One of them is the sauna boom. Find out why it is taking off in a country of hot springs.

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe, about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.

Japan is in transition - where younger Japanese are questioning the rules and strictures that traditionally govern their society.

One manifestation of that is the increasing number of schools in both cities and rural parts that allow genderless uniforms, including for boys who want to wear skirts to schools.

Even the country’s exquisite cuisine is undergoing a revolution of sorts, with insects being introduced into the repertoire as Japan grapples with limited arable land.

In this episode, ST’s foreign editor Li Xueying chats with Japan correspondent Walter Sim - who has been based in the country for eight years - about what other social changes and trends he sees will take place in 2024.

Highlights (click/tap above):

2:05 What is behind the trend of genderless uniforms and what kind of reactions do schoolboys get when they wear skirts?

6:35 Japan is in a period of social change, but these are not yet translated into policy change

9:48 Subverting ideas about Japanese food: Cricket yakitori and ramen now on the menu