Japan named most creative country, Japanese disagree

n a recent survey carried out by the multinational software company Adobe, global respondents named Japan the most creative country in the world. Japanese, however, disagreed with most participants. Figures estimate that as many as 84% of all Japanese people surveyed felt that they weren’t living up to their creative potential.

While most Japanese respondents claimed to think that unlocking their creative potential is key to social and economic growth, a little over half felt like their country’s creativity was being stifled by their educational system. Other obstacles cited by them included time, money, and self-doubt-- close to 17% feared being judged.

The poll, conducted between March and April of this year, targeted 5000 adults, 1000 per country in the U.S, U.K, Germany, France, and Japan. Out of all global participants, 30% thought that Tokyo was the world’s most creative city. Second and third came New York and Paris with 21% and 15% of all votes respectively.