After the Second World War (la deuxième guerre mondiale) the Japanese were very fond of the French writers and the French culture that was considered as very elitist. The Japanese were really interested in French existentialism, structuralism and post-modernism (existentialisme, structuralisme et post-modernisme) and the golden age of their love for the French lasted until the 70s. Their favorite writers were Albert Camus who wrote L’étranger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Saint-Exupéry (Le petit prince) and their favorite singers were Piaf, Montand, Aznavour, Brel, M.Mathieu…. Their interest in the French culture and the Press was also the result of the anti-Americanism of the Japanese society and the French community.
By the 80s, France remained the symbol of luxury products (produits de luxe) and the best cuisine in the world, but the lack of patience of its governments was an obstacle to the investments in Japan by the French companies, even if the opening of the French high-speed train (TGV) was a blow to the Japanese Shinkansen high speed train.
