Unpacking Government Programs
In a mission to build national brand and secure profits, the Japanese government, in coordination with certain Japanese corporations, has taken their steps to promote the spread of Japanese popular culture abroad through programs that bear the name “Cool Japan” (Yudoprakoso, 2013). Based on that, we could observe activities that are clearly linked with programs named “Cool Japan,” such as the Cool Japan Fund, tracing who are receiving the funds, and what they are doing with the funds. Other programs that involve promotion of popular culture but do not use the term “Cool Japan” might be taken into account too. But what is more important to advise is that the analysis should go further than simply recording the performances of the programs’ implementation.
First, we need to scrutinize why there has been an interest among Japanese policymakers to participate in promoting Japanese popular culture. There are economic, social and political conditions of contemporary Japan need to be taken into account. How is the condition of Japan’s economy in the context of today’s world economy? And how do popular culture business develop in such economic context? How are the perceptions about Japan and Japan’s foreign policies abroad? What are the interests of the Japanese government if we look at the ministries or agencies involved, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry? What are the interests of the business actors involved and what gains are they aiming for? How do Japanese policymaking culture and business culture affect the implementation of these programs?
Next, it is important to think about the implications of government involvement in promoting their country’s popular culture. Do these programs to build an impressive national image through popular culture would lead to clean up of contents that are deemed unfit or objectionable to be known by foreigners? Does the desire to secure profits would lead to stricter regulations and enforcement against fan activities that might be considered “infringing” copyright? Government control in driving the flow of Japanese popular culture contents abroad could be a venue for disciplining consumer reception and activities for the interests of certain parties. And it might raise suspicion of intended and structured propaganda and cultural imperialism too. Understanding the interests at play behind the government programs and their implications could give insight as to why there have been criticisms and dissatisfactions towards the program.
Return to the Beginning?
Amidst all the development that has been going on surrounding the discourse of “Cool Japan,” we might also consider to look back at how this discourse emerge in the first place. In other words, it is necessary to look at the context in which McGray’s article originally appear. Some things about the article that could be kept in mind are, for example, who was McGray? Where is he from? When did he wrote the article? Why did he choose the term “cool”? From there, we can reconstruct the condition of Japan, along with its popular culture at home and abroad, at the time of the writing, as well as McGray’s own position in observing it. This is important because the reception of Japanese popular culture abroad might differ from place to place, from time to time.
These have been some of the critical issues and questions that has arisen surrounding the discourse of “Cool Japan.” My hope is that these questions can be of help for those who wish to study about “Cool Japan” in finding the direction and angle to discuss it. This summary is intended to be as comprehensive as possible, but there could still be some points missed by the article. Thus, further contributions and suggestions are welcomed, and you could add them at the comments section.
References
Galbraith, Patrick (2011), “Otaku Consumers,” in Parissa Haghirian (editor), Japanese Consumer Dynamics, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, hlm. 146-161.
Galbraith, Patrick (2014), The Moe Manifesto: An Insider’s Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming, Tuttle Publishing.
Grunebaum, Dan (2012), “Is Japan losing its cool?” in The Christian Science Monitor, http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/1208/Is-Japan-losing-its-cool/(page)/2
McGray, Douglas (2002), “Japan’s Gross National Cool,” in Foreign Policy, http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/11/11/japans-gross-national-cool/
Ōtsuka, Eiji (2015). “Foreword: Otaku Culture as ‘Conversion Literature’,” dalam Patrick Galbraith, Thiam-Huat Kam, dan Björn-Ole Kamm (editor), Debating Otaku in Contemporary Japan: Historical Perspectives and New Horizons, Bloomsbury Publishing, hlm. xiii-xxix.
Lamarre, Thomas (2004). “Otaku Movement,” in EnterText 4, No. 1, hlm. 151-187.
Lamarre, Thomas (2013). “Cool, Creepy, Moe: Otaku Fictions, Discourses, and Policies,” in Diversité urbaine Vol. 13, No. 1, hlm. 131-152.
Snow, Nancy (2013), “Uncool Japan: Japan’s Gross National Propaganda,” dalam Metropolis, http://metropolis.co.jp/features/the-last-word/uncool-japan/
Yudoprakoso, Bagus (2013), Analisis Cool Japan dalam Politik dan Ekonomi Luar Negeri Jepang selama Periode 2002-2013 (Analysis of Cool Japan in Japan’s International Political Economy Policy), undergraduate thesis at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia.
Cool Japan Answered: Origins, Development, and Purpose of Japan’s Creative Economy Strategy
By Halimun Muhammad | The writer is a graduate of International Relations major at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of Universitas Indonesia | Translation assistance by Eri Gunawan Suriana
