Television Content Exports as a Key to Success of the “Cool Japan” Initiative

Abstract

Japanese modern culture and way of life are internationally recognized as “cool” (“kakko-ii”). Japanese animation, music like “J-pop” and publications such as comics (“manga”) have deep-rooted fans globally, and Japanese fashion is popular among young people overseas who feel it is “cute” (“kawaii”). The “Cool Japan” Initiative is the official support scheme to introduce “Cool Japan”, the attractiveness of Japanese modern culture and way of life, worldwide. And it is expected that Japanese television content exports will be one of the effective means to demonstrate “Cool Japan” globally. This research report starts with an explanation of the current state of Japanese television content exports, and provides a comparison of television content exports between Japan and Korea, where the latter became phenomenally popular in Japan in the mid-2000s. Then, it considers what is needed now for Japanese television content exports as a key to success of the “Cool Japan” Initiative. Furthermore, in order to draw up mid-term and long-term strategies for promoting Japanese television content exports, it also examines the creative industry initiatives in the UK, where television content exports have nearly doubled from 2004 to 2010. Lastly, the report discusses the problems and prospects of Japanese television content exports in the context of the “Cool Japan” Initiative as a Japanese national strategy, while touching on the Ultra-High Definition TV (4K/8K) Initiatives.