At 10 a.m. on the second floor of a shopping mall in central Hollywood on Wednesday, a brightly lit store selling about 1,200 Japanese products opened its doors for the first time to a small crowd of journalists and onlookers.
The store, selling handicrafts and earthenware and located in the same building as the Dolby Theater that hosts the Academy Awards, is the first opening for Japan House Los Angeles, established by the Japanese government to promote the country's culture overseas.
The new facility is one of three global hubs of the Japan House project, run by the Foreign Ministry. Along with one that opened in Sao Paulo in April and another planned for London, the project aims to promote the country's best art, cuisine, design, entertainment, fashion and technology.