Classic and cute: Framing biodiversity in Japan through rural landscapes and mascot characters

Abstract

ABSTRACTJapan is an active player in international biodiversity politics and has ambitious domestic biodiversity targets. The government considers environmental communication crucial for reaching these. This article analyzes two major frames that state institutions employ for communicating biodiversity: traditional agricultural landscapes called satoyama and embodied mascot characters called yurukyara. Both frames attempt to reach the public by transcending the discursive reality. Employing well-established stylistic devices (court culture, Japanese cute), prestigious metanarratives (Japanese as nature people), and established institutional systems of tourism and governance, the frames have reached huge popularity. Yet awareness surveys indicate that people continue to consider biodiversity a matter of governmental policy rather than individual lifestyle. There has been a clear positive effect on the localities singled out for satoyama campaigns. However, it can be argued that the overall effect of celebratory framing coupled with pleasing aesthetics favors complacency and does not invite new forms of civic mobilization.