is now completely overshadowed by the dynamism of its rapidly expanding neighbour, China. Even during the boom times of the 1980s, Tokyo did not witness the steady stream of gallery launches funded by Europeans or Americans that are taking place in Beijing or Shanghai now. Murakami believes this is partly to do with extortionate and bureaucratic inheritance tax laws set up after the war but, maybe more importantly it seems that private collectors and patrons of the arts in Japan are seemingly more interested in an engagement with art centred around revitalising areas, Benesse Art Site being the primary example, rather than one simply on collecting it. JW: I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. KW: You have recently held several important curatorial positions in China (Member of the 6th Shanghai Biennale Curatorial Team, Curator of The Theme Exhibition of The 4th Guangzhou Triennial), and have worked with emerging and prominent Japanese and Chinese artists, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on why Chinese contemporary art, in particular, has taken centre stage on the international art scene, playing a major role in defining the ‘contemporary’ and if you feel that Japanese collectors have decided to pursue an engagement with art towards revitalisation through social investment? JW: No. Except that the radar moves on, and a certain kind of fatigue sets in. But also, that the explosion of interest in Japan coincided with an economic bubble, and