{"id":1556,"date":"2024-10-18T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/?p=1556"},"modified":"2024-10-17T21:06:17","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T21:06:17","slug":"japanese-soft-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/?p=1556","title":{"rendered":"Japanese “Soft Power”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019ve all probably experienced some form of Japanese culture in the last 3 years. In the modern era, it\u2019s nearly impossible to avoid some form of Japanese culture, like Manga, Anime, Sushi, or Japanese Music, which are extremely popular in the West and have been so for several years. Many people admire Japan, praising it for its hyper-efficiency, or saying they\u2019d like to visit or live there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s influence on the world is undeniable, but this raises an important question: why is it so popular and highly regarded, even while facing challenges like an aging population and a stagnant economy? Japan\u2019s economy is a shadow of its former self, previously being the second-largest economy, Japan has now slipped to fourth place over the past 30 years. And in recent years the Yen has devalued so much that 2024 is the Yen\u2019s lowest value against the Euro in its history, according to The Week<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gross domestic product per capita in Japan since 1960<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, when looking at Japan\u2019s GDP per Capita, a measure of a country\u2019s total domestic product divided by its population, we can see that it\u2019s been stagnating since a peak in the 1990s. This period of economic decline is referred to as the \u201clost decades\u201d. In addition to the devaluing yen and stagnation of GDP per capita, Japan\u2019s average real wage (wage adjusted for inflation) has decreased<\/em> by 11% since 1995. Japanese companies have also suffered, as according to Diamond Weekly, a Japanese newspaper, \u201c32 Japanese companies were in the top 50 companies in the world by market capitalization ranking, now there is only one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In summary, as NPR News puts it, \u201cIn the early 1990s, it all came to a sudden halt. Japan went from being one of the fastest-growing countries in the world to one of the slowest. And this economic stagnation went on and on and on. For decades.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, with these economic difficulties established, what has Japan done about it? Well, in the years following its stagnation, Japan made a great effort to protect its cultural influence rather than its economic influence. For context, after WW2, Japan was left without any sort of military, so it focused on other means of retaining relevance such as soft power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSoft power\u201d is the term for exerting influence without military force, but rather via economic or, in Japan\u2019s case, cultural means. Japan is unique as one of the few nations that relies almost entirely on soft power, lacking a substantial military presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Thus, Japan\u2019s government launched \u201cCool Japan\u201d as an initiative to spread its cultural influence, which has relied on bringing in foreigners to the country to increase its appeal and spread Japanese culture abroad. For instance, Cool Japan\u2019s initiative includes goals like making Japanese restaurants more fashionable to enhance cultural appeal. Cool Japan is one of the ways Japan strengthens its global soft power, by implanting a positive image of the nation into the minds of Westerners abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also raises the question of why Cool Japan and Japan\u2019s initiative to popularize itself has been so successful, and how the country\u2019s image has been improved so significantly. And there are several theories out there, such as the idea that Japanese culture is appealing to the West because it is very different, or some other sources saying Japanese culture is simply \u201camazing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s cultural distinctiveness likely does<\/em> partially contribute to the success of its efforts, as Western culture is also, ironically, much more popular among Japanese youth than their own culture is. Foreign Policy describes how Japanese teenagers will admire American Sneakers and go to music stores that sell Vinyls of American music. On the other hand, Japanese media has become incredibly popular among many young Westerners. They inspire entire communities, in English, who aren\u2019t even able to read or watch the original Japanese content without subtitles or translations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, because of all of these cultural exports, many Westerners wish that they could move or visit Japan, despite the distance (and the disastrous effect on the climate that the flights produce, no less). Many see Japan as flawless, with trains that are always on time, but the reality is more complex. The Amagasaki Derailment of 2005 occurred specifically because of the incredibly tight Japanese train schedules. The driver went far above the speed limit just to avoid being a few minutes late, which resulted in the train derailing, injuring 500 people, and killing another 100, including the driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overhead view of the Amagasaki Derailment in 2005<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Cool Japan themselves put it in their mission statement, \u201c[japanese culture] has attracted more and more people even while we, the Japanese people, are losing confidence and energy, and becoming more introverted due to prolonged economic struggles.\u201d The Japanese people sing the praises of their nation far less than the average Westerner does, and this is important to understand when evaluating the country as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, this article is not to deter you or anyone else from enjoying or appreciating Japanese culture but rather to be aware of intentional cultural exports and unrealistic romanticization in the modern world, and how they distort our view of certain places, such as Japan. It\u2019s important to view countries objectively, and not through the lens their governments promote\u2014especially when considering how people live there, rather than how appealing the country looks in tourism or on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cool Japan. Declaration of Cool Japan’s Mission<\/em>. 26 August 2014. Declaration of Cool Japan’s Mission<\/em>, https:\/\/www.cao.go.jp\/cool_japan\/english\/pdf\/published_document4.pdf. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fukazawa, Ken. \u201c\u662d\u548c\u3068\u3044\u3046\u300c\u30ec\u30ac\u30b7\u30fc\u300d\u3092\u5f15\u304d\u305a\u3063\u305f\u5e73\u621030\u5e74\u9593\u306e\u7d4c\u6e08\u505c\u6ede\u3092\u632f\u308a\u8fd4\u308b | \u9031\u520a\u30c0\u30a4\u30e4\u30e2\u30f3\u30c9\u306e\u898b\u3069\u3053\u308d.\u201d \u9031\u520a\u30c0\u30a4\u30e4\u30e2\u30f3\u30c9<\/em>, 17 August 2018, https:\/\/dw.diamond.ne.jp\/articles\/-\/24295. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guo, Jeff, and Emma Peaslee. \u201cJapan had a vibrant economy. Then it fell into a slump for 30 years.\u201d NPR<\/em>, 5 April 2024, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/04\/03\/1197958583\/japan-lost-decade. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japaneur. \u201cWhy is Japan’s culture so often perceived as weird or Wacky? \u2014 JAPANEUR.\u201d JAPANEUR<\/em>, 10 September 2024, https:\/\/japaneur.jp\/blog\/why-is-japans-culture-so-often-perceived-as-weird-or-wacky. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGray, Douglas. \u201cJapan’s Gross National Cool \u2013 Foreign Policy.\u201d Foreign Policy<\/em>, 11 November 2009, https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2009\/11\/11\/japans-gross-national-cool\/. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walker, Joshua W. \u201cSoft power and Japan’s role in a complex world.\u201d The Japan Times<\/em>, 24 October 2023, https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/commentary\/2023\/10\/24\/japan\/japan-soft-power\/. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan Railway West. \u201cAn Overview of the Derailment Accident on the Fukuchiyama Line.\u201d Overview of Accident \u2014 JR-West, 25 April 2005, https:\/\/www.westjr.co.jp\/global\/en\/fukuchiyama\/outline\/. Accessed 12 October 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all probably experienced some form of Japanese culture in the last 3 years. In the modern era, it\u2019s nearly impossible to avoid…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":1557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-popular-culture","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1556"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1572,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1556\/revisions\/1572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}