Notes: Made in Cool Japan

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wheelerbot

Who decides what’s cool? Governments are probably not best placed, though the Japanese Government been marketing the notion of ‘Cool Japan’ since the early 2000s. In this piece, first published in Griffith Review 49: New Asia Now, Sally McLaren explores the co-opting of Japanese popular culture and describes the myths, realities and denials of post-Fukushima Japan.

This is a companion discussion to the original post on our website.

-two-doves-

I thought this was really interesting. I had no idea at all it was an officially sanctioned campaign – I wonder if Gwen Stefani got paid for Harajuku Girls.

Shinjuku

A very disappointing article. The people of Tohoku are doing their best to reestablish their communities and have people accept that their fisheries and farms are untainted, but hysterical articles like this don't help. And would it be "cool" to leave the SDF undermanned when China and North Korea are both increasingly aggressive?

wheelercentre

Shinjuku To be fair, it was first published in 2015. For a different perspective on the Tohoku region and the aftermath of the disaster, you might prefer 'Memories are made in these' by Pepi Ronalds.