we stay in Mitarai and meet local residents confronting rural depopulation. These communities illustrate the domestic pressures – shrinking populations and labour shortages – that complicate Japan’s ability to sustain economic and military strength over the long term.
Overnight Mitarai
We begin with a visit to agricultural communities facing demographic collapse, before travelling to Onomichi, where local initiatives are attempting to reverse decline through urban migration and community regeneration.
These efforts highlight a key political question: can local revitalisation offset national demographic decline?
We then travel to Tokyo. Evening discussions with economists and business leaders focus on Japan’s “post-growth” reality, corporate reform, and the limits of economic policy in a shrinking society. The conversation also touches on economic security – how Japan is attempting to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains while maintaining trade ties.
Overnight Tokyo
Over breakfast, a leading academic outlines how political attitudes have shifted since the collapse of Japan’s economic boom, including declining trust in institutions and changing voter priorities.
We visit experimental housing designed for an ageing society, exploring how urban planning is adapting to demographic change. These shifts are not just social – they have direct implications for public spending, taxation, and electoral politics.
In Fussa, we examine immigration policy in practice at a school for foreign children. Japan’s historically restrictive stance is gradually evolving, driven by labour shortages – but remains politically sensitive.
Dinner with local families provides insight into workplace culture, gender roles, and the social pressures that underpin low birth rates and limited social mobility.
Overnight Tokyo
We travel by bullet train to Toyota’s “Woven City,” an experimental prototype for future urban living. The project reflects Japan’s attempt to lead in technological innovation while addressing structural economic challenges.
Later, we visit highly automated manufacturing facilities, where robotics compensate for labour shortages. These visits raise broader questions about productivity, competitiveness, and whether automation can offset demographic decline.
We end the day in Hakone, discussing the political importance of tourism as a pillar of economic strategy, particularly in the context of weak domestic demand.
Overnight Hakone
We explore the social consequences of economic stagnation and demographic change, beginning with a visit to a centre supporting hikikomori (social recluses).
Discussions examine how isolation, declining relationships, and changing cultural norms intersect with broader political concerns, including falling birth rates and the sustainability of the welfare state.
In Akihabara, we examine Japan’s global cultural influence and “soft power,” a key element of its international strategy.
The evening explores urban life in Tokyo, including the rise of single-person culture and its economic and political implications.
Overnight Tokyo
We begin in Nagatachō, the heart of Japan’s political system, with meetings involving lawmakers, advisers, and policy experts close to the current administration.
Discussions focus on the agenda of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi: reviving economic growth, addressing demographic decline, and strengthening national security. Particular attention is given to the political debate around rearmament, including increased defence budgets, reinterpretation of constitutional limits, and the expansion of Japan’s military capabilities.
At the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, we examine how demographic forecasts are shaping fiscal and strategic planning, including the long-term sustainability of defence spending.
In the afternoon, a dedicated foreign policy session brings together analysts and practitioners to assess Japan’s position in a rapidly changing regional order. Topics include:
- rising tensions with China
- the security of Taiwan and nearby sea lanes
- the future of the US–Japan alliance
- Japan’s role in regional coalitions and deterrence strategy
In the evening, we explore how immigration policy is evolving in response to labour shortages, meeting a foreign-born political figure and community leaders. These discussions highlight the tension between economic necessity and political caution.
Overnight Tokyo
We begin in east Tokyo, examining how ageing is reshaping urban communities and public policy. Meetings focus on how government at both local and national level is adapting to rising healthcare costs, pension demands, and a shrinking workforce.
A policy roundtable then explores how these domestic pressures intersect with Japan’s strategic ambitions. As resources are stretched, policymakers face difficult trade-offs between social spending and defence investment.
In Asakusa, discussions on tourism broaden into a conversation about Japan’s global positioning – how it presents itself internationally while navigating economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
In the afternoon, a closing geopolitical session brings together experts to reflect on Japan’s trajectory. Key themes include:
- the long-term implications of rearmament
- the risks of escalation in the region
- economic decoupling versus interdependence with China
- and Japan’s capacity to sustain both economic and military strength in the face of demographic decline
Farewell dinner.
Overnight Tokyo
Free time for sightseeing or meetings.
Transfer to Narita Airport for departure.
Meet Your Expert
Tom Feiling is a British journalist, documentary filmmaker and author whose work explores the social, political and economic realities behind some of the world’s most fascinating and often misunderstood societies. He is the author of Short Walks from Bogotá: Journeys in the New Colombia, an acclaimed account of Colombia’s transformation after decades of conflict; The Candy Machine: How Cocaine Took Over the World; The Island That Disappeared; and most recently Alone in Japan: A Journey to the Future, which examines Japan’s ageing society and demographic challenges as a possible window into the future of other developed nations.
A former Campaigns Director of Justice for Colombia and an award-winning filmmaker, Tom combines travel writing, political reporting and social history, drawing on extensive experience across Latin America and Asia. He was the expert accompanying Political Tours’ Colombia journey in 2017 and will be leading our forthcoming tours to Japan, bringing his deep knowledge of both countries and his ability to illuminate the broader social, economic and political forces shaping them.
The average daily temperature in Japan in March ranges from 5-15°C.
The maximum size of our tours is 14 people, ensuring the small-group experience.
We provide genuine learning experiences through the eyes and ears of an expert, politician, or journalist.
Accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch, and most dinners), and water are all included in tour package.
Our Japan tour starts in Hiroshima and ends in Tokyo.
The Yen is the currency of Japan. Most vendors accept major Western credit cards.
What’s Included
On our Japan tour, all of your accommodation is included, as well as local transport (except during your free time).
Flights are not included in the price and need to be arranged by customers themselves or with an agent.
Following the news
Like all our tours the itinerary is focused on current affairs. Events on the ground may change and the final schedule may be adjusted accordingly.
Group size
For your bespoke tour – groups range from individuals to families, as well as small groups of friends. The tour is tailor made for you and your group.
On any of our expert-led tours the groups are deliberately small and will not exceed 14 people. Frequently we travel with 10-12 people. Limited spaces are available.
FCO Website – Travel Advice
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes regularly updated travel information on its website travelaware.campaign.gov.uk which you are recommended to consult before booking and in good time before departure. Where it considers it appropriate to do so, the FCO may advise against all travel or all but essential travel to particular countries or parts of particular countries. Similarly, the FCO may withdraw any such previously given advice. Where the FCO issues such advice, we may as a result cancel your tour or make changes so as to avoid the area concerned (see clause 10). Alternatively, we may ask you to sign a form confirming you wish to proceed with the tour notwithstanding the FCO advice. It is in the nature of the itineraries we offer that the FCO may have issued such advice in relation to the country or parts of the country we are intending to visit prior to confirmation of your booking. In this case, you will be asked to sign the above form before we confirm your booking.
Medical Requirements
Advice on health requirements may be obtained from your GP, or alternatively from the Department of Health leaflet Advice on Health for Travelers, or the Department of Health in the UK. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/travel-health/travel-health-and-vaccinations/
Currency
The Yen is Japan’s currency. Most vendors accept major Western credit cards.
What to wear
Dress is casual and comfortable. Shoes suitable for walking over cobbles are recommended. Layers are recommended as it is cooler in the evenings.
Some of the hotels have swimming pools. You may want to pack a swimming costume.
Men: Will need a jacket and tie for some of the meetings.
Women: You will need smarter dress for one or two meetings.
Electricity
Japan uses Type A and sometimes Type B outlets.
Webinar with Tom Feiling
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