I attended an online seminar about the transglobal flow of Japan's popular culture, with the conversation revolving mostly around "Cool Japan". Here are some of the questions/thoughts I had.
- Is Japan's "cool" born from a longing to find ways to escape from the otherwise dull reality? Given that life always has its difficulties for everyone, the charm of escapism can be a very strong drug that strikes very close to the heart.
- Has the "cool Japan" concept helped to shed a more positive light on otaku, who used to be portrayed more negatively, including news channels going as far as to report things such as manga being found in the suspect's home, etc.?
- Given that power is about the ability to get someone else to do what you want them to do (either through coercion or persuasion), how would we rate Japan's success in "Cool Japan" as soft power?
- Sanrio didn't promote Hello Kitty for soft power or "cool Japan", it is doing so for cash.
- Maybe the Government of Japan is just out of ideas (with all the men in their 60s and 70s still in leadership positions) and doesn't know what to actually do to help Japan's soft power.
- The spread of pop culture like manga, anime, movies, drama, songs, all help to provide a channel to express Japan's view of the world, Japanese values, and other aspects of Japanese society and culture. The thing is whether this channel is being used to convey the things needed to help Japan grow its soft power.
- Has the "cool Japan" concept helped to shed a more positive light on otaku, who used to be portrayed more negatively, including news channels going as far as to report things such as manga being found in the suspect's home, etc.?
- Given that power is about the ability to get someone else to do what you want them to do (either through coercion or persuasion), how would we rate Japan's success in "Cool Japan" as soft power?
- Sanrio didn't promote Hello Kitty for soft power or "cool Japan", it is doing so for cash.
- Maybe the Government of Japan is just out of ideas (with all the men in their 60s and 70s still in leadership positions) and doesn't know what to actually do to help Japan's soft power.
- The spread of pop culture like manga, anime, movies, drama, songs, all help to provide a channel to express Japan's view of the world, Japanese values, and other aspects of Japanese society and culture. The thing is whether this channel is being used to convey the things needed to help Japan grow its soft power.
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