I'm assuming there is a fuller post behind the paywall because the one that I see seems extremely short.

I'm also going to assume the author is referring to the mythical Paris of the early 20th century for its artist/creative opportunities. If that's the case, a couple things:

1. None of us actually experienced early 20th century Paris, so we judge it romantically on the output (particularly in English/Spanish) of creatives living there.

2. Do we have (or the author have) evidence of a similar kind of creative output (particularly in English/Spanish) from Tokyo? My sense is no, even though I like Japanese food and Japanese punk. I don't like or follow anima/manga so maybe that is a blind side for me to see such evidence.

3. Tokyo is cheaper than Paris/NYC/London, but it's still not super cheap, and Japan is not the easiest country to move to. I'm not aware of many "creative" foreigners moving semi-permanently to Tokyo in anything comparable to Paris, 20th or 21st century.