The chairman of the country's leading think-tank, Jiro Hanyu from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, believes that this negative trend is temporary, and underlined that they are trying to do everything in their power to increase mutual understanding between the Japanese and Muslim communities.

The Obama Administration has advertised that by using “smart power” it would enhance U.S. influence around the world. So it’s worth noting an episode in which China is routing the U.S. in economic diplomacy.

Beijing has long sought to boost its "soft power" abroad, spending billions of yuan on expanding the international presence of its state-run media -- including broadcaster CCTV and official news agency Xinhua -- and through its ubiquitous government-sponsored language centres, known as Confucius Institutes.

U.S. lawmakers have renewed scrutiny of a nearly 30-year-old program that allows people from dozens of countries to travel to the U.S. without the bureaucratic hassle of obtaining a visa.

The home-court detente with the United States on Monday and Tuesday has once again accentuated Cuba's ingrained gradualism, which has been the hallmark of the island country's diplomacy and economic development for years in its pursuit of security and political correctness.

The Indian film industry has survived more than a hundred years of state neglect and is now a global force. The moral policing of the CBFC could end up destroying this symbol of India's soft power.

Cervantes is a Spanish icon: his name adorns Spain's official cultural institution, and is synonymous with the country's soft power. Yet, until now, the site of his grave has been assumed, though not known.

Amid the countless meetings, summits and conferences being held around the world to determine the post-2015 development agenda and the future of humanitarian aid, no one is talking much about the growing role of China.