This audio is generated by AI, so pronunciation and expressions may not be fully accurate. The narration is only in English.
Sim's first trip to Japan took place in 2012, the same year that he graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore with a degree in communications. He was shocked by the sheer size and complexity of Tokyo. "Having grown up in Singapore, I just found Tokyo completely overwhelming at first," he explains. "Singapore is such a small place, very compact and easy to navigate. Like most first-timers in Tokyo, I got pretty lost—especially on the trains."
Once he found his way to a few restaurants, however, he began warming up to the city. "We Singaporeans love our food," he smiles. "But I was impressed right away. The food in Tokyo is fantastic."
The language barrier was much more significant than he had expected. Many Singaporeans are multilingual, with English (or Singlish, as the local dialect is lovingly called) acting as the lingua franca of the country's multicultural population. As well as English, Sim is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. "It was strange in Tokyo—not being able to communicate with most people around me," he says. "But I did manage to learn a few words of Japanese. When people actually understood me, it was a really gratifying experience."
Inspired, he began taking Japanese lessons after returning to Singapore. It was a decision that would determine his future. Hired straight out of university as a reporter for The Straits Times, Sim's initial assignments focused on crime and politics in Singapore. Around 2016, the newspaper sought to broaden its focus by sending out foreign correspondents across the region in a bid to become the leading international voice of news in Asia.
As it turned out, Sim's hobby was not much of a secret. "Yes, they'd heard about the Japanese lessons," he laughs. "So, I was offered the job as the paper's Japan correspondent. It was a bit intimidating. I would be out in Tokyo alone, and my Japanese still wasn't great. But I decided to go for it. There were just so many questions that I still wanted to answer."
The move was quite a challenge in the beginning. Along with adapting to everyday life in Tokyo, Sim had to make decisions on what kinds of stories he would pursue in his role as the sole Japan correspondent. Unlike Singapore, where he had been assigned to write for a specific department, he was now faced with reporting on an entire country that he himself was only beginning to understand.
"Because much of my previous work in Singapore had revolved around politics and diplomacy, that was what I focused on at first in Japan," he explains. "Being so new to the country, it helped to start out reporting on something that was at least somewhat familiar. And due to the close ties between Japan and Southeast Asia, many readers of The Straits Times are interested in Japanese government policies, particularly those that affect the ASEAN region."
To start with, Sim conducted interviews in English with the assistance of translators, which motivated him to improve his Japanese. "On a practical level, translating back and forth can take up nearly half of an interview," he says. "But on a deeper level, I wanted to be able to speak directly to people in their language. It is a humbling experience, of course. You have to accept that you will make mistakes."
As a journalist, he also has an obligation to tell the truth. "I wasn't quite sure what to expect here as a foreign correspondent, particularly if I had to write stories that might be deemed controversial or even critical of Japan. While there have been difficulties, I've found politicians and agencies in Tokyo to be increasingly open when it comes to speaking with reporters from other countries." Sim has interviewed many of Japan's most prominent leading figures, including the Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko.
As he continued to live and work in Tokyo, his writing evolved to encompass a much broader range of subjects. "The more I read and saw and experienced here, the more I wanted to share different types of stories about Japan. I could tell that our readers in Southeast Asia were eager for articles that provided a more varied and nuanced picture of Japanese culture and society."
For example, Sim produced an impressive multimedia piece in 2024 that provided a deep dive into the everyday lives of professional sumo wrestlers. While uncompromising in its portrayal of the sport's recent scandals and declining enrollment, the article also details the unique history and traditions of sumo and looks to the future as well. "I think it can be good to start with something that people already know about Japan, or think they know about Japan, and expand on it," he says. "There is so much more to learn about things like sumo than we might think."
Other stories focused on lesser-known aspects of Japan have proven popular with readers, such as his report on the huge system of underground reservoirs that Tokyo has built to prevent flooding. "I was surprised that so many people were interested in that article," says Sim. "But this kind of innovation is definitely relevant to Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia, which face similar challenges with regulating and controlling water."
Sim's tenure in Japan has coincided with a visible shift in Tokyo itself, as the city has seen a steady rise in international residents and a growing sense of everyday multiculturalism. He sees this as a necessary evolution if Tokyo is to continue strengthening its position as a major global city. "The question at this point is not whether Tokyo will be multicultural, but what kind of multiculturalism it will be," he says. "It takes time to figure these things out."
Balancing between openness and continuity is something Sim thinks Tokyo is uniquely positioned to manage. While acknowledging the unease that often accompanies change, he argues that the city's identity is more resilient than critics assume. "I think it is human nature to be concerned about the unknown. People worry that Tokyo might change beyond recognition and lose what makes it unique. But I don't think multiculturalism will erase Tokyo's identity. If anything, it will just add more layers to what is already here."
That sense of layered appeal is also reflected in how Tokyo is increasingly viewed abroad. In recent years, the city has strengthened its reputation as a global urban center, earning high marks in the Global Power City Index (GPCI), released annually by the Mori Memorial Foundation. In 2025, Tokyo achieved its first-ever overall second place, including first in Livability category and second in Cultural Interaction category. Together, these evaluations echo the same qualities Sim highlights in his work: a city capable of growth and change without losing its character.
Looking ahead, Sim sees Tokyo as playing a leading role in shaping Asia's future, particularly through regional cooperation. "In 2026, Singapore and Japan will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations," he explains. "Our countries face many of the same concerns, including aging populations, falling birth rates, environmental issues, and economic uncertainty. I think the future looks brighter if we work together."
In his spare time, Sim enjoys puzzle games called nazotoki, in which players take on the role of a detective to reach a goal or solve a mystery. While they can be played digitally, he prefers the recent trend that has seen these quest-style games adapted to real physical locations. Organizations like Tokyo Metro have launched their own nazotoki, encouraging participants to explore lesser-known parts of the city. Ever eager to share, Sim has even written an engaging piece on nazotoki for The Straits Times, narrated in first person.
"That's the great thing about Tokyo," he says. "There are always new things to discover and new stories to tell."
