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Full-Text Articles in East Asian Languages and Societies
Cool Japan And The Hallyu Wave: The Effect Of Popular Culture Exports On National Image And Soft Power, Gillianne Lux
Cool Japan And The Hallyu Wave: The Effect Of Popular Culture Exports On National Image And Soft Power, Gillianne Lux
East Asian Studies Honors Papers
Japan used its export of pop culture in the post-war era not only to boost its economy but also as a means to improve its national image and project its soft power. Japanese pop culture exports emphasized a positive, non-threatening image of national culture. Though Japan’s pop culture export boom has been enormously successful, it has not been able to completely overcome its problematic past and erase historical tensions with Korea and other Asian nations. The pop culture boom has redefined Japan’s national image but not entirely. Contradictions between Japan’s curated image and actual reality, especially in the case of …
In The Shadow Of Japanese Identity, Rosendo Lopez-Duran
In The Shadow Of Japanese Identity, Rosendo Lopez-Duran
East Asian Studies Honors Papers
Japan is, as former Prime Minister Asō Tarō once put it, commonly described as being “one race, one civilization, one language and one culture.” This statement reflects a popular conception of Japan as a homogenous nation. However, the purpose of this paper, building on earlier research, is to assess what exactly Japanese identity is, how it is constructed / maintained, and who is and is not considered “Japanese.” The impetus of this inquiry comes from my research of the hisabetsu burakumin, a Japanese social outcaste group, who have undergone significant changes throughout their long history as a socially-constructed “minority.” …