“Japan is the world's biggest donor”. So the statistics say. Is this good news ? Are Japanese more apt to understand cultures, at least Asian cultures, than Europeans or Americans ? This issue of Cultures and Development - Quid Pro Quo reports on how some Japanese react to this question. Is Japan a model for the South, illustrating how happily and efficiently local culture and modern development are to be mixed ? Or is Japan plagued by cultural alienation just like all the rest of us ? Interviews made in Tokyo and Kyoto by Network Cultures point to a deep cultural crisis in Japan. Out of this crisis, new models will undoubtedly grow. It is fascinating to monitor carefully new developments in social, economic and political life both in Japan and in the West, in Africa, Asia or Latin America.

This issue also offers a report on a workshop held by Network Cultures on the interaction between micro-level communities and macro-level decision makers.