Idiosyncratic Japan's New Campaign: "Cool Japan Promotion"

In a beautiful fractal way (with Fukushima officials selling Fukushima as "heart-throbbing place"), here's the Japanese national government setting up a council to sell Japan as a "cool place" to foreigners.

What do they want to sell to foreigners? Anime and fashion.

One of the council members is going to be a famous (infamous, depending on whom you ask) TV producer who runs the all-girl "idol" group of AKB. The 54-year-old producer has these young girls and women live together under his tight rules, which include never to date a boy while being a member of this idol group. One of the girls was caught breaking the rule, but she disciplined herself voluntarily by shaving her head and made a tearful apology on video.

Anyway, the Abe administration's idea of "Cool Japan" is to include people like this producer (calling them "learned or knowledgeable people" or "the wise") in a committee headed by an LDP politician whose political views are characterized as "ultra-nationalist" by some. It's apparently so important for the prime minister that this politician, Ms. Tomomi Inada, has a ministerial position.

From Asahi Shinbun, whose reporting definitely changed in January in favor of the Abe administration (2/26/2013):

秋元康氏らがメンバーに　政府のクールジャパン推進会議

Mr. Yasushi Akimoto will be one of the members of the government's Cool Japan Promotion Council

安倍内閣は２６日、日本のファッションや文化を海外に売り込む方法を話し合う「クールジャパン推進会議」（議長＝稲田朋美クールジャパン戦略担当相）を設けた。

The Abe administration set up the "Cool Japan Promotion Council" (chaired by Tomomi Inada, minister in charge of Cool Japan strategy) in order to come up with ways to sell Japanese fashion and culture to foreigners.

会議は関係省庁の副大臣と、「ＡＫＢ４８」プロデューサーの秋元康氏ら７人の有識者でつくる。コンテンツの輸出を増やすための官民連携のあり方や、情報発信の方法について提言をまとめる。提言は、６月に政府がつくる成長戦略に盛り込む。

The council will made up of vice ministers from the related ministries and seven people of knowledge including Mr. Yasushi Akimoto, producer of "AKB48". The council will discuss how the government and private industry can cooperate to increase the export of contents and how to disseminate information, and come up with the proposals. The proposals will be incorporated into the growth strategy that the national government is to finalize in June.

秋元氏のほかの有識者は次の通り。角川歴彦（角川グループホールディングス会長）▽金美齢（評論家）▽コシノジュンコ（デザイナー）▽佐竹力総（日本フードサービス協会理事）▽千宗室（茶道裏千家家元）▽依田巽（ギャガ会長）

Other people of knowledge are: Tsuguhiko Kadokawa (chairman of Kadokawa Group Holdings, a publishing and media entity), Kin Bí-Leng (commentator), Junko Koshino (fashion designer), Rikifusa Satake (director of Japan Food Service Association), Sen Soshitsu (current head of the Urasenke tea school), Tatsumi Yoda (CEO of Gaga Corporation, a movie distributor).

Here are faces of the people who will decide "cool":

Tomomi Inada, minister in charge of Cool Japan strategy:



Yasushi Akimoto of AKB fame:



Mr. Tsuguhiko Kadokawa:



Ms. Kin Bí-Leng:



Ms. Junko Koshino:



Mr. Rikifusa Sateke:



Sen Soshitsu:



Tatsumi Yoda:

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