Specifics of Japan’s soft power strategy: pop-culture, cultural exchange, and nation-branding

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FEDERAL STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

FOR HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Bachelor's thesis

Specifics of japan's soft power strategy: pop-culture, cultural exchange, and nation-branding

Ivanova Aleksandra Sergeevna

Moscow, 2020

Abstract

This paper focuses on the peculiarities of Japan's soft power. The study widely covers the dimensions and priorities of the current soft power strategy of Japan. Despite extensive research on the soft power of Japan, most of the studies focused on the `pop-culture diplomacy' as the main priority of Japan's government. The contributions of the educational exchange and people-to-people exchange as the elements of Japan's soft power strategy remain mostly uncovered. The paper aims to bridge this research gap and provide an account of different policy tools and methods implemented by the Japanese government through the theoretical framework of the post-structuralist school. Mainly, the conceptual tools are used elaborated by Foucault in the study of power relations and `assemblage' power by Deleuze and Guattari. The broad analysis of Japan's soft power strategy and its specifics can provide an account of the interaction of different policies and methods working on the image of a country. Applying theoretical tools of the post-structuralist school allows us to see a full picture of the soft power strategy with different elements covering various dimensions and interacting with each other. The results of the study could help reveal deficiencies of the current strategy and adjust it to the changing environment.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Pop-culture and Cultural Exchange

1.1 Pop-culture diplomacy

1.2 Cultural exchange

2. People-to-People Exchange

2.1 Educational exchange programs

2.2 Results of the educational exchange programs

3. Public Relations

3.1 Public Relations Organisations

3.2 Other tools of Public Relations

4. Cooperation with International Organisations

4.1 UNESCO

4.2 The United Nations University (UNU)

5. Cultural Grant Assistance

6. Local Partnership Cooperation

7. Tokyo 2020

References

Introduction

Soft power has become a crucial part of governments' foreign policy nowadays. Incorporating soft power into foreign policy is not only believed to disseminate positive images of a nation but also to increase one's influence on the international arena. The soft power of Japan has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the attention has been given primarily to the pop-culture diplomacy, leaving out the importance of educational and cultural exchange. Applying the post-structuralist framework of analysis allows seeing the significance of different elements united in one soft power strategy.

Problem Setting

Elaboration of a correct and effective soft power strategy is crucial for modern states. Despite the extensive literature on soft power, the implications of which countries can use in their policies, it does not guarantee the achievement of good results. As can be seen in the latest global report on soft power, the Soft Power 30 (2019), the leaders of the ranking might change their positions sometimes.

This exploratory study attempts to give a full account of the specifics of Japan's soft power strategy and connection between its different parts. The Japanese government invests heavily to promote the image of Japan abroad. The reasons for this could be economic incentives provided by the industry of pop-culture, building friendly relationships with other nations, and gaining influence in the international sphere. Japan's soft power strategy is divided into several spheres: public relations abroad, cultural exchange, people to people exchange, cooperation with international organizations, cultural grant assistance, and local partnership cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Official Website 2019). Furthermore, all of these categories are, in turn, subdivided into particular actions and policies. The research will analyze all these actions and policies to find the patterns of soft power strategy and identify the relations between different parts of it.

However, even though the government of Japan works a lot on the promotion of its image, the results seem to be fluctuating. According to the Soft Power Index 2019, Japan took the 8th place, shifting from the 5th place it took in 2018. The unilateralism of the action and absence of dialogue between an executor and a recipient in the current `Cool Japan' strategy could be held responsible for such shifts. Soft power has become a crucial part of governments' foreign policy nowadays. Incorporating soft power into foreign policy is not only believed to disseminate positive images of a nation but also to increase one's influence on the international arena. The soft power of Japan has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the attention has been given primarily to the pop-culture diplomacy, leaving out the importance of educational and cultural exchange. Applying the post-structuralist framework of analysis allows seeing the significance of different elements united in one soft power strategy.

Research Question and Hypothesis

Extensive research has been conducted to describe `pop-culture diplomacy' as a part of the soft power strategy of Japan. It also has been argued that it is a distinctive feature of Japan's soft-power politics. Although separate elements of soft power strategy, as pop-culture, for example, might be widely covered in the existing literature, the research on the connection between other details remains scarce. Moreover, the contributions of educational exchange programs and people-to-people exchange as soft power tools remain mostly uncovered (Iwabuchi 2015). Therefore, it appears that a more thorough analysis is needed to account for the success of Japan's soft power strategy. A detailed description of the current soft power strategy of Japan and the interconnection between its various parts is one way to do it. The paper aims to bridge this research gap and provide an account of different policy tools and methods implemented by the Japanese government.

Post-Structuralist school of thought is relevant for the analysis of soft power due to its focus on the discourse of meaning and critical view of traditional power. Thus, the theoretical framework of this study is formed with conceptual tools elaborated by the thinkers of the post-structuralist tradition. This approach is used to examine the interaction between different parts of the soft power strategy. Mainly, the writings of Foucault (1982) on power relations and his framework of power relations from the point of institutions will be used. These concepts will be relevant for the analysis of how power relations are organized within the institutions. Moreover, the work of Deleuze and Guattari (1987) and their concept of assemblage will be of particular importance. The concept of assemblage could be used to examine soft power strategy as consisted of different elements and lines, interacting with each other. Finally, Adorno (2004) and his term `culture industry' helps to understand why the pop-culture diplomacy is so successful and remains one of the main priorities in the soft power agenda.

In the modern context, when countries are seeking to enhance their image and influence and resolve possible conflicts and disputes without resorting to so-called `hard power,' it is essential to understand how countries can improve their strategies by adjusting different elements of soft power strategy to work together efficiently (Gallarotti 2011). The broad analysis of Japan's soft power strategy and its specifics can provide an account of the interaction of various policies working to create and maintain the image of a country. The research seeks to contribute to the broader community by examining the contents of Japan's soft power policy and reviewing them with post-structuralist conceptual tools.

Elaboration of a correct and effective soft power strategy is crucial for modern states. Despite the extensive literature on soft power, the implications of which countries can use in their policies, it does not guarantee the achievement of good results. As can be seen in the latest global report on soft power, the Soft Power 30 (2019), the leaders of the ranking might change their positions sometimes. This exploratory study attempts to give a full account of the specifics of Japan's soft power strategy and connection between its different parts. The Japanese government invests heavily to promote the image of Japan abroad. The reasons for this could be economic incentives provided by the industry of pop-culture, building friendly relationships with other nations, and gaining influence in the international sphere. Japan's soft power strategy is divided into several spheres: public relations abroad, cultural exchange, people to people exchange, cooperation with international organizations, cultural grant assistance, and local partnership cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Official Website 2019). Furthermore, all of these categories are, in turn, subdivided into particular actions and policies. The research will analyze all these actions and policies to find the patterns of soft power strategy and identify the relations between different parts of it.

However, even though the government of Japan works a lot on the promotion of its image, the results seem to be fluctuating. According to the Soft Power Index 2019, Japan took the 8th place, shifting from the 5th place it took in 2018. The unilateralism of the action and absence of dialogue between an executor and a recipient in the current `Cool Japan' strategy could be held responsible for such shifts. Soft power has become a crucial part of governments' foreign policy nowadays. Incorporating soft power into foreign policy is not only believed to disseminate positive images of a nation but also to increase one's influence on the international arena. The soft power of Japan has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the attention has been given primarily to the pop-culture diplomacy, leaving out the importance of educational and cultural exchange. Applying the post-structuralist framework of analysis allows seeing the significance of different elements united in one soft power strategy.

Research Design

The paper aims to describe the peculiarities of current Japan's strategy of soft power and ring out possible solutions for its improvement. Moreover, it focuses on the specifics of the educational exchange within Japan's soft power strategy.

Qualitative interpretative methods can be used while studying a specific phenomenon in international relations. The research applies the case study research design. It represents a thorough study of a particular case, which is the analysis of the soft power strategy of Japan and its particular policies. The research design was chosen to provide a description of the particular case and look at the patterns of a broader phenomenon. Case study research design helps to see how the interaction of different elements of soft power strategy yields useful results on the example of Japan. The methodology is built around critical analysis of the existing government policies, stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as directed to the improvement of the image of Japan among foreign audiences.

The research is mostly interpretive and descriptive. Such a type of research design will help to provide an outlook of the context and the current status of the case by making conclusions out of the collected information. The information to be used in this study is mostly export data, statistics, and surveys. Besides, the attention will be given to the reports and indexes conducted by specialised agencies, and the purpose of which is an evaluation of the performance of countries based on a given set of criteria.

The conceptual tools developed by the thinkers of the post-structuralist school of thought will be of particular importance in this study. The framework for the analysis of relations of power from the point of view of institutions, elaborated by Foucault (1982), will be used to examine the structure of the institutions responsible for the implementation of the soft power strategy of Japan. The concept of assemblage, invented by two other influential thinkers Deleuze and Guattari (1987), will be used to analyse the soft power strategy through the lens of assemblage power. Finally, the work of Adorno (2004), the representative of the Frankfurt school of thought, on the `culture industry' will be used to understand better why pop-culture remains high on the soft-power agenda and why it is so successful.

Even though the paper attempts to provide a thorough description of the case of Japan's soft power strategy, it does not mean that the results of the research could be generalised to a broader set of cases and other countries. Also, it does not mean that this particular case can represent a typical problem of the conduct of the soft power strategy.

Literature Review

The concept of soft power: origins and implications in IR research

Soft power is a relatively new phenomenon which was first brought up by Nye back in 1990. The author noticed the change of the sources of global power after the end of the Cold War. Further, he defined soft power as the ability to influence other countries' preferences, beliefs, and policies as a result. As technological and economic power started to get more important than the military one, the sources of power also started to change. Among the sources of soft power, scholars usually define culture, ideology, international institutions, non-state actors, and corporations. Information and communication play an essential role by acting as a tool for promoting one's interests (Nye 1990). The global politics evolved since then, and countries do not neglect the conventional military power, but also rely on soft power. Communications and information are the primary tools of soft power policy, through which countries are able to communicate their values and ideas on a global scale (Warren 2014).

One of the crucial aspects of soft power mentioned by Nye (2008) is the attraction. Soft power functions in such a way to make others act the way preferable to one's country by making particular sets of policies attractive. This is why setting an agenda, creating an image and public opinion is relevant to the concept of soft power. Promotion of a country's values and culture depends on the ability to communicate the message through public diplomacy, mass media and other channels of communication. Nye (2008) in his work 'Public Diplomacy and Soft Power' explains the public diplomacy as a tool by using which governments attempt to attract the attention of foreign countries' publics as well as their governments in order to shape their preferences. As Nye (2008) argues, it is crucial for public diplomacy to communicate and broadcast attractive content. Only communicating attractive content that is likely to be accepted in other countries and draw public attention can generate soft power. Soft power generally revolves around three resources: culture, political values, and foreign policies that have to be legitimate. Culture usually refers to the broad definition of norms, traditions, customs arts, patterns of social behaviour, beliefs, the rule of law, etc. It further can be divided into two main types: the high culture that incorporates art and literature, and targets elites, and popular culture that centres on mass entertainment. Generally speaking, soft power is about influencing people by means of persuasion and attraction.

Soft power and information communication

In the age of information, public diplomacy adopts new sources of power. In times when information is abundant, for the public, it gets more challenging to devote attention to particular things. In such an environment, the mass media and the governments as well start to compete for one central resource - credibility. In modern politics, competition is becoming about whose narrative and whose version of a story is better. The purpose of governments is to strengthen their credibility comparing to others.

However, public diplomacy has to focus not only on promoting one's culture, values, and image but also on advancing relationships with other countries in order to give the means to further policies. Nye (2008) points out three main dimensions of public policy: daily communications, strategic communication, and development of long-term relationships. The dimension of daily communications includes explanation and interpretation of the government's political decisions to both domestic and foreign press. For public diplomacy, it is vital to explain the logic behind the government's decisions in the right way to create a positive image or minimise the adverse reaction. Strategic communication dimension involves creating a public relations campaign or plan of meaningful messages, information exchanges, and events in order to advertise and build support for the government's policies. The last dimension of developing long-term relationships with other actors assumes the development of a system of foreign exchanges, scholarships, education programs, forums, etc. The Internet also comes of a particular importance in the modern age due to its ability to target specific groups of people and create communities and networks. These three dimensions serve as a means of advancing the government's policies and creating a positive image. However, it is essential to note that public policy works well only if policies themselves correspond to the promises created by the public relations campaign. Advertising campaigns, as part of public diplomacy, should be supplemented by the appropriate political decisions of a government. Generally speaking, it means that actions of the government should correspond to the words and promises made in such campaigns.

Alternative views and Criticism of Nye

Nye could be right about the rise of the soft power of the United States when he was writing in 2008. However, the modern world of global politics can observe how the policy of hard power is taking over one of soft power (Patalakh 2016). Nowadays, even the biggest actors in the international arena are resorting to the use of hard power tools in order to achieve their aims. Take for example the United States and its trade war with China that started in 2018 and in the course of which the US set tariffs and erected other trade barriers as a response to Chinese `unfair' trade policy. The expansion of Russian territory by the reunification of Crimea in 2014 can be considered another example. Although, the Russian side does not consider it as an annexation, but rather as the incorporation of the Crimean Peninsula as a result of the referendum (Gillespie and O'Loughlin 2015). Russian military operations in Syria that started in 2015 with the request of the Syrian government for military assistance to employ against the opposition groups is also an example of the use of hard power by one of the biggest actors in the world politics. The examples of the major international state actors relying on hard power to achieve their goals, especially when it comes to territorial disputes, signals the inability of soft power tools to deal with a particular type of issues. It could be concluded that in the modern world governments would prefer hard power to soft power while dealing with territorial conflicts or economic and trade issues. Apparently, employment of the hard power resources proves to be more effective and produces better results than soft power in some cases.

Besides the facts providing the evidence for the inability of soft power to cope with particular issues, the scholars of international relations have also criticised the concept of soft power in various ways. Thus, Yukaruc (2017) attempts to criticise soft power on three points: originality, measurability, and its focus on agency. The author cites the account of power of several international relations scholars that seem to be very much alike. One of them is an outstanding classical realist, E. Carr. Carr (1946) assumes there to be three types of political power: military, economic, and `power of propaganda' or also known as power over opinion. Although the author believes the military power to be the main one, he also admits the need for such non-material elements as persuasion and propaganda to be necessary. Hence, soft power cannot be neglected in the international relations. Another scholar that seems to have a similar concept of soft power is Gramsci (1971), who in his account of hegemony, highlighted the importance of both force and consent harmonising each other. In this way, the political elites strive to achieve the consent of the inferior class in order to be able to legitimise and sustain its rule. Therefore, for Gramsci (1971) hegemony in part, relies on persuasion as one of its instruments. Thus, the alternative views of power allow for the importance of soft power in achieving political goals and national interests. As it was discussed above, critical views of soft power still assume that such techniques as propaganda and persuasion can play a significant role in contributing to the power of a country.

The second point on which Yukaruc (2017) criticises soft power is measurability. The author argues that it might be difficult or almost impossible to determine the alterations in the behaviour of one actor as caused by the policy of soft power implemented by another actor. The author also refers to the realist and neoliberal theories of international relations for the understanding of the mechanisms influencing states behaviour. Realists, he observes, are emphasising anarchical international structure with no authority above to maintain the order and power, that is generally defined as military or economic capacities, to influence state behaviour. Neoliberalism gives priority to economic interdependence and institutions as the main variables that have an impact on the actions of states in the international sphere. In this way, judging from these two theories which does not take into account soft power, Yukaruc concludes that power in terms of physical capabilities and structure of the international system are the main variables to take into account while analysing states behaviour.

Lastly, Nye's writings can be criticised on the subject of agency and structure. The author claims that Nye put too much emphasis on the agency of actors rather than on combining it with structure as well. Also, for the author, Nye seems to be emphasising primarily the actor who is exerting soft power and not taking into account the subjects of its policy. Moreover, Yukaruc mentions that here is uncertainty and inconsistency in the concept of soft power created by Nye, because other actors that can produce soft power such as NGOs, corporations, and famous persons are not controlled by the government and, therefore, cannot be viewed as the part of state's soft power policy.

Although Yukaruc might be right when arguing about the difficulties of measurability of soft power, his narrow focus on the mainstream theories of international relations for the explanation of the variables influencing state behaviour seems to be insufficient. Soft power, indeed, is an ambiguous concept effectiveness of which is difficult to measure. However, we cannot neglect its existence and presence in some states' policies, like that of the United States and other influential members of the international community.

Another attempt to criticise Nye's conception of soft power was made by Baumann (2017). In this article, the author observes alternative versions of soft power developed by other theories. First, the author brings about the writings of Lukes (1974), who started analysing dimensions of power long before Nye did. Lukes (1974) divided power in three main aspects, one of which is the ability to affect the desires and inclinations of other countries in order to prevent clashes. However, Baumann (2017) observes that Lukes (1974), in his propositions, does not distinguish between such terms as goals and preferences, using them interchangeably. Therefore, it creates confusion when it comes to distinguishing between power as the ability to influence one's preferences and implementation of harmful economic policies, for example, where one actor also influences other actor's goals and desires. In his theory Lukes (1974) also introduces the aspect of cognition, producing which affects the recognition of preferences.

Baumann (2017) continues developing the understanding of the ability of one actor to influence the preferences of another actor by investigating the process of preferences formation. First, he proposes that preferences are emerging as a response to the environment in which actors operate. Also, he argues that preferences can be adaptive to some extent in such a way that if one actor can form the environment of another actor, it also is able to form its preferences. He describes this type of influence as ecological. Second, Baumann (2017) points out the attitude of actors that is in the middle of the actor's environment and preferences. If the actor is able to affect the consumption of particular information by another actor, it is able to determine its preferences as well. This type of influence he calls attitudinal and also involves the aspects of emotion and self-confidence of states that affect their ability to exert influence or be subject to it. The third type of influence is called interpretational. Actors themselves define of what parts their preferences are comprised. Therefore, the ability to influence how one actor interprets its preferences makes it possible to shape its preferences. Lastly, the preferences of actors are also subject to influence by normative beliefs. Hence, the ability to influence one's normative beliefs affects their preferences as well. This last type of influence is defined as normative. Having defined all these types of influence, Baumann (2017) concludes that the means of their implementation are not necessarily soft. Following this conclusion, the author doubts that this type of power should be called soft power and suggest leaving this classification as it is.

Although Baumann (2017) can be right about the preferences formation, it is still the government and specialised institutions who, make decisions and decide on a policy. On the example of Japan, it could be seen that preferences towards Japanese pop-culture were formed without the government's intervention. However, it was the government's decision to use the increasing popularity of Japanese pop-culture as a part of the soft power strategy to promote its interests. Therefore, despite the fact that preferences can be formed on their own, it is the government who decides if it wants to apply them in public diplomacy and by what means.

Soft power in domestic affairs

In domestic affairs, mass media communications are essential for distributing political messages to population, to reinforce the government's authority and build support for their policies (Warren, 2014). The scholar argues that the development of a robust mass media framework contributes to the stability on the domestic level, hindering mobilisation of forces against the government. The analysis of the accessibility level of mass media in the period after World War II, suggests s that the mass media can produce a «pacifying effect» on the state of domestic affairs. For the research, the hypothesis of the pacifying force of mass media might be transferred to the international level as well.

Government's influence, as suggested by Warren (2014), lies in part in its ability to distribute normative concepts of what is right and wrong to citizens. As it was already mentioned previously, in order to build compliance with particular policies and loyalty of the population, the government has to rely on both material and normative sources of power. The normative influence is translated through the mass communication channels, emphasising certain features of one or the other policy. Such communication happens through the use of specific images, narratives, and other symbols. The government strives to create images in normative categories of right and wrong, opposing and contrasting two different sides. Therefore, the development of a robust mass media infrastructure that has high rates of accessibility to society is crucial for the distribution of political messages. Although, in his article Warren (2014) admits that not all kinds of media technologies possess this pacifying effect and can foster political stability in a country. The new media, for instance, on the contrary, facilitate mobilisation among like-minded people by enabling connections between them on the Internet.

The formation of soft power through the implementation of public diplomacy by different actors was analysed by Zaharna (2007). The author examined the approaches of NGOs and state actors to public diplomacy. Zaharna takes into account Nye's view of a state that wields the soft power relying on its resources such as culture and ideology and compares it with the activities conducted by NGOs to create soft power. In her work, she assumes the relative decline in the ability of the United States to effectively wield soft power, while NGOs are gaining their power in the international arena and becoming more influential. At the times of writing, Zaharna observes that the United States tend to lose its ability to generate soft power through public diplomacy successfully. This happened mainly due to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent Iraq war, the US policy in respect to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and other intervening variables. While the United States was losing its power in the field of public diplomacy, non-state actors that previously were not taken into account or taken seriously, on the contrary, started to rise and gain influence. The author makes a hypothesis that the reason for such changes is the differences in the approaches to the communication between these actors. Nation-states always tended to rely on a conventional mass media approach, which is, as suggested by Wang (2006), one-way communication that goes along with the two-way communication, for example, cultural exchange programs. Contrary to state actors, non-state actors such as non-governmental organisations, corporations, etc., because of their lack of influence over the media preferred a different approach - network communication. Zaharna (2007) suggests that this way of communication is much more efficient than the traditional one employed by states because it is adjusted to the changes in global politics.

By looking at the context of the Cold War, which produced the bipolarity of the international system, Zaharna (2007) observes the predominance of mass media controlled by the government. In this environment, the production and distribution of information were crucial for exerting one's power. The more information a country produced and distributed - the more influence it had. The main task for mass media was to construct convincing messages and disseminate them effectively. However, since the end of the Cold War, which also marked the end of the bipolar context, the dynamics of international politics changed as well. Nowadays, information is circulating in a multidimensional system. Moreover, the variable of culture intervened in this dynamics and influences the production and interpretation of information. Culture can serve as a filter for information coming in. Thus, the actors producing information have to take into account this aspect and adjust their messages along with the cultural peculiarities.

Furthermore, new communication technologies and actors appeared. The Internet, mobile phones, online media constitute new information and communication technologies. The difference between new and previous communication technologies is defined by new formats and relations between consumers and media itself. The concept of interactivity appeared defined as the ability of a consumer to integrate and interact with the information in a way that is suitable to them (Zaharna 2007). Interactivity allows for connection of different media consumers from all over the world, which in turn contributed to the formation of communities that expand beyond the territorial boundaries. All of this provoked the changes in the communication dynamics of international politics. The modern era of communications became characterised by interactivity, connection, and the emergence of the diversity of new actors. Therefore, the emphasis on the information has been transformed into the emphasis on communication. As a result, the change in the emphasis from product to the process, from the content of the message to how the messages are exchanged led to the transformation of the dynamics. Nowadays, the actor who is better at the exchange of information possesses the predominant power of communication.

On the grounds of these changes, Zaharna (2007) distinguishes between two approaches to soft power and public diplomacy: mass communication and network communication. The mass communication approach is based on the model 'sender-message-receiver'. As the model postulates, the sender elaborates on a message to reach the target audience that is to be delivered through the mass medium. One of the critical features of this approach is that the messenger is able to exert control over the message and the mass medium, which is various media platforms. The effect of the message corresponds to the objectives of public diplomacy, which generally are improving or strengthening the image, ensuring the acceptance of the policy, etc. Another essential feature of this approach is that mass media can deliver the message to large populations.

On the contrary, the emergence of new media and a variety of different sources contributed to the fragmentation of the audience. Thus, since mass media is not the only information source available nowadays, they have to engage in competition for the attention of the audience with others. One more feature of the mass media is its ability to set the agenda, build awareness, and as a result, influence what the audience think about. The drawback of this model can be considered its inability to adjust message and pass through the cultural borders of different societies. For this reason, the messages might be exposed to misinterpretations and criticism depending on the cultural settings.

Talking about the network communication approach, it encompasses three elements that are interconnected with each other. These elements, identified by Zaharna (2007), are network structure, network synergy, and network strategy. Comparing to one of the mass media, the structure of the network tends to be more effective because of its flexibility, adaptivity, and the speed of feedback it allows. Consequently, the network structure makes the message exchange easier and intensifies information flows (Van Ham 2010). Network synergy is based on relationship-building and diversity. Relationship-building on the internal level helps to turn the network of people into a team by allowing for the interchange of emails, and other communications. Externally, relationship-building works by connecting networks into coalitions, which in turn increases trust between them and provides for resource exchange. Another driving force of the network synergy is the incorporation of diversity. Diversity helps to incorporate different ideas and solutions into international networks, which consecutively facilitates problem-solving. The third component, which is network strategy, emphasises the process of information exchange between the international networks.

Information is used strategically by the networks as a means of building credible relations, identity, and consistent story narratives. The concept of 'information politics' which is described as the production of credible and politically useful information in order to apply it where it is needed is particularly important in this part. Persuasiveness capacity and power of the network depends on its ability to quickly produce trustful and valid information. Moreover, information is utilised for the creation of consistent and logical narratives, some scholars also refer to it as 'framing'. Cohesive story contributes to the creation of common identity and values. The order in which these components follow is another crucial aspect of the network communication approach.

Contrary to the mass media, networks develop the channels of communication first and then tail the message incorporating diverse cultural opinions. Accordingly, culture in this approach serves not as an obstacle or hindrance effect, but supplements and enhances network synergy. Hence, the storylines created in such a way to pass through cultural barriers and broadcast the soft power to deliver the message and persuade audiences more effectively.

Generally, Zaharna (2007) distinguishes between two approaches of 'welding' and 'creating' soft power by state and non-state actors. States tend to employ a mass-communication approach in conduct of public diplomacy in order to wield soft power. NGOs and other non-state organisations, on the contrary, tend to focus on creating soft power by utilising the network-communication approach. Creating soft power in a network-communication way, it is argued, has more benefits than wielding it with a mass-communication approach. There are four main advantages of creating soft power. The first reason of the strategic advantage of the network-communication approach is that its focus on the relations, network building and message exchange corresponds better to the current dynamic of communication. The second advantage of the network-communication approach over mass-communication approach is its attitude to creating messages. Unlike prescribed messages in the mass-communication, the network-communication approach allows for creative collaboration between the creator and receiver. The third advantage is the ability of soft power created by this approach to pass through cultural boundaries without distortions and misinterpretations and, thus, deliver the message to larger audiences. Fourth, the combination of all these advantages, such as co-creation of messages and cultural diversity produces more significant effects and attracting more attention to the issues. On the whole, Zaharna (2007) illustrates how different approaches to communication implemented by different actors influence the success and efficiency of the public diplomacy campaign for creating soft power.

Soft Power of Japan

Soft power strategy of Japan, as well most of the other countries' strategies, is based on promoting an attractive image of a country through a set of different policies. Among such policies are pop-culture, cultural and educational exchanges, and cooperation with various international and local organisations. One of the main characteristics of Japan soft power strategy is its pop-culture diplomacy which is thought of as one of the primary tools. However, there is an opinion among some scholars that pop-culture diplomacy appears to be overrated and does not produce the desired effect. This part of the literature review is going to report on peculiarities of the current soft power strategy of Japan and point out its primary deficiencies.

The tools and methods of soft power have evolved nowadays in terms of their focus (Holden, 2013). In this way, modern strategies aim their attention at encouraging and cultivating a dialogue, rather than merely promoting a desirable image of a country by means of media. Japan, however, appears to be centred on these tools of its image promotion, like Japanese animation, music, cinematography, and so on. Japan has been following these tactics of promoting its image through pop-culture since 2006 when the ministry of foreign affairs initiated so-called `pop-culture diplomacy' (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan 2019). However, the focus of Japan's government on `pop-culture diplomacy' as the main tool was criticised by Iwabuchi (2015). The author contends that although pop-culture diplomacy contributes to making Japanese values, culture and positions on some issues more understandable to foreign audiences, it fails to foster cross-cultural dialogue between the nations of East Asia. Furthermore, the author argues that this unilateral presentation of image and insistence on its uniqueness tends to ignore cultural differences and cultural diversity domestically as well as at the international level.

At the end of the 20th-century rapid economic development in Japan gave rise to a refreshed policy of public diplomacy which was focused on mitigation of recently waken up anti-Japan campaigns in the region of Southeast Asia. Therefore, the primary goal at that time was building awareness and fostering comprehension of Japanese culture by means of cultural exchange. For these purposes `Japan Foundation' organisation as a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was set up, which main task was to ensure representation of Japanese culture and image of Japan abroad (Japan Foundation Official Website 2019). The organisation involved implementation of various cultural exchange programs such as traditional arts, language learning, exchange programs `JET' and `the Japan exchange', which will be covered in the following chapters. Later on, Japanese TV programs and Japanese pop-music increasingly started to gain popularity in Southeast Asia, despite the hostilities caused by historical events, which attracted the attention of politicians and highlighted the potential of Japanese media culture for public diplomacy.

Iwabuchi (2015) also considers Japanese TV drama `Oshin' to be another influential factor which played an essential role in the emergence of media culture as part of soft power strategy. In the 1980s the Japan Foundation launched the free of charge distribution of the drama to the Southeast Asian region and other countries as part of its cultural exchange program. The `Oshin' broadcast drama was important in a sense that it allowed foreign audiences to see the real lives of ordinary Japanese people, in contradiction to previous products that were not tied to Japanese culture and values, such as technologies, automobiles, and animation. In this way, `Oshin' proved the ability of media culture to improve comprehension of Japanese culture and values while reducing the consequences of adverse historical events and mitigating the feelings of resentment and antipathy. In the 1990s the influence of Japanese TV programs, popular music, animation, manga spread further to younger populations of Asian countries who were not subject to Japanese imperialism in the past. For these reasons, the Japanese government looked into the potential of media culture and hoped that it would help to alleviate negative images of the country and resolve disputes.

In early 2000's the `Cool Japan' policy was established as part of Japan's public diplomacy and its main goal was to take advantage of and raise money on promotion of Japanese media into foreign markets. McGray (2002), who studied the case of the growing popularity of Japanese media, invented the term `Gross National Cool' to describe the increasing influence of Japan's media culture in the international market. It was particularly promising in the situation of economic decline in Japan. It led to increased export of Japan's media products and an institutionalised pop-culture diplomacy officially launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At that time, the discussions of soft power techniques and strategies became salient again, and Japan started to take on Nye's propositions regarding soft power. Thus, the question of nation branding appeared to be a crucial part of the soft power strategy. Nation branding could be broadly defined as the creation, management, and change of a country's image to improve its reputation in the international community ( Fan, 2010). With the aims to create an attractive image of the nation, in the following years, many specialised sub-organisations were founded: The Head Office for Intellectual Property Strategy, the Committee for Tourism Nation, the Committee for Info-communication Software, the Research Committee for Content Business, the J-Brand Initiative, and the Council for the Promotion of International Exchange (Iwabuchi 2015).

In consequence, the term `Cool Japan' became well-established and came to define various spheres of soft power policy mentioned above. The ways to enhance the image of a nation and make it more appealing to foreign audiences were widely discussed between different ministries and specialised committees. The attention was given to developing and disseminating content that would promote appealing sides of Japanese culture ranging from animation and cinematography to fashion, traditional arts, Japanese lifestyle and food. Previously described attempts of Japan's government to expand its image and improve its reputation succeeded. As BBC World Service Poll (2006) indicated, Japan appeared to be on the list as one of the most appealing nations.

However, the so-called pop-culture diplomacy of Japan's government and its embodiment in the `Cool Japan' policy have been subject to criticism in terms of their performance. Political initiatives concerning soft power do not seem to cope with the goals of advancing cultural exchange and strengthening the image of the nation (Heng, 2010). Since pop-culture diplomacy is a crucial part of Japan's soft power strategy, its main objectives were reduced to merely presenting a unilateral vision of the Japanese nation and culture. Increased production of appealing media content and its dissemination in the Asian region, indeed, contributed to fostering of international dialogue and strengthened the connections between regions and their populations. Media culture proved to be able to encourage people to reassess their values and the way they think about a particular issue.

Nevertheless, we can never be sure that increased media consumption of the desirable content will be able to go further than that. Moreover, increasing expansion of particular content can lead to a reverse effect and cause the feeling of antipathy or aversion. For these reasons, soft power strategy of a country should not rely solely on this pattern of communication. Other additional measures should be included in the strategy in order to cultivate a reciprocal communication and encourage dialogue between Japan and foreign countries and their populations.

Iwabuchi (2015) points out that although Japan's soft power strategy seems to recognise the need of creating cross-cultural dialogue, it does not entail these values in its policies. As an example, the author looks at the cases of China and South Korea, which were subject to Japan's imperialism in the past. The author also adds that in the previously mentioned BBC World Service Poll (2006), it was neglected that these two countries assessed Japan in a somewhat unfavourable way due to unresolved issues in the past. Thus, Iwabuchi (2015) concludes that the government policy did not reflect the values stated in the soft power strategy and appeared to have a detrimental effect on the perception of Japan in Southeast Asia. Besides, the expansion of Japanese media culture can improve attitude toward Japan of present days. However, it does not necessarily mean that it can change the attitude towards the events of the past. Historical events keep on living in the memories of those affected and cannot be easily surpassed by attractive images created by media and animation. The absence of genuine desire to deal with historical issues and foster communication from Japan's policy makes it evident that country's reputation cannot be cured by dissemination of appealing image through media only.

Lam (2007) also draws attention to the historical past of Japan and its consequences and implications to the current soft power strategy. Moreover, the author suggests that it is consumers' demand and preferences cause the increase of popularity of Japanese media, including animation and manga, not the state and its soft power strategy. The image Japan is trying to promote, the author contends, barely coexists with its historical past and does not replace it. Lam (2007) claims that Japan's pop-culture diplomacy has limited usefulness for the national image because the market is full of various products and content from other countries that also might look appealing to consumers. According to the article, the best way for Japan to enhance its image is to encourage collaboration with other Southeast Asian countries and help them build their cultural centres in Japan. This would create cross-cultural dialogue and make countries in the region more responsive to Japan's soft power policy.

Another deficiency of the pop-culture, as well as cultural exchange diplomacy, Iwabuchi (2015) talks about is the suppression of cultural diversity at the domestic level. The author provides an example of the NHK World, which is now is known as one of the leading broadcasting services representing views of Japan's government. The discussions about the creation of such an international platform started with immigrants living in Japan who called for making a more culturally diverse service that would incorporate people of different ethnic, linguistic, and national backgrounds. However, at the upcoming meeting in the Parliament, the discussion was changed to the one about creating a broadcasting platform in the English language that would allow for spreading nation's image and government's views to a broader audience. The author recognises this example as the one where voices of migrants and ethnic and cultural minorities in Japan were neglected, and interests of the public diplomacy were prioritised.