'Cool Japan' culture blitz with new TV
channel in S'pore
Tokyo hopes it will spur tourism, trade and
counter Korean success
The Japanese
government is planning to step up efforts to show the world how
cool Japanese culture is, starting with the broadcasting of
Japanese anime, dramas and gourmet programmes through a new
dedicated television channel. -- PHOTO: AP
By KWAN WENG
KIN
JAPAN CORRESPONDENT
TOKYO - The Japanese
government is planning to step up efforts to show the world how
cool Japanese culture is, starting with the broadcasting of
Japanese anime, dramas and gourmet programmes through a new
dedicated television channel.
A report carried by the nationally circulated
Yomiuri Shimbun daily on its website said the broadcasts are
expected to start in Singapore as early as next month. They will
air later in Indonesia, the Philippines and other South-east Asian
nations.
Singapore was said to have been chosen because of
its excellent infrastructure, which will reduce the time needed to
kick off the project.
The latest move is an extension of efforts in
recent years to promote Japanese pop culture overseas under the
"Cool Japan" banner, in the hope that it will stimulate foreign
sales of Japanese cars and other products, and also lure more
foreign tourists to Japan. The Trade Ministry has even used the
banner to promote Japan's creative industries.
The government seems to be accelerating the pace to
counter similar efforts by the South Koreans, who have been
eminently successful over the past 15 years in popularising Korean
dramas and K-pop in the Asian region and also around the world.
The Yomiuri report said the government is expected
to set up an 80 billion yen (S$1.1 billion) fund later this year,
with contributions from the private sector, to support the running
of the new channel. It will help subsidise the cost of localising
programmes through dubbing and subtitling.
The report does not say whether the government will
also promote J-pop, which has lost much of its former gloss to its
Korean rivals in recent years.
However, some observers believe the Japanese
government is on the wrong track. They include contemporary artist
Takashi Murakami, who has exhibited his works at the Palace of
Versailles and designed products for French luxury brand Louis
Vuitton.
He said in an interview carried last month on
economic publisher Toyo Keizai's website: "(If we want to promote
manga), we should just get Japan's three largest publishers to set
up a manga museum together in Tokyo. Give special tax-free
provisions for the project and leave it to the private sector to
pursue it."
He pointed out that Cool Japan, a catchphrase
reportedly coined by a Japanese advertising firm, has not caught on
overseas.
Professor Kan Kimura, a Korea scholar at Kobe
University, feels promoting Japanese pop culture at this juncture
is pointless.
"Japanese anime and movies are already very
competitive overseas and can be seen in many countries on cable TV.
What is the point of starting a new TV channel now to promote
them?" he asked. "It will just become another white elephant."
Still, company worker Kansho Uno, 29, supports the
move. "I think the broadcasts will help deepen the cultural
exchange between Japan and other countries, and hopefully they will
enable foreigners to like Japan and Japanese things even more."
Anime hits such as Doraemon, Pokemon and Dragon
Ball are already widely known overseas. Fictional character Hello
Kitty adorns a galaxy of products from lunch boxes to laptops.
On the culinary scene, sushi has arguably become
the world's favourite Japanese food.
Prof Kimura noted that in 1997, when Seoul decided
to promote Korean pop culture abroad, Korean drama and movies were
not internationally competitive.
"It was understandable that they needed government
help."
Combined efforts by both the public and private
sectors succeeded in promoting the country's dramas and K-pop
abroad, and drummed up a passion for things Korean that has boosted
sales of cars and electronic products as well as tourist
arrivals.
Much of this success came at the expense of the
Japanese. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese TV dramas were huge hits
around the region. In the 2000s, they were booted aside by Korean
productions.
Top of the news, The Straits Times, Monday, January 7 2013,
Pg A1