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Cool Japan (クールジャパン, Kūru Japan), along with "Gross National Cool" is a concept as an expression of Japan's emergent status as a cultural superpower. Gaining broad exposure in the media and academia, the brand of "Cool Japan" has been adopted by the government of Japan as well as trade bodies seeking to exploit the commercial capital of the country's culture industry. It has been described as a form of soft power, "the ability to indirectly influence behaviour or interests through cultural or ideological means".
Contents
Origins
In a 2002 article in Foreign Policy titled "Japan's Gross National Cool", Douglas McGray wrote of Japan "reinventing superpower" as its cultural influence expanded internationally despite the economic and political problems of the "lost decade". Surveying youth culture and the role of J-pop, manga, anime, fashion, film, consumer electronics, architecture, cuisine, and phenomena of cuteness such as Hello Kitty, McGray highlighted Japan's considerable soft power, posing the question of what message the country might project. He also argued that Japan's recession may even have boosted its national cool, due to the partial discrediting of erstwhile rigid social hierarchies and big-business career paths.
Adoption
Taken up in the international media, with the New York Times running a retrospect "Year in Ideas: Pokémon Hegemon", an increasing number of more reform-minded government officials and business leaders in Japan began to refer to the country's "gross national cool" and to adopt the unofficial slogan "Cool Japan". In a 2005 press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs linked the idea to Bhutan's concept of Gross National Happiness.
The phrase gained greater exposure in the mid-noughties as NHK began a series Cool Japan Hakkutsu: Kakkoii Nippon! which by the end of 2009 had reached over a hundred episodes. Academic initiatives include the establishment of a "Cool Japan" research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while some western universities have reported an increase in the number of applicants for Japanese Studies courses due to the "cool" effect.
Criticism
A 2010 editorial in the Yomiuri Shimbun argued that the government was not doing enough to advance the country's business interests in this sphere, allowing South Korea to emerge as a competitor. The editorial highlighted structural inefficiencies, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry promoting "Cool Japan", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for cultural exchange, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in charge of Japanese foods. Lecturer Roland Kelts has also suggested that a failure to fully distinguish, brand and engage the overseas audience and market may mean that "Cool Japan" is "over". Laura Miller has critiqued Cool Japan campaign as exploiting and misrepresenting youth subcultural fashion and language. Benjamin Boas points out that Cool Japan-branded efforts are often promoted without participation of foreigners, leaving out the perspectives of the very foreigners that they are trying to target. Nancy Snow refers to Cool Japan as a form of state-sponsored cultural retreading she calls Gross National Propaganda. Japanese singer-songwriter Gackt criticized the government for having set up a huge budget, yet "have no idea where that money should go. It’s no exaggeration to say it has fallen into a downward spiral of wasted tax money flowing into little known companies", and that such lack of support is causing Japan to "fall behind its Asian neighbors in terms of cultural exports".
Creative Industries Promotion Office
The Japanese government has identified the culture industry as one of five potential areas of growth. In June 2010, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry established a new Creative Industries Promotion Office to promote cultural and creative industries as a strategic sector "under the single, long term concept of "Cool Japan", to coordinate different government functions, and to cooperate with the private sector".
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that Japanese pop culture is one of the key elements for Cool Japan and that pop culture includes idol, anime, and B class gourmet (B級グルメ).
The deputy director described its mission as to "brand Japanese products with the uniqueness of Japanese culture". For 2011 it has a budget of ¥19 billion. In fiscal 2008, public spending on cultural activities was ¥116.9 billion in South Korea, ¥477.5 billion in China, and ¥101.8 billion in Japan, respectively 0.79%, 0.51%, and 0.12% of total government spending.