After the March 11 quake and tsunami put on hold publisher Yasuko Suzuki's plan to launch a free English magazine introducing Japanese culture and travel information to foreign visitors, the next idea that occurred to her was to turn for help from celebrities known to be fans of Japan.
Hoping to turn around the sharp postquake fall in tourism, Suzuki and her staff emailed more than 300 cultural figures abroad to seek their help in reviving Japan as a travel destination, and 41 agreed to cooperate, listing their recommendations for tourists.
The first 8,000 copies of the resulting Travel Guide to Aid Japan, offering travel tips from celebrities such as British and U.S. fashion designers Paul Smith and Tommy Hilfiger, British actress and singer Jane Birkin and Hawaiian ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro, hit bookshelves in Asia, Oceania and the U.S. in August.