Cool Japan: the relationships between the state and the cultural industries

1^ In 2001, the MITI became the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

2^ Nye coined the concept of soft power which appeared for the first time in his book Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (1990a) and two articles published the same year (1990b; 1990c). Since then, he has continued to examine his concept (2004; 2011a; 2011b).

3^ This article was the subject of an article in New York Times Magazine (2002) and a Time Asia cover story (2003). It also inspired The Washington Post (2003).

4^ See for example the special issue on the topic of Cool Japan: Gaikō Fōramu (2004); Watanabe (2006) and Yoshizaki (2007). McGray’s article was translated in Chūō Kōron (2003).

5^ In an appendix, Aiginger lists fourteen different definitions of industrial policy (2007: 319-20).

6^ For a more detailed discussion, see Buigues and Sekkat (2009: 3-28), and Warwick (2013: 18-24).

7^ In Japanese, Komikku Shuppansha no Kai.

8^ J-LOP is the acronym of the Subsidy for the Localization and Promotion of Japanese Visual Media.

9^ Pang (2000) is an example.

10^ Kasumigaseki is the Japanese equivalent to Whitehall in Great Britain.

11^ Before MOFA’s restructuring in 2001, the name of this division was the Asian Affairs Bureau.

12^ For a critical discussion on rational choice theory, and its use to research on Japanese politics, refer to Gownder and Pekkanen (1996).

13^ Keidanren is the result of the merger between the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren) in 2002. For a Marxist analysis of Nikkeiren, see Crump (2003).

14^ The 1993 average exchange rate is used for both figures.

15^ For Hesmondhalgh, texts refer to all sorts of content and cultural products, such as books, comics, movies and so on (2013: 3).

16^ The exact wording of this law is the Law Related to the Promotion of Application, Protection and Creation of Content.

17^ CD and DVD are the abbreviations of, respectively, Compact Disc and Digital Versatile or Video Disc.

18^ It assesses the creative industries by classifying them into four groups: content origination, consumption, distribution and production.

19^ UNCTAD and UNDP are respectively the acronyms of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and United Nations Development Programme.

20^ This point of view is also shared by Daliot-Bul (2009: 263).

21^ This notion of “lost decades” is contested by some experts. Please refer to Kudō et al., 2005; Fingleton, 2012, 2013; Cline, 2013.

22^ Lijphart and Crepaz (1991) measured corporatism in a total of eighteen countries.

23^ For a review of the criticisms levelled at pluralism, refer to Baumgartner and Leech, 1998: 50-63.

24^ For a review of pluralism and neopluralism, see Baumgartner and Leech, 1998; Lowery and Gray, 2004; McFarland, 2004.

25^ For a review of corporate political activities, refer to Hillman et al., 2004.

26^ See Block 1987: 62 and 66.

27^ For the successive steps in the development of the strategic-relational approach, see Jessop, 2008: 27-52.

28^ Skocpol is coeditor of this book, Dietrich Rueschemeyer too.

29^ The MITI released an interim report in 1971: International Trade and Industrial Policy for the 1970s.

30^ Others priority industries are the fuel cell, information appliances, robots, contents, health and welfare devices and services, environment and energy devices and services, and business support services (METI, 2004: 9).

31^ The 1990 average exchange rate is used here.

32^ Gao (1997) and Samuels (1994) are exceptions for Japan.

33^ This term was minted by British economist John Williamson (1990) to refer to a set of ten economic policy prescriptions for developing countries shared by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Treasury Department, all institutions based in Washington. Later, this economist (2002) criticized the extensive interpretation of his term as equivalent to neoliberalism.

34^ This report analyses eight Asian economies from 1965 and 1990: Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

35^ In this report, the World Bank defines industrial policy as “attempts to achieve more rapid productivity growth by altering industrial structure” (1993: 354).

36^ In particular the agreements on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Trade-Related Investment Measures, and the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

37^ For a list of these scandals, see Amyx and Drysdale (2003: 4).

38^ In the Japanese bicameral system, the House of the Representatives is the lower house of the Japanese Diet; the House of Councillors the upper one.

39^ The DPJ tried to introduce the Westminster system in Japan.

40^ Dōjinshi are manga made by amateurs.

41^ For example, Allison (2006); Ito (2007); and Lamarre (2009).

42^ The JETRO is the abbreviation of Japan External Trade Organization.

43^ For all his contributions (prolific outputs, innovative redefinitions of genres and pioneering techniques) to manga, Tezuka is considered as “the father of manga”, “the godfather of manga”, or “the god of manga” (Patten, 2004: 198). He is also called “the godfather of anime” or “the god of anime” (Kelts, 2006: 47; McKevitt, 2010: 897).

44^ Some scholars claim that Tezuka received ¥1,550,000. For more details, see Tsugata (2007).

45^ This labour association was created in October 2007 to improve the working conditions of animators. In June 2008, it acquired the legal status so that it can hold negotiations with the national government and related entities, as well as to receive financial support.

46^ PSP is the acronym of PlayStation Portable.

47^ PwC is the abbreviation of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

48^ See Appendix F for the figures converted into yen.

49^ For the DCAJ, content industries range from manga, animation, movies and music to video games, online video games and live entertainment. They also include TV, internet, business in connection with mobile phones, newspapers and publishers.

50^ Both prices do not include tax.

51^ Arcade video games refer to coin-operated video games machines, usually installed in arcade centers.

52^ Online games include mobile games, feature phone games, and PC games.

53^ Mobile games are games played on smartphones and tablets. They also comprise featured phones games.

54^ Shōnen represent the largest segment of manga publishing (Drummond-Mathews, 2010: 62).

55^ Yaoi is the acronym of yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi (no climax, no plot, no sense).

56^ In this chapter, East Asia refers to Northeast and Southeast Asia.

57^ The statistics on sales per country is not available.

58^ Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

59^ Andorra, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom.

60^ Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua and Uruguay.

61^ See Appendix E for the figures converted into yen.

62^ IP stands for Intellectual Property.

63^ As the 1997 average exchange rate could not be found, the 1999 one is used here.

64^ In Taiwan, the ban on Japan’s culture started in 1972 after Japan officially re-established diplomatic relations with China. In South Korea, it was implemented soon after South Korea regained its independence from Japan after the end of the Second World War.

65^ ARD is the acronym of Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Consortium of public broadcasters in Germany). ZDF stands for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German Television).

66^ Tankōbon refers to a single book where different chapters of manga previously published in a magazine are gathered.

67^ For a complete list, see Dunis and Krecina (2004).

68^ The first name of Tokyopop was Mixx.

69^ For both figures, the 1997 average exchange rate is used.

70^ In 2002, Shūheisa became coholder of VIZ Communications with Shōgakukan. After the merge with ShoPro Entertainment in 2005, VIZ Communications was renamed VIZ Media. It is owned 40 per cent by Shōgakukan and Shūeisha respectively, and 20 per cent by Shōgakukan Production (ShoPro) (Weiland, 2005).

71^ NHK is the acronym of Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).

72^ Cosplay is a contraction of the words “costume” and “play”. It means wearing costumes that represent a favourite character from anime, manga, or video games.

73^ Noreascon II is also known as the 38th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).

74^ This term refers to fans sharing a same passion for a particular area of interest (manga, anime, science-fiction…).

75^ ¥579,995. As the 1986 average exchange rate could not be found, the 1990 is used here.

76^ For the sake of clarity, it is important to clarify that the author of this thesis interviewed twice the same METI’s bureaucrat on the 25^th February 2014 and on the 2^nd September 2014. It is why he uses the same term “METI Official 1 Interview” for two different dates.

77^ The administrative, the civil service and the regulatory reform and the "Challenge Again" initiative were also part of her portfolio.

78^ He also was minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, for Science and Technology Policy, and for Space Policy. Moreover, he was in charge of Information Technology Policy, and Challenge Again Initiative. In December 2014, his portfolio extended to Consumer Affairs and Food Safety.

79^ Her portfolio was identic to the one of her predecessor. Yet, it did not include Consumers Affairs and Food Safety, and Challenge Again Initiative. Contrary to Yamaguchi Shunichi, she was in charge of Ocean Policy and Territorial Issues.

80^ Also minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, for the Intellectual Property Strategy, for Science and Technology Policy, and for Space Policy. He is in charge of Information Technology Policy too.

81^ The JNTO is the acronym of Japan National Tourism Organization.

82^ The IMD World Competitiveness Center publishes an annual report on the competitiveness of countries.

83^ Respectively media and content ¥22.7, food and beverage ¥339.2, and fashion ¥102.

84^ Figures of music data from 2005, fashion from 2009. These figures do not include online sales.

85^ The VIPO is a business federation whose aim is to increase the international competitiveness of Japan’s content industries (films, broadcasting, animation, video games and music). It was created in December 2004.

86^ These figures are not available in the issue of 2014.

87^ He is senior researcher at the MIC’s Institute for Information and Communications Policy.

88^ The 2014 year exchange rate is used here.

89^ In Japanese hanryū.

90^ ¥131.9 billion.

91^ The Communications Act 2003 stipulates that independent production companies retain rights of television programs commissioned by broadcasting companies.

92^ 4K and 8K mean respectively four times and sixteen times more pixels than the current HD (High-definition) TV (2K).

93^ The aim of this programme is to raise appreciation of Japanese culture abroad and also to encourage the formation and deepening of international cultural ties by sending abroad selected Japanese artists.

94^ The Japan Expo takes place every year in Paris. It is one of the most important events devoted to Japanese pop culture outside of Japan.

95^ The PROMIC was set up in 1993 as a foundation to promote Japanese music industry abroad.

96^ The International Drama Festival in Tokyo was created in 2007 by NHK and the commercial broadcasting stations to showcase drama abroad.

97^ Dahl defined the first face of power (see Chapter 2, Section 2.2.2).

98^ This event is the biggest annual Cosplay event in Japan.

99^ This governance is presumably now dominated by the Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy (SHSP) created in 2008 (Pekkanen and Kallender-Umezu, 2010: 55).

100^ This law was superseded by the law on the general incorporated associations (ippan shadan hōjin) in December 2008.

101^ He is also known by his nickname “Nabeshin”.

102^ In April 2009, GDH absorbed its anime subsidiary Gonzo and changed its name to Gonzo.

103^ Aniplex, Pierrot, Studio Ghibli, Sunrise, Tezuka Productions, TMS Entertainment and Tōei.

104^ Kadokawa, Kōdansha, Shōgakukan and Shūeisha. Kadokawa also operates in the field of anime and video games.

105^ The website address is manga-anime-here.com

106^ The name of this video is “Thanks, friends”.

107^ The TPP is a free trade agreement between twelve countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, US, and Vietnam. These states reached agreement on the 5^th October 2015.

108^ Nintendo was founded in 1889 by Yamauchi Fusajirō as a manufacturer of card games. His great grandson, Yamauchi Hiroshi, turned Nintendo into the field of video games.

109^ In 2012, the JAMMA merged with the Nihon Shopping Center Amusement Park Operators Association (NSA) and the Japan Amusement Park Equipment Association (JAPEA) to become the Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association.

110^ In 2006, the JPSA was renamed the Computer Software Association of Japan (CSAJ).

111^ For both figures, the 1994 average exchange rate is used here.

112^ For both figures, the 2000 average exchange rate is used here.

113^ For both figures, the 2006 average exchange rate is used here.

114^ For the four figures, the 2014 average exchange rate is used here.

115^ For instance, the Quebec government offers a 37.5 per cent tax credit on employee salaries (Arsenault and Guay, 2015: 113). The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) helps the gaming industry by refunding up to 40 per cent the costs of employees (developers and artists) and marketing (Fath, 2015).

116^ DeNA operates in the mobile games market.

117^ CyberConnnect2 has currently 162 employees, another company contacted during this thesis less than 100.

118^ A consensus exists to include Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in the list of the developmental states. Many authors also incorporate Singapore and Hong Kong (Stubbs: 2009: 7).

119^ Beeson labels China as a “paradoxical developmental state” (2009: 22).