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Anime as a form of Japan's Soft-Power efforts (Anime sebagai salah satu

bentuk upaya Soft-Power Jepang)

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 Anime as a form of Japan's Soft-Power efforts
(Anime sebagai salah satu bentuk upaya Soft-Power Jepang)
Sabila Rosyada Imami1
1 Department of IR, Class of IPIREL, University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

The Soviet Union no longer threatened the global order, and the United States began to focus
less on world domination and more on promoting its interests. As a result, the United States
developed a new form of diplomacy—soft power—which focused on using economic, cultural,
and political power to influence the behavior or interests of other countries. Japanese soft power
has been especially prominent in recent years, as Japan has been increasingly interested in
expanding its role in the international community. Japanese soft power has been used to
promote Japan's interests in several ways, including cultural, media, and public diplomacy.

Keywords: Soft Power, Japan, Culture, Anime.

 Introduction
In recent years, the world has seen a dramatic increase in the use of soft power
diplomacy. This new form of diplomacy is defined as the use of economic, cultural, and
political power to influence the behavior or interests of another country. The term was first
coined by Harvard professor Joseph Nye 1 in a 1990 article and has since been used extensively
by policymakers and academics alike. The idea was to alter the behavior of others through non-
coercive policies, therefore, without resorting to aggressive behavior. The rise of soft power
diplomacy can be traced back to the end of the Cold War when the traditional structure of the
international system began to break down.

Soft power is based on the idea of cooperation rather than coercion. It depends on the
ability to let others shape tastes. The concept of soft power suggests that leadership is about
setting an example, not just giving orders. The information technology revolution has also
allowed the digital sector to become a core part of soft power. This is because technology
allows people in different world areas to socialize simultaneously. The information revolution
has therefore sprung a new means of soft power. This revolution has strongly influenced global
politics in general. As a result, it has become straightforward to distribute and spread a message
very quickly through the use of media. This has further enhanced the importance of soft power.
It has today become a vital and core part of modern daily democratic politics.

Soft power concept; culture is divided into two types: high culture and low culture.
Cultures classified as high cultures, such as literature, art, and education, are exciting and can
only be learned by the elite. Meanwhile, low culture is categorized as a culture that can be
learned and studied by anyone, such as popular culture, music, animation, film, and culinary.
(Nye, 2008) A country’s soft power is also largely depended upon its international image and
global reputation. Taking the Japanese example, the central government is using low culture
strategies to enhance Japan's soft power, which is expected to be able to achieve Japan's interest
in becoming a tourism-based country with visits more than 40 million foreign tourists in 2020.

In the post-World War Two period, the Japanese government then revitalized the
industry, especially the electronics, technology, and automotive industries, which boosted the
Japanese economy and strengthened it globally from 1960-19802 (Scott dan Kenneth, 2004).
However, in 1980-1990 there was an economic phenomenon called the Bubble Economy;

1Soft Power; The Means to Success in World Politics

2W. Scott Morton and J. Kenneth Olenik, Japan: Its History and Culture 4th edition. (New York: MacGraw-
Hill, Inc., 2004)

1
because of this phenomenon, Japan as an industrial country again experienced a setback and
forced Japan to move up to Post-industrial. Nevertheless, other industries experienced a
significant increase, where Japanese culture began to be favored by the world community, such
as Anime and Manga, which are very famous in America3. Japanese magazines are starting to
be loved by young Taiwanese people, and J-pop or Japanese music is also starting to be heard
by Europeans and Asians. Then from this, Japan's creative economy began on the international
stage. The creative economy is an economic activity that has a pivot in the form of creative
ideas that arise from Human Resources as the main production factor in the country's economic
activities.

Analysis
Along with the economic and political crisis that hit Japan for two decades (1990-2010),
coupled with the significant development of popular culture shown by Japan's neighboring
countries, South Korea and China, increasingly pushed the Japanese government to be able to
escape the impact that came after a series of crises. It ends. In order to remain relevant in the
competition between countries in the East Asia region and to restore the economic condition,
influence, and global role it previously had, the Japanese government began to make genuine
efforts to be able to develop the country's popular culture that had existed for a long time, but
the prolonged crisis hampered its development.

Under the leadership of Shinzo Abe, as Prime Minister of Japan, the influence of factors
around Japan. Entering the end of 2012, Japan is trying to break down barriers in the mindset
embedded in society and its country's leaders to follow international developments so that
Japan again influences the international level. Modern Japanese culture, considered one of
Japan's creative industries with great potential, is used as a first step to break away from this
rigid mindset so that Japan can create various kinds of renewable business fields, which is one
of the main obstacles in Japan's Lost Decades. Anime is one of the popular cultures that is quite
popular at this time.

3 Japan's gross national cool (McGray, 2002)

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 The development of Japanese popular culture diplomacy, with the Cool Japan policy
discourse (previously called the Content Industry policy). An example arose from Japan's
encouragement to seek sources of strength and a means of re-establishing Japanese national
identity through nation branding, which is increasingly being used as a means of international
relations related to implementing policies and culture. The revival of the term soft power
presented by Joseph Nye coincided with the emergence of global concerns about the national
branding of each country, so the idea of soft power became very attractive internationally.
However, there were many differences in how it was carried out throughout the
process.(Iwabuchi, 2015)

Public diplomacy and nation branding share the same general principles in the process,
but each has unique characteristics. This view was proposed by Professor Jan Melissen, editor
of the book "The New Public Diplomacy – Soft Power in International Relations," which
identifies several conceptual differences and similarities between public diplomacy and nation
branding. He concludes that despite their different approaches, they both 'end up on similar
activities' and function very well together (Melissen, 2005). In this case, public diplomacy
activities can encourage public opinion to create nation branding as a subset of public
diplomacy. With the development of technology that facilitates the dissemination of the flow
of information, diplomacy aimed at developing public opinion has become as important as the
efforts generated through communication with traditional diplomacy between state leaders.

The Japanese government uses public diplomacy to support anime as the main potential
to increase Japanese soft power. In 2006, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also took
on the role of being one of the main sponsors for the World Cosplay Summit (WCS), which is
an annual cosplay (costume play) event since 2003 that promotes friendship and international
cultural exchange through Japanese popular culture. (Anime, manga, J-pop, J-Fashion, and
others.) Then in 2008, MOFA appointed one of the most famous Japanese anime characters,
namely Doraemon, as anime ambassador for Japan.

Following the formation of a public-private institution, the Japanese government then

formed The Cool Japan Strategy Promotion Council in 2015, with the participation of members
from the private sector who participated in the Cool Japan Campaign. Advancing the efforts of
Cool Japan that the government has made, the government has a role in creating the necessary
facilities to create a forward-looking Japanese private business sector. With this division of
roles, it is hoped that the Japanese creative industry and the business sector can produce new,
unique, and innovative goods and services under Cool Japan. The integration of traditional and

3
modern cultures will be strengthened by competition from countries such as South Korea and
China to produce renewal for the future. Nowadays, there are more and more tourist
destinations in Japan with a particular anime theme to market tourist destinations in Japan, as
well as travel agents and tourist accommodation providers who are increasingly offering
anime-themed tourism products/packages. Anime in the fields that encourage Japanese tourism
then get full support from the Japanese government.

Entering 2017, to promote popular anime culture to the international community, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), which has established popular culture as part of its
policy, focuses on organizing anime-themed events, such as the 2017 World Cosplay Summit
in Nagoya. The event was attended by representatives from 34 countries from all over the
world. When China became the winner, a representative from MOFA, Hiroyuki Yamaya,
awarded prizes to the event Director of Cultural Affairs and Overseas Public Relations Division
winners. Not only that, but MOFA also welcomes visits by a team of representatives from the
event every year. On 2 August 2017, six cosplayers from Belgium, Chile, and the United Arab
Emirates visited the ministry. While wearing their costumes, they paid a courtesy call to
Motome Takisawa, the Deputy Minister of Parliament for Foreign Affairs. This shows the
Japanese government's full support for activities related to anime popular culture4.

In 2018, MOFA also played the main organizer of the Japan International MANGA
Award event, an international competition related to manga-making. As the primary objective
of giving awards to manga creators who contribute to the spread of manga, which is a close
partner of anime as Japanese popular culture abroad, as well as become a means of international
popular culture exchange. At the 11th Japan International MANGA Award event in 2018, the
event was attended by 60 countries from various regions around the world, with the winners
from Colombia5.

4 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), Cultural Exchange: World Cosplay Summit2017Conferment of
Foreign Minister’s Prize, https://www.mofa.go.jp/p_pd/ca_opr/page25e_000152.html (Accessed on 15th October
2022)
5 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), Inauguration of Anime Ambassador,

https://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2008/3/0319-3.html (Accessed on 15th October 2022

4
 Japan, as a supplier, the only one from his own culture, automatically benefits in the
market. Japanese products, in general, may face competition such as anime, face-to-face
cartoon Disney stream, manga dealing with local comics such as in America and Europe, bands
and films that deal with pattern similarities such as drama and Korean bands, and others.
However, the advantages of Cool Japan itself consist of various commodities that rely on
Japan's uniqueness, which is difficult to find in the culture and commodities produced by other
countries. This allowed Japan to win over the existing market without fear of being affected by
intense competition.

In 2016, the anime industry recorded positive growth for the fourth year. It surpassed
the 2 trillion-yen mark, which recorded sales of 2 trillion 900 million, an increase of 109.9
percent domestically and overseas annually. When viewed through the trend of sales abroad,
the anime industry has increased significantly, which is 171.9 percent starting from 2013. The
increasing interest of the world community in anime can be seen through the significant
increase in the income of the Japanese anime industry in recent years. However, this interest
does not stop at international community activities regarding watching anime and buying
merchandise related to anime. Through Japan's efforts to socialize popular anime culture
worldwide, various kinds of anime-based communities and events involving many people from
all over the world have begun to be carried out frequently, ranging from annual events to one-
time events. For example, Anime Expo was the largest 4-day anime convention event in North
America in 2017, with 107,658 visitors who attended during those four days6. Entering 2018,
the influence of Japanese anime popular culture, which is disseminated globally, is undeniable.
This can be seen through the development of events/events related to popular anime culture,
which has increased significantly, with an average of 500 anime events held throughout 2018
in all regions of the world7.

6 AnimeCons, Anime Expo 2017 Information, https://animecons.com/events/info/7489/anime-expo-2017

(Accessed on 17th October 2022)
7 AnimeCons, Anime Convention Schedule: 2018, https://animecons.com/events/schedule.php?year= 2018

(Accessed on 17th October 2022)

5
 Conclusion
Soft power is not just about the government; the sources of soft power are largely not
controlled by the government, so individuals have a role to play, whether through education,
cultural or business institutions. It concerns the effect of the collective effort of individuals
coming together and building links and relationships. Nation branding is also a vital part of soft
power. This is possibly a result of today's globalized world, for which the information
revolution is partially responsible. This has rendered all countries constant global competition
for attention, respect, and trust.

The Japanese government's efforts to restore economic stagnation and strengthen the
country's soft power to offset the spread of South Korean and Chinese popular culture produced
varied impacts. In terms of economy, anime popular culture does not have a significant
contribution because the comparison of income gains between the anime sector and other
sectors is too far to be compared. However, the efforts of the Japanese government to restore
its influence on the international community and return the international community's focus to
anime as a new image of Japan that is starting to fade have been successfully carried out. This
can be seen from the popular culture of anime which has been widely known in the international
community in the 21st century, coupled with the opinion of the world community, who
considers anime one of Japan's unique cultures pioneered. So that the world community makes
anime popular culture as a means of its entertainment. In providing satisfaction to his fans

As Japanese popular culture, anime has succeeded in becoming one of the effective
means of achieving and creating Japanese soft power to date. Apart from using anime to
balance popular culture competition among East Asian countries, the Japanese government has
also succeeded in using and utilizing anime to exert influence at the international level. Thus
generating power of opinion from the world community regarding the identity/image of
popular and traditional Japanese culture, which has been integrated in such a way. The
appearance of being part of Japanese society, which in the end, made these cultures, especially
anime, very memorable, so the origin of anime popular culture began to be recognized. It
became a distinctive feature/icon for Japanese people around the world.

6
 References
Iwabuchi, K. (2015). Pop-culture diplomacy in Japan: Soft power, nation branding and the
question of ‘international cultural exchange.’ International Journal of Cultural Policy,
21(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2015.1042469
McGray, D. (2002). Japan’s gross national cool. In Foreign Policy (Issue 130).
https://doi.org/10.2307/3183487
Melissen, J. (2005). The New Public Diplomacy: Between Theory and Practice. In The New
Public Diplomacy. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230554931_1
Nye, J. S. (2008). Public diplomacy and soft power. Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science, 616(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716207311699

M, D.-B. (2009). Japan brand strategy: The taming og 'Cool Japan' and the challenges of
cultural planning in postmodern age. Social Scince Japan Journal, 12 (2).

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