Japan after the South Korean government lifted the 30-year ban on cultural exchange with Japan that had been in place since 1948. Korean pop cultural products' success in the Japanese market is partially explained by the borrowing of Japanese ideas such as the star-marketing system and heavy promotion of new television shows and music. Korean dramas such as "Winter Sonata" and "Coffee Prince," as well as K-pop artists such as BIGBANG and SHINee are very popular with Japanese consumers. Most recently, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the 2017 G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany
Sada Abe her disappearance, Sada Abe continues to draw public interest. In addition to the documentary in which Abe herself appeared shortly before she disappeared from the public eye, and the 1976 Japanese-language "In the Realm of the Senses", at least three successful films have been made based on the story. The 1983 film, "Sexy Doll: Abe Sada Sansei", made use of Abe's name in the title. In 1998, a 438-page biography of Abe was published in Japan, and the first full-length book on Abe in English, William Johnston's "Geisha, Harlot, Strangler, Star: A Woman, Sex, and Morality in Modern Japan", was