Is Japan losing its cool?
| Tokyo
It鈥檚 been 50 years since Kyu Sakamoto鈥檚 鈥淪ukiyaki Song鈥� became a worldwide smash. The only other Asian artist to replicate the feat? Psy, from rival South Korea, with his viral hit 鈥�Gangnam Style.鈥澛�
Even as Korean tech giant Samsung turns Sony into a has-been, Japan鈥檚 erstwhile colony is also beating it in the pop culture sphere: A decade after journalist Douglas McGray famously calculated 鈥淛apan鈥檚 Gross National Cool鈥� and awoke the country to the potential of capitalizing on the global infatuation with its anime, games, J-pop, and manga, the concept of 鈥淐ool Japan鈥� is under assault.聽
Artists whose work drove the trend are distancing themselves from the commercialized moniker. 鈥淒ear ad agencies and bureaucrats,鈥� tweeted renowned artist Takashi Murakami earlier this year. 鈥淧lease stop inviting me to 鈥楥ool Japan鈥� events.... I have absolutely no link to 鈥楥ool Japan.鈥� 鈥� 聽
But others say a more nuanced drive to deploy Japan鈥檚 national cool as 鈥渟oft power鈥� could help heal the wounds of its devastating 2011 tsunami, smooth the creation of a postindustrial economy, and even boost Japan鈥檚 manufacturers at a time when the country is competing with neighboring South Korea and China over everything from electronics to islands in the seas separating them.
Without such a change of strategy, some say, Japan's dream of cashing in on its global cachet will remain unrealized. 鈥淛apan was caught completely by surprise by the success of its popular culture overseas,鈥� warns Patrick Galbraith, an expert on Japanese pop culture. 鈥淭he government has been content to bask in that success at a time of declining political and economic significance. It is high time to engage.鈥澛�
At the turn of the millennium, Japan was on a roll. In 2001, Los Angeles鈥檚 Getty Center showcased Mr. Murakami鈥檚 manga-inspired "Super Flat" movement.聽(Read about the artist's featured Google doodle, here) In 2002, Hayao Miyazaki's 鈥淪pirited Away鈥� became the first animation feature to win top honors at the Berlin Film Festival. By 2006, Harvard and MIT had a joint Cool Japan research program.
Elated by the international attention, Japan鈥檚 bureaucrats and CEOs reformulated the concept of "national cool" into a Cool Japan marketing campaign that could reach new consumers and add soft power to Japan鈥檚 manufacturing achievements. And it seemed to work ... for a while.
Leading media soon had Cool Japan columns and programs. Tourists were invited to the country for Cool Japan tours and seminars, with obligatory stops at the kawaii聽(cute) capital, Harajuku, and the anime-drenched district of Akihabara.
How things backfired
But the hoped-for revenue streams didn鈥檛 pan out.
North American manga sales peaked in 2007 and then declined, resulting in a wave of layoffs at international manga distributors. (Read more Monitor reporting on the rise of manga here)
According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry鈥檚 2012 鈥淐ool Japan Strategy鈥� white paper, Japan exports only 5 percent of its Cool Japan contents 鈥� not quite one-third of US creative industries鈥� 17.8 percent.聽
The industry created a bubble that has now burst, says Mr. Galbraith, author of 鈥淭he Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan.鈥� 鈥淪ome say anime is dead,鈥� he observes in Tokyo, 鈥渨hile others who still like it say it鈥檚 overpriced, and end up illegally streaming it.鈥�
Even Japan鈥檚 mighty video games are losing their worldwide cachet. Legendary game designer Keiji Inafune was recently accused of having a 鈥�Charlie Sheen moment鈥� in his calls for Japanese studios to wake up to their growing irrelevance.
The marketing of the phrase Cool Japan itself creates an awkward problem: 鈥淭o call yourself cool is by definition uncool 鈥� and it defies Japanese modesty,鈥� says Manabu Kitawaki, director of Meiji University鈥檚 Cool Japan program.
鈥淐reativity doesn鈥檛 spring from marketing,鈥� he continues. 鈥淭he Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry hired Dentsu for its Cool Japan campaign. It鈥檚 become a way to funnel money to a big ad firm.鈥�
The otaku culture (a term used to describe people with intensive interests in anime or manga)聽celebrated by Cool Japan can also be problematic overseas. Critics complain of the use of the popular girl band group AKB48 as cultural ambassadors. 鈥淎KB48 may represent Japanese culture,鈥� says Yukio Kobayashi, president of Tokyo music agency 3rd Stone From The Sun, 鈥渂ut underage girls in sexy clothing 鈥� to me it鈥檚 basically legal child porn.鈥�
Experts also say the country focused for too long on producing highly developed but unexportable products.聽聽They say the sheer size of the domestic market聽made foreign fans of Japanese culture an afterthought 鈥� and that when Japanese contents industries did look abroad, the rush of interest in Cool Japan created unrealistic expectations.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 the boiling frog scenario,鈥� says the Ryotaro Mihara of the聽new Creative Industries Division at the聽Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI). 鈥淲ith Cool Japan the market shrank bit by bit," he says referring to Japan's domestic manga, anime, and music markets, "so there wasn鈥檛 a sense of urgency鈥� to reach international consumers. 聽
By contrast, says 鈥淛apanamerica鈥� author Roland Kelts, 鈥淭he Korean government invested a lot of money in its domestic pop industry and went after overseas markets. 鈥淧laces where J-pop was formerly popular, like Southeast Asia, have switched to K-pop.鈥�
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster then came along to deal a cruel blow to Japan鈥檚 image. 鈥淵ou can call Japan 鈥榗ool鈥� all you want,鈥� says Japanese film critic Mark Schilling, 鈥渂ut images of the tsunami and reactor meltdowns are stronger now in many foreign minds than any miniskirted pop idol.鈥�
Goodbye Cool Japan
As the challenges facing Japanese soft power sink in, some say the first step to addressing them may mean ditching the Cool Japan slogan altogether.
METI鈥檚 Mr. Mihara admits there has been criticism. 鈥淎 debate is needed within Japan,鈥� he says, 鈥渢o come up with a better phrase to explain Japanese culture.鈥�
Rather than Cool Japan slogans, Japan may be better off promoting specific aspects of Japanese culture. 鈥淲hat you want is Cool X, Y, or Z,鈥� says Steve McClure,聽former Billboard Asia bureau chief and publisher of McClureMusic.com. 鈥淏randing a cultural movement in terms of national origin is dangerous.鈥�
This is an area where Japan should have an advantage.聽鈥淕angnam Style鈥� may have 800 million YouTube views, but Japan produces a broader range of success stories.
Last year in North America, vintage singer Saori Yuki had a No. 1 song on the iTunes jazz chart while dance music star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu topped iTunes鈥檚 electronic music chart. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost irrelevant whether Japan is cool or not, because there is enough cool stuff here anyway that will sink or swim on its own,鈥� says Mr. McClure.
Instead of throwing money at marketing campaigns, experts say Japan should support its struggling domestic contents industries.聽Japan spent just 0.12 percent of its national budget on the arts in 2008, the latest year for which comparable figures are available, whereas聽South Korea spent 0.79 percent, and China 0.51 percent.聽
Public funds would be effective in industries like manga and anime, where young 鈥渒amikaze鈥� animators burn out from long days and salaries that average only just over 1 million yen (about $12,185) per year.
Indeed, though Japan once dominated the industry, work is increasingly done by its low-cost Asian neighbors. 鈥淭here is a culture of manga and anime that is currently in critical condition,鈥� says Galbraith. 鈥淭he manga market cannot be allowed to fail. It is the base of the contents industry in Japan.鈥�
Public money would also be useful in helping Japanese artists make expensive trips abroad. 鈥淲e get many requests from overseas fans,鈥� says King Record鈥檚 Sayaka Yamada, who manages the international catalog of girl groups like Momoiro Clover Z. 鈥淔inancial support would be very helpful,鈥� she continues. 鈥淛apan should study Korea, which invested a lot to promote K-pop artists.鈥�
Observers say Japan production houses should empower the 鈥渟canlators鈥� who post pirated manga. 鈥淭hey need to join with other companies to make a Web presence that鈥檚 attractively priced and branded,鈥� Mr. Kelts counsels, pointing again to South Korea, which has been much more proactive about utilizing the Internet and branding its culture.
鈥淲hen a Pixar film comes to Japan, it鈥檚 branded as a Pixar film,鈥� Kelts says. 鈥淣obody knows Japanese anime studios like Production I.G. Cool Japan was fine in the early phases, but at a certain point distinguishing brands have to emerge.鈥�
An initiative by METI鈥檚 Creative Industries section, which was formed just last year, may speak to new efforts in this direction. METI funded a 鈥淗arajuku Street Style鈥� market in Singapore. 鈥�Kawaii styles are very popular there, but Japanese fashion businesses have difficulty operating overseas,鈥� METI鈥檚 Mihara says. 鈥淲e provided a budget to help them get established. Pooling their efforts, we had 13 brands available in Singapore for the first time.鈥澛�
Conveying the depth of Japanese culture
Experts also say Japan needs to get away from stereotypes.聽 鈥淲e need to convey the depth of Japanese culture beyond manga and anime,鈥� says Meiji鈥檚 Mr. Kitawaki. 鈥淏ehind manga and anime there is a rich culture, for example the animism of Shinto. Or take modern Japanese design鈥檚 ability to manage extremely small spaces 鈥� this is also Cool Japan.鈥澛�
The massive worldwide outpouring by the likes of Lady Gaga after the Fukushima disaster hinted at the reach of Japanese soft power. And a recent global poll by research firm StrategyOne ranked Japan the world鈥檚 most creative country.
Mr. McGray, in his famous article, foresaw two possible futures for Japan. It could either employ its vast potential soft power to reinvent itself, or, he warned, lurch toward further uncertainty.
He leaned toward optimism, saying, "Japan's history of remarkable revivals suggests that the outcome 鈥� is more likely to be rebirth.鈥�
