Japan is aiming to strengthen soft power diplomacy by leveraging its pop culture such as manga and anime. The government plans to actively use popular works to gain more fans of Japan in Global South emerging and developing countries, and to enhance Japan’s influence in the broader international community. The Foreign Ministry requested ¥1.83 billion ($11.6 million) under the government’s budget for fiscal 2027, which starts next April, to carry out projects to promote Japanese manga, anime, music and movies, as well as nurture professionals in the Japanese language abroad.
Japan has already launched cultural exchange programs using concerts. In January, the government-affiliated Japan Foundation held an anime song concert in the West African country of Cote d’Ivoire. Japanese rock band Flow played the opening theme songs of the popular anime series “Naruto” before an audience of some 600 people.
In West Africa, Japanese content, including anime, has been increasingly popular in recent years. In fact, some 2,000 people gathered outside the venue of the Cote d’Ivoire concert, in addition to the audience. Plans to hold similar concerts in South America and elsewhere in fiscal 2027 are being considered.
Tokyo hopes to boost interest in Japan by holding such concerts in regions where the East Asian country is still not well known. To help foreign nationals correctly understand Japan’s cultural background, the ministry will also fully work to foster translators of the Japanese language abroad. It plans to provide such people with opportunities to meet with officials from Japanese publishers and create Japanese conversation apps using manga characters.
The series of moves by Japan are driven by China’s growing presence in the Global South. Tokyo aims to attract people in emerging countries with the help of globally popular Japanese manga and anime works like “One Piece” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.” The designation of content as one of the 17 priority investment areas under the government’s growth strategy has allowed the Foreign Ministry to “deploy diplomacy centering around content on a larger scale,” a senior ministry official said.
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