Japan picks "schoolgirl" among cute ambassadors

Bangulzai SG

2009-03-16

Japan picks "schoolgirl" among cute ambassadors

By Isabel Reynolds

TOKYO (Reuters) - Ever seen an ambassador dressed from head to foot in pastel frills? How about a diplomatic envoy in a mini-skirted school uniform?

In a bid to raise its international profile, Tokyo has appointed three young women as cultural envoys because they represent Japan's long-running craze for all things cute.

Inspired by the characters in Japan's distinctive "anime" animated films and "manga" cartoon books, one of the new ambassadors dresses as a schoolgirl, another as a Victorian doll in voluminous frilly skirts.

The third of the women, presented at a news conference on Thursday, was a singer dressed in a polka dot shirt with a bunny print, offset by bouffant back-combed hair, a look that has made her a fashion leader in Tokyo teens' favourite haunt, Harajuku.

Japan wants to exploit the popularity of the "kawaii" (cute) culture, which has influenced young people in Asia and Europe.

"It's all about mutual understanding," said Tsutomu Nakagawa, the head of the cultural affairs division at the Foreign Ministry, after presenting the three envoys to the foreign media.

"We want people abroad to know these kind of people exist in Japan and to feel close to them."

Faced with the prospect of being overtaken in both economic and military might by giant neighbour China, Japan has been making concerted efforts to boost its "soft power," a strategy that analysts see as important.

"You get people to love your culture and use that as a way of gaining power around the world," said Phil Deans, professor of international relations at Temple University's Tokyo campus.

"America has a lot of soft power, because people like American culture."

But these ambassadors, whose role will be to speak at cultural events such as a Japan Expo to be held in Paris in July, may have narrower appeal than Hollywood movie stars.

The envoys, chosen for the clothes they choose to wear in their everyday lives, said they believed their styles would last.

"Every female from small girls to grandmothers loves pretty clothes," said nurse and part-time model Misako Aoki, now ambassador for the doll-like "Gothic Lolita" style.

"I think I can continue to dress like this all my life. Age has nothing to do with it."

Actress Shizuka Fujioka, 19, wears a school uniform even though she's graduated because she felt she missed out by going to a school with an ugly uniform.

The appointment of the three envoys comes a year after Doraemon, a rotund blue cartoon cat with no ears, was named a special ambassador.

While serving as foreign minister, manga fan Prime Minister Taro Aso also launched an international prize for the genre.

"Whether this is a strategy on which the world's second largest economy can base its diplomacy, I have yet to be convinced," said Temple University's Deans.

(Editing by Rodney Joyce http://sg.fashionmag.com)

gigabyte14 SG

i saw this family guy episode

about 2 japanese girls

they like everything small

cos small = cute

and then they pull their shirt and look inside at their chest

and say

"tiny everything"

Bangulzai SG

i saw this family guy episode

about 2 japanese girls

they like everything small

cos small = cute

and then they pull their shirt and look inside at their chest

and say

"tiny everything"

that is a good one !

gigabyte14 SG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUG1MsiWH-k

go see

sibei funny

Bangulzai SG

a short clip yet 单刀直入 so much into the fact

Bangulzai SG

TOKYO —

'Kawaii ambassadors' head overseas to promote Japanese pop culture

Ambassadors of Cute, from left: actress Shizuka Fujioka, Yu Kimura, center, and Misako Aoki

Three female ‘‘pop culture addressers’’ popularly called ‘‘Kawaii (pretty) ambassadors’’ appointed by the Foreign Ministry have started traveling abroad to introduce Japanese pop culture to young people in other countries.

Shizuka Fujioka, an entertainer called a ‘‘magician clothing coordinator’’ because of her high school uniform-like fashion, took part in an event in Thailand in March, and two other girls will go to Paris in July.

Fujioka, clad in a school uniform, appeared in the ‘‘Japan Festival’’ held in Bangkok and advised local girls on dressing. A young Thai woman who visited the festival told her, ‘‘You look very pretty in the uniform. I would like to go to Japan.’’

In Thailand, school uniforms are in vogue thanks to a Japanese animated cartoon about a school campus. In front of the festival site, photographers sat on front seats, showing the mass media’s strong interest.

Misako Aoki, a Lolita-affiliated fashion model emphasizing tastes of a little girl, and vocalist Yu Kimura, known as a dresser of several layers of old clothing, will be sent to Paris to promote the ‘‘Japan Expo’’ from July 2 to 5.

In France, many young people are fascinated with Japanese animated cartoons and dress-up. Visitors to the event are expected to top last year’s total of more than 100,000.

To help familiarize foreigners with Japan, the Foreign Ministry has been promoting exchange projects through traditional Japanese culture and art such as kabuki and noh plays.

The ministry has also focused its attention on the fact that Japanese pop culture, such as comics and animated cartoons, are catching the fancy of people across the world. It thought it important to target young people and chose the three women as ‘‘flag people’’ in February.

When Prime Minister Taro Aso, a self-styled ‘‘cartoon freak,’’ was foreign minister, he promoted ‘‘pop culture diplomacy’’ by creating an international cartoon prize.

But some people are raising eyebrows over the new attempt using ‘‘kawaii’’ as a test word. Kaori Maruya, a New Komeito party member of the House of Representatives, said at a meeting of the house’s Foreign Affairs Committee on April 24, ‘‘I’d like you to be careful about unwarranted criticism against overseas tours by ‘pretty ambassadors’ wearing very short skirts.’’

Kenjiro Monji, head of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Foreign Ministry, replied, ‘‘It’s important to be accepted by host countries. We’ll try to effectively carry out the project by taking the local situations into account.’’

Fujioka said, ‘‘I think it will be in Japan’s national interest if there is at least one person in the host country who thinks I’m pretty.’’