A laid-back Equinox, a heaving toy shop and a bizarre mobile racing game: inside the phenomenon that is Japanese racing

It's Arc week. That time of year when, traditionally, European racing followers find themselves taking an interest – again – in Japanese racing. 

For much of the 21st century, racing in Japan has been viewed in Europe solely through the prism of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Ever since El Condor Pasa came agonisingly close to downing the mighty Montjeu in 1999, attempting to win the great race has become an annual obsession for Japan and one it still hasn’t managed to pull off, with the defeats of Deep Impact and Orfevre cutting deep. 

There is no doubt the Arc remains high on the country’s wishlist, with Shin Emperor on Sunday set to lead the latest bid for what has been described as Japan’s holy grail, but the nation's impact on the wider racing world has grown and grown in recent years, now stretching far beyond merely this annual invasion of Longchamp. Emboldened by a thriving domestic industry, connections of Japanese runners have not only targeted more of the world's biggest prizes but won them, with victories at the Breeders' Cup, in the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup in the last four years.