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Japanese Culture

Cool Japan

Cool Japan is an initiative that the Japanese government has undertaken to enhance the

Japanese popular culture. The Japanese government has resolved to adopt policies that promote

cultures such as anime, manga, fashion, and games (Matsui 81). The state had previously

neglected these cultural aspects due to the associated stigma. Japan has put in place policies that

promote Japan’s content industry so as to increase its global competitiveness or the economy of

Japan and enrich the “soft power” of Japan.

The content industry denotes a fairly new concept in Japan. Matsui (81) defines the

content industry as commercial sectors that create, disseminate, and retail entertainment and

cultural works like games, music, pictures, anime, and manga as products. Also, the content

industry refers to the industries that concern themselves with representation that can be

reproduced, and this includes novels, manga, music, T.V., and movies. Matsui (81) asserts that

these policies did not develop from Japan but a 2002 U.S. foreign policy article that was dubbed

“Japan’s Gross National Cool.”

Cool Japan pop culture products provide a window through which the world can perceive

the cultural realities of Japanese society. Manga refers to Japanese comics; anime refers to

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Japanese animations; cosplay refers to Japanese role play where the young get together to

perform for each other (Christensen). The young ones wear manga figures costumes. These

products have gained recognition across the globe, and they play a significant role in Cool Japan.

The government’s strategy is to replace the hard power that the world associated Japan with

(Christensen). Japan lost this hard power following its loss in World War II and with the

stagnation of Japan’s economy in the 1990s.

Soft power provides numerous advantages to Japan as it exploits the popularity of the

nation among the youthful populations across the globe. The majority of these individuals have a

passion for Japan’s fads and fashion, and this creates a more profound sympathetic image within

the host nation (Christensen). The government focuses on the young foreign nationals that have

an interest in specific cultural phenomena that trace their roots to Japan. For instance, in 2009,

Kondo indicated that art and culture play an integral role in globalization because it not only

conveys specific messages across but also provides a discreet channel for creating new friends.

Further, Kondo indicates that the Chinese stores that address the geeky anime or manga fans

have stocked every imaginable anime character.

Nonetheless, the extensive spread of products such as anime and manga across the globe

has led to the development of hybridized commodities. Different industries are presently

manipulating anime and manga to produce diverse and hybridized products (Bryce et al.). In this

respect, manga and anime have developed into a state of fluid and multicultural interpretation.

Translation involves representing these media on multiple levels, where symbols and

discernments of the source culture constantly change (Bryce et al.). Cultural interpenetration also

develops when customers relate with anime and manga, and together, in both physical and virtual

spaces.

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In conclusion, the Japanese government is promoting the nation’s pop culture through its

cool power initiative. Cool power associates with sift power through the content industry, which

promotes the “cool” aspects of Japan’s culture through products such as anime, games, fashion,

and manga. As a result, these products have gained recognition across the globe and the world

associates specific products with Japan’s pop culture.

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J-Pop and K-Pop Industries

J-Pop and K-Pop have fairly distinct compositions despite the fact that the two genres

trace their origins from neighboring regions. J-Pop refers to Japanese pop while K-Pop refers to

Korean pop; the primary difference between these genres is their traits (Dayman). K-Pop

borrows its composition from U.S.’s hip hop and dance music while J-Pop borrows heavily from

U.S.’s rock and folk music. J-Pop and K-Pop share various similarities and differences, but the J-

Pop industry places more emphasis on the local market rather than the international market.

J-Pop and K-Pop branch from the name tree, which is pop music. Yuzu indicates that J-

Pop and K-Pop developed from somewhat related sources of inspiration. Ideally, visual music

has tremendously influenced Korean and Japanese idol culture. American visual music has

influenced the composition of J-Pop and K-Pop to a large extent (Yuzu). The growth of R’n’B in

the American music industry influenced K-Pop artists to adapt their music features to fit within

this music category. On the other hand, Japanese pop culture establishes a different kind of visual

music as it prioritizes the “star quality” of a musician over his ability to sing (Yuzu). However,

Korean culture has progressed to combine these two types of visual music to create a unique

definition of an idol.

The J-Pop industry focuses on the domestic market since the J-Pop idols follow a more

progressive path to stardom when compared to K-Pop idols. Ideally, the expectations that K-Pop

fans have for their idols is one that creates a perfect image of worship (Yuzu). K-Pop idols brand

themselves as the “cool” counterparts of the Western pop scene (Dayman). For example, Dean

has broken cultural barriers by working with U.S. hip hop artists like Anderson. On the other

hand, J-Pop fans prefer following their idols as they mature through training and experience. The

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J-Pop fans are more focused on the gradual transformation of ordinary girls and boys into

professional entertainers. This reality is what drives some K-Pop artists to make their debut after

a period of ten years in training (Yuzu). In this respect, J-Pop idols focus on the local market

since they create their desired image within the local populace over an extended period.

Nonetheless, J-Pop has been gaining popularity in the West due to the genre’s “weird”

composition. The West perceives Japanese culture as bizarre due to its unorthodox way of

expression; for example, the Harajuku fashion scene displays a seemingly random assortment of

junk (Michel). The principle is not being afraid to mismatch items. This cultural perspective is

exotic and bizarre to Westerners, and musicians such as Gwen Stephanie have exploited this

culture to create a niche for themselves within the American music industry. In this respect, J-

Pop moves away from borrowing outside ideas in the generation of its content (Michel). J-Pop

may be fairly diverse musically, but its image and marketing are situated within a vacuum.

In conclusion, similarities and differences in J-Pop and K-Pop develop as one focuses on

the training system, composition, and branding of K-Pop and J-Pop idols. These idols have

differing perspectives when it comes to understanding the music world. K-Pop idols mainly

focus on developing a flawless image while J-Pop musicians focus on a gradual path to stardom,

as discussed above.

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Works Cited

Bryce, Mio et al. "Manga And Anime Fluidity And Hybridity In Global Imagery". Electronic

Journal Of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 2010,

https://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/2010/Bryce.html. Accessed 6 May 2021.

Christensen, Asger Røjle. "Cool Japan, Soft Power". Global Asia, 2021,

https://www.globalasia.org/v6no1/feature/cool-japan-soft-power_asger-r%C3%B8jle-

christensen.

Dayman, Lucy. "What's The Difference Between J-Pop And K-Pop?". Culture Trip, 2017,

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/j-pop-vs-k-pop-whats-the-difference/.

Matsui, Takeshi. "NATION BRANDING THROUGH STIGMATIZED POPULAR CULTURE:

THE "COOL JAPAN" CRAZE AMONG CENTRAL MINISTRIES IN

JAPAN". Hitotsubashi Journal Of Commerce And Management, vol 48, no. 1, 2021, p. 81.,

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43295053?seq=1. Accessed 6 May 2021.

Michel, Patrick. "How J-Pop Stars Gain From The West's Obsession With 'Weird' Japan". The

Atlantic, 2012, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/06/how-j-pop-stars-

gain-from-the-wests-obsession-with-weird-japan/258565/.

Yuzu, I. "KPOP And JPOP: Two Completely Different Branches On The Same Pop Music

Tree". The International, 2019, https://isshinternational.org/6773/showcase/kpop-and-jpop-

two-completely-different-genre-branches-on-the-same-pop-music-tree/.

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