Manga and anime are a good source of soft power for Japan. If creators and animators can find a way to not just appeal to the elite readership in foreign countries but also to the masses – which would entail translating the manga into local languages and incorporating local stories – then manga and anime can be a veritable bridge between Japan and the rest of the world.

Japanese authorities now want to tap this soft power for tourism, amid an ambitious drive by the Abe administration to double burgeoning foreign tourist arrivals to 40 million by 2020. [...] The association, working with industry members and local governments, wants to create a whole suite of services and products, from shuttle buses to merchandising, to boost the experience for visitors - and bring in the yen.
 

While Denison said that the Japanese government’s continued desire to clamp down on piracy demonstrated the soft power value of Japan’s anime industry, she also said that viewing methods had changed considerably over recent years.

As far as awards ceremonies go, the Sugoi Japan Awards were a fairly flashy affair. Held on March 22, the prizes recognized recent titles in anime, manga and fiction that an online poll of Japanese fans wanted to do well overseas. Winners included “One Punch Man” and “Your Lie in April,” and the guest list to the event included pop culture critics, studio executives and, of course, the artists themselves.

In June, the Chinese Ministry of Culture blacklisted 38 Japanese anime and manga from distribution in China. [...] However, in the hearts and minds of Chinese fans of Japanese anime, the Great Firewall of China is acting a little too late. 

Now ramen noodles are the latest target of government efforts to take advantage of this spreading interest in Japan’s pop culture and food around the world, and its growth potential.

Is nation-branding effective? Japan is perhaps a good case study. Japan has engaged in a dedicated effort to brand its nation through pop culture, among other things. It is leveraging the popular culture of anime and manga comics to become “cool” in the eyes of the world.

Cosplay – in which participants dress up as fictional, typically sci-fi or manga characters – is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. It’s a potential source of soft power that Japanese policymakers should be keeping a better eye on.