John Daub thinks Japan’s position in 2020 resembles where the country was following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.
“It was the same situation after March 11, with no tourism and a lot of uncertainty,” he tells The Japan Times, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the nation. “A lot of my friends left in March — maybe now they wished they stayed.”
Following the disaster, Daub committed himself to introducing Japanese culture to those abroad and tried to correct international misconceptions of a place he’s loved since he arrived here in 1998. In 2013, he launched Only in Japan, a YouTube channel that went on to become one of the most popular destinations for in-depth looks at the country.