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

6. Local Partnership Cooperation

An important part in the creation of an attracting image of the nation plays the local governments of Japan - prefectures. The Ministry of Foreign affairs engages in various cooperative activities with local governments and communities in order to strengthen their diplomatic role and enhance their competence and capabilities for diplomatic purposes. The priority is given to making local communities and their attractions more appealing to the international community, internationalising localities, and fostering international exchange. Besides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides support to the local governments for modernisation of local industries and boosting local economies, as well as helping with the recovery after the damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2012. The slogan of this plan for cooperation with local governments is `All-Japan'.

One of the programs in the framework of the `Local Partnership Cooperation' is the Iikura Guest House Reception. The Iikura Guest House accepts diplomats currently residing in Japan and other political actors. The reception at the Iikura Guest House is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of the local government in order to showcase and promote local attractions of Fukushima prefecture. At the reception, traditional regional cuisine, sake, and local industrial arts are presented. Another project within this cooperation initiative is the visit of Ambassadors to local regions. Japanese ambassadors and consul-generals visit local communities in different prefectures of Japan to discuss problems and points in the question of the countries they are appointed to. This project also involves discussions about an exchange between sister-cities. The main idea of this project is to improve understanding of the political decisions of Japan's government and its diplomatic undertakings.

Local governments and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also collaborate on hosting the Regional Promotion Seminar. The seminars are held in Tokyo, and their main aim is to promote and talk about the local attractions and highlights. The seminars are believed to expand knowledge of foreign diplomats and policy-makers about regions. Moreover, the seminars are supposed to improve communication and networking between local governments and politicians or foreign diplomats. In the long run, the seminars could contribute to the development of local economies. Diplomat's Study Tour is another part of the `Local Partnership Cooperation' that is aimed at deepening understanding of foreign diplomats about Japan and its regions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organises the tour that introduces local industries and peculiarities to the foreign diplomats while travelling around the prefectures of Japan. In order to facilitate international exchange, the Ministry organises the `Local Partnership Cooperation Forum'. The forum includes lectures and seminars for the local governments' officials, discussing current international agenda and foreign policy. The forum is supposed to deepen knowledge of the heads of local governments, promote international exchange, and contribute to the networking with foreign diplomats. Finally, at the domestic level, the government of Japan is concerned with the distribution of information about the activities of the local governments. This led to the creation of the `Monthly Glocal News' newspaper which is issued annually since 2018. The `Monthly Glocal News' conveys information about initiatives and projects which are done in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with local governments.

At the international level, the government of Japan also attempts to promote the uniqueness of its regions and local communities. In this way, diplomatic missions of Japan's local governments overseas conduct meetings and seminars to advertise and showcase their local attractions, features, and products. Similar events are also held at various political facilities such as embassies, consulates, diplomatic residences, and so on. These events are conducted to promote local regions of Japan and encourage tourism. The project that is aimed at the facilitation of economic recovery and support for tourism is the `Local Promotion Project'. Another objective of this program is to increase the export of the local regions' produce and to take off or alleviate import barriers and travel restrictions.

Furthermore, the project, as previous local programs, is concerned with improving the reputation of the government of Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake and attempts to deal with rumours about it. Meetings with local governments during Japan's diplomatic missions abroad is another part of the Local Partnership Cooperation strategy. During diplomatic visits overseas, Japanese diplomats and consulates visit local governments of foreign countries. The purpose of these meetings and visits is to promote local attractions and facilitate international exchange between local governments of countries.

Concluding this chapter, it can be seen that the Local Partnership Cooperation, being a separate priority itself, includes several objectives. The objectives listed above are the promotion of local attractions of Japan, revitalisation of local economies and industries, increase of imports, promotion of tourism, and improvement of physical as well as reputation damage after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The primary way of implementing this strategy is encouraging networking between local governments and Japanese and foreign diplomats, organising meetings, lectures and seminars, discussing features and attractions of local communities. The projects within this dimension are conducted in cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with local authorities. Taking the concept of `assemblage', again, it is apparent that a variety of measures are taken to satisfy the aims of the strategy. Some of the projects might overlap in their responsibilities, although, the power of such strategy lies in the interchangeability of the mechanisms. Therefore, the cooperation of the central government and local authorities to conduct these programs can be viewed as an assemblage of powers. Describing the strategy with the concept of `assemblage' allows seeing the complete picture of how different policies with similar goals result in the efficient strategy covering various dimensions of public relations.

7. Tokyo 2020

Japan has been making sports initiatives and putting efforts into the promotion of sports exchange, as it could be seen in the previous programs. Consequently, Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games is a significant event for the government of Japan in terms of soft power and economic benefits. This global sports event is an excellent opportunity for the government to demonstrate its event hosting and sport capabilities, encourage interest to its culture, and attract tourists to the country. All the relevant and up to date information about the Tokyo 2020 can be found on the website of The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is the official body responsible for the event.

Hosting the event in Japan, Tokyo appeared to be an excellent opportunity to encourage international exchange through sport. Thus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the initiative `Sport for Tomorrow'. The main goal of the program is promoting international cooperation and exchange. One of the priorities of the program is the provision of sports equipment and improvement of sports facilities, financed by the Cultural Grant Assistance. JICA Volunteer Program and Projects for Sports Diplomacy Enhancement are dedicated to the development of exchange by sending off and inviting athletes and coaches. Technical Cooperation by JICA contributes to the partnership in the sphere of the sport too. Some of the projects of the Japan Foundation and Japanese Embassies abroad are responsible for the promotion of Japanese culture and the advancement of the human capital in sports. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is in charge of the cooperation and exchange among sports experts to help organise sports events and adjust Physical education programs. The MEXT is also accountable for the implementation of another priority - Academy for Tomorrow's Leaders in Sport. The purpose of this project is the creation of a sports academy to educate future sport leaders. Another priority that lies within the responsibility of the MEXT is ` PLAY TRUE 2020: Develop Sports Integrity through Strengthening the Global Anti-doping Activities'. The project aims at developing the anti-doping system and protection of values of playing true. Host Town project is another part of the whole sport strategy, which is aimed at the development of the international exchange. The project organises `Host Town' events in the countries participants of the Tokyo 2020 to foster partnership and exchange in local communities.

Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 is a separate priority on the government's agenda. Because of the rumours and false information spread in the media about the situation in the regions after the Earthquake, the government of Japan attempts to restore its reputation regarding these issues. Therefore, there is an excellent chance for Japan's government to communicate information about the process of restoration and the results that were achieved after the Earthquake during Tokyo 2020.

Finally, through a variety of associated projects, the government of Japan attempts to promote Japanese culture in sports and Japan as a sports brand. Such organisations implement the projects as Japan House, Japan Brand program, Cultural Grant Assistance, Official Development Assistance, Japan Foundation, and so on.

To conclude, employing the framework of the analysis suggested by Foucault (1982), indeed, power relations from the point of institutions help to understand the power structure. Thus, it is evident how specific organisations implement specific tasks within the soft power strategy. Special projects and committees were established in order to support the soft power strategy in the dimension of sport. Although there are some associated projects, the main tasks are fulfilled by the designated bodies. Referring to Deleuze and Guattari (1987), it is evident that the concept of assemblage can be used as a conceptual tool for the analysis of soft power. The assemblage of projects and programs created to sustain the sporting initiative interact with each other in a more complex mechanism of programs in several dimension of the soft power strategy. The projects are defined by similar purposes and objectives and act interchangeably and interconnectedly.

Concluding Remarks.

At the beginning of the paper, it was argued that the soft power strategy could be analysed through the post-structuralist conceptual framework. The leading thinkers in this philosophical school, whose works were used for the analysis are Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari. Also, the insights of the representative of the Frankfurt critical school, Adorno, were of great help to evaluate the power of culture in persuading publics. Japan was used as a case of a successful soft power strategy. The specifics, elements, and features of Japan's soft power strategy are broadly covered in the paper. Each dimension, defined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a part of the public diplomacy, is described in this paper. The dimensions include Public Relations, Cultural Exchange, People-to-People Exchange, Cooperation with International Organisations, Cultural Grant Assistance, Local Partnership Cooperation, and Tokyo 2020.

According to the conceptual framework elaborated by Foucault (1982), the power relations from the point of view of institutions could be analysed on the following points: a system of differentiation, objectives, the means of implementation, the form of institutionalisation, degree of rationalisation. The institutions have to differ in their capacity and status from other actors, which allows them to execute their role. The institutions also should follow clearly defined objectives and goals. The means by which institutions shall achieve their goals have to be defined. The institutions should have their own rules, code of conducts, hierarchy, etc. Finally, the rationalisation assumes that the institutions are meant to adjust their structures to the changing situation in the environment. As it was evident in the strategy of Japan, different designated bodies created explicitly for the strategy fulfil their functions and adjust them to the changing situation in the world. Institutionalising of soft power and its rationalisation leads to the creation of an efficient strategy.

Another conceptual tool used for this paper is an assemblage, developed by Deleuze and Guattari (1987). The concept of assemblage implies that something could be an apparatus or a mechanism which consists of multiple elements or segments which work connectedly in one larger body. The concept of assemblage is a useful tool for the analysis of the work of institutions and other organisations with hierarchical structures, their own rules, etc. Looking at the soft power strategy of Japan, it is apparent that as one significant mechanism it consists of a subset of dimensions, which in turn are divided into projects, programs, initiatives, policies, etc. All these elements consisted within the assemblage of soft power interact with each other, have similar objectives or overlapping functions, and constitute one big apparatus. Programs and projects targeting different audiences and issues in various dimensions allow reaching minds of as many people as possible, enhancing the influence of soft power.

Adorno (2004) is a representative of the Frankfurt school of thought, who developed the term `culture industry'. The terms can be of use while describing pop-culture diplomacy and related subjects in the soft power strategy. According to Adorno (2004), the mass media and pop culture can be the means of political and economic power and, therefore, can be effectively used to exercise control over the public. Consequently, the `culture industry' that developed in the capitalist economy can effectively persuade audiences to make certain choices by providing them with false freedom of choice. Pop-culture diplomacy acts by means of message dissemination and persuasion of foreign audiences. Thus, pop-culture diplomacy is one of the main tools in the set of soft power strategy and appears to be effective because of its power to sell the images to the masses.

As for the soft power strategy of Japan itself, it seems to be quite successful and places Japan high on the various rankings. The government of Japan attempts to cover as many dimensions as possible to reach the minds of people all over the world. This not only includes dissemination of attractive images of the nation through pop-culture such as animation, manga, films, music, etc. but also through cultural exchange and cooperation. Pop-culture is, indeed, a powerful tool, although it has its downsides and deficiencies. In the current literature, not enough attention is given to the power of education and people-to-people exchanges in the soft power strategy of Japan. Promotion of international exchange among students, academics, and youth in the field of sports, especially with the focus on Southeast Asia and ASIAN member-countries, yields good results in terms of increasing university enrolment rates and changing perceptions.

Furthermore, the government of Japan expands its strategy to work with international organisations and assistance to the developing countries. Through cooperation with UNESCO and the United Nations University, Japan attempts to spread its cultural values and strengthen relationships with developing countries. Cultural Gran Assistance as a separate priority, as well is aimed at promoting good relationships and partnership with the developing world. Local partnership cooperation, on the other hand, attempts to promote Japan's geographical features and attractions to the world. Finally, Tokyo 2020 encompasses several priorities such as the promotion of Japan culture and values, encouragement of international exchange in the sphere of sports, improvement of reputation after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and attracting tourists to the localities of Japan. The power of the soft power strategy of Japan appears to lie in the combination of dimensions and tools to promote an attractive image, cultural values, and foster good relationships.

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