The Economist: Japans soft power- Squaring the cool IN AKIHABARA, Tokyo’s centre of anime and manga sales and fandom, a new government plan is wildly popular. The idea is to project an image of “Cool Japan” around the world (like Cool Britannia in the 1990s, but without the rhyme). The main spur for the government is envy at South Korea’s outsize popular influence. Japan’s global cool factor had been recognised long before PSY’s “Gangnam Style” ever hit nightclub turntables and Korean soap operas conquered the rest of Asia. Yet the Japanese creative industries failed to turn the moment—which seems to have peaked early in the past decade—into anything lasting. Video games sold well, but anime, manga, films and books never made it overseas on a commercial scale. Back then, anime and manga were regarded as a mediocrity in Japan, and the authorities paid little attention. economist/blogs/banyan/2014/06/japans-soft-power
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 11:11:08 +0000
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