When Ding Xiaohan, a software engineer from Shanghai, took her 18-year-old son to Japan for a weeklong holiday this summer, she did not hold back.The 47-year-old spent freely as they explored the affluent neighbourhood near the Tokyo Tower and the tea-producing city of Shizuoka, splashing out on sushi lunches, barbecue dinners and dolls modelled on iconic Studio Ghibli anime characters.“Japanese food and merchandise are different, higher quality – like if you buy clothing it’s more...