With the Pyeongchang Olympics wrapped up, the spotlight has shifted to Tokyo ahead of the 2020 Games. The build up to the sporting spectacular is already well under way.
Much of the focus so far, however, has been on culture. The games are just as much an opportunity to showcase soft power as they are sporting prowess. The Pyeongchang Olympics highlighted this perfectly, with international media delving into South Korean cuisine and pop music. Japan is getting an early start on showcasing what it has to offer as well.
One of the first big events in the country's cultural push comes via electro-pop act Perfume. Last month, the trio performed a show titled "Perfume × Technology" (also called "Reframe") at NHK Hall in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. The dazzling performance meshed an array of high-tech innovations — augmented reality, projection mapping, drones — with the group's own maximalist songs, and it was the first prominent post-Pyeongchang installment of the national broadcaster's "Tokyo 2020" initiative, whose live performances are also branded "This Is Nippon Premium Theater."