Re-examining the 'Cool Japan' Policy—Malfunctioning Institutions, Collapsing Assumptions and Unproven Scenarios

14 Oct 20222pm—3pm (HKT)

‘Cool Japan’ has been a cross-departmental policy agenda for Japanese government that has gained prominence over the last twenty years or so. Japanese government has traditionally been little interested in the area of cultural policy, largely leaving the matters of culture to the market economy since the end of WWII. Recently, however, attention has been given to the international popularity of Japanese popular culture such as manga and anime with policies aiming to cash in on what is named ‘Cool Japan’ phenomenon. Policy has been, however, patchy, disjointed and confusing. This paper will examine the background and emergence of this policy, its recent transformation and impact on cultural flows from Japan to Asia and beyond.