Japan's Ghibli Park opens for fans of the animation studio

The theme park, dedicated to the Japanese animation company production studio known for its films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle, opened on Tuesday. It is in Aichi Earth Expo Memorial Park, the former grounds of Expo 2005.

The park covers 17.5 acres and has five main themed areas based on different Studio Ghibli films: Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, The Hill of Youth, Dondoko Forest, Mononoke Village and Valley of Witches, although the last two are not open yet. All five areas of the park are expected to be open by spring 2024.

There is also a free playground based on The Cat Returns next to Mononoke Village.

“In the past three years, we have been in a very difficult situation due to Covid-19, but there was a great joy even in the midst of it … I feel that the opening of this exhibition at this time, when we are firmly facing and overcoming Covid-19, has a heavy meaning,” Koji Hoshino, chairman and president of Studio Ghibli, said during an event a few days before the park's official opening.

Its website tells visitors that “there are no big attractions or rides in Ghibli Park”. Instead, guests are encouraged to “take a stroll, feel the wind, and discover the wonders”.

Visitors can expect to see recreated sets from the animated films with Instagrammable backdrops such as sitting on the train with No Face from Spirited Away, running across waves with Ponyo or simply enjoying the children’s playroom with Cat Bus, one of the creatures from My Neighbor Totoro. There’s also a 170-person cinema that will show 10 short animations.

Tickets to visit the park can be bought only domestically and must be booked in advance for each area. From February, visitors will be allowed to buy a multi-pass ticket. Tickets for November have already sold out.

Japan reopens to tourists

It was announced last month that Japan would open to international tourism again. This means that travellers need to be vaccinated or have a Covid-19 negative test certificate, but authorities no longer require visitors to be part of an organised tour group and have lifted a cap on passenger numbers.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Japan's Ghibli Park opens for fans of the animation studio

Three of the five main areas of the 17.5-acre theme park are now accepting visitors

Japan reopens to tourists