Jon Jerde in Japan tells the story of the unlikely collaboration of a daring Japanese real estate developer and a freewheeling American architect in the making of the largest private real estate development in Japan: Canal City Hakata, the most important work to date by one of America's most controversial architects, Jon Jerde.

When Japanese developer Fukuoka Jisho bought a nine-acre site in the distressed center of Fukuoka, they were determined to build a project that would revive the city's heart; to that end, they called on the Jerde Partnership. Bound by this common vision, Fukuoka Jisho and the Jerde Partnership negotiated language and cultural differences, one of Japan's worst economic recessions, and numerous redesigns in a co-creative process that yielded a unique outcome. Colorful and spirited, the project defies Japanese rules for retail development, yet Canal City has had over 30 million visitors since its 1996 opening, attracting teenagers and businesspeople alike.