Japan Redefining National Culture: Unintended Consequence of ‘Cool-Japan'

Since the word ‘Cool Japan” was introduced by Douglas McGray in his article of Japan Gross National Cool in 2002, the word represents the global strong wave of Japan’s pop and youth culture; and the academic debates on it also focuses on these various cultural products that can be classified as the ‘Cool Japan’, consumed by people outside of Japan or foreigners in Japan. Among abundant academic findings on the subject, though conducted from various approach, ranging from media to economic studies, very few academic studies put forward arguments on the impact of ‘Cool Japan’ to the Japan as a nation and a state in term of redefinition of national culture. This study will elaborate how the ‘Cool Japan’ wave has led Japan to position and re-position herself in the global world, and as the (unintended) consequence of the repositioning, how Japan attempts to redefine the National Culture. Through a qualitative approach that includes close study on the content of media coverage on the ‘Cool Japan’ and interviews to key-person in the government and non-government institutions of Japan who are closely connected to the policy of ‘Cool Japan’, and by making comparison with other country’s experience, this study attempts to understand the process of redefinition of national culture for Japan, as a nation and as a state.