Uploaded February 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In the 90s and much of the 2000s, Japan has been the dominant pop culture country in East Asia. From anime and video games to J-pop, J-rock, and Japanese food, Japan was the "hip," "it" country.
But in the last decade, Japan lost its pop culture edge to Korea with their Hallyu Wave. Thus, Japan started up the Cool Japan program in 2013 to appeal to foreigners and become the pop culture capital of Asia once again.
Yet, Cool Japan hasn't been doing well. While the program has been plagued by numerous problems, its Korean neighbor has been thriving since 2013. Famed Japanese singer Gackt, as well as other Japanese entertainers, have blasted the program for not doing enough.
We'll be looking at "what is Cool Japan" and look at why it's not been doing well so far.
(Here are some of the reference links I used:)
Cool Japan - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Japan
Cool Japan Fund's big ambitions mostly fall flat- Nikkei Asian Review
asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Cool-Japan-Fund-s-big-ambitions-mostly-fall-flat?page=1
S. Korea’s Content Sales Reaches $101 Billion, Similar Level of Memory Chips
http://businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/20130-%E2%80%98hallyu%E2%80%99-going-s-korea%E2%80%99s-content-sales-reaches-101-billion-similar-level-memory
Can Japan Prove Its Cool Factor to the Rest of the World?
theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/japan-and-the-power-of-coolness/387664
Japan Spends Millions in Order to Be Cool | TIME.com
world.time.com/2013/07/01/japan-spends-millions-in-order-to-be-cool
The Hunt for Cool Japan: Vol. 1 | Arama Japan
aramajapan.com/aramaexclusive/discussion/the-hunt-for-cool-japan-vol-1-harajuku/7363
Gov't Eyes Making Permanent Residency Easier for 'Cool Japan' Talent | Japan Times
japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/26/national/government-eyes-making-permanent-residency-easier-cool-japan-talent/#.WpToGBPwaRs
Is Japan About to Lose its Cool | CNBC
cnbc.com/2015/05/14/who-gets-to-decide-japan-is-cool.html
-----
FREE E-BOOK:
For the free e-book called "The 10 most important lessons I used to break into the K-pop industry as media," sign up for our email list here:
popsori.com/subscribe
If you like this video and want to learn more about Kpop in-depth, please click on the subscribe button. We appreciate your support! Thanks so much!
----
Intro music - Infinite H's "Pretty" instrumental version
WEBSITE:
popsori.com
PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA:
Jason's Twitter and Instagram - @iamjangta
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: facebook.com/thepopsori
Twitter: @iamjangta
In the 90s and much of the 2000s, Japan has been the dominant pop culture country in East Asia. From anime and video games to J-pop, J-rock, and Japanese food, Japan was the "hip," "it" country.
But in the last decade, Japan lost its pop culture edge to Korea with their Hallyu Wave. Thus, Japan started up the Cool Japan program in 2013 to appeal to foreigners and become the pop culture capital of Asia once again.
Yet, Cool Japan hasn't been doing well. While the program has been plagued by numerous problems, its Korean neighbor has been thriving since 2013. Famed Japanese singer Gackt, as well as other Japanese entertainers, have blasted the program for not doing enough.
We'll be looking at "what is Cool Japan" and look at why it's not been doing well so far.
(Here are some of the reference links I used:)
Cool Japan - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Japan
Cool Japan Fund's big ambitions mostly fall flat- Nikkei Asian Review
asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Cool-Japan-Fund-s-big-ambitions-mostly-fall-flat?page=1
S. Korea’s Content Sales Reaches $101 Billion, Similar Level of Memory Chips
http://businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/20130-%E2%80%98hallyu%E2%80%99-going-s-korea%E2%80%99s-content-sales-reaches-101-billion-similar-level-memory
Can Japan Prove Its Cool Factor to the Rest of the World?
theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/03/japan-and-the-power-of-coolness/387664
Japan Spends Millions in Order to Be Cool | TIME.com
world.time.com/2013/07/01/japan-spends-millions-in-order-to-be-cool
The Hunt for Cool Japan: Vol. 1 | Arama Japan
aramajapan.com/aramaexclusive/discussion/the-hunt-for-cool-japan-vol-1-harajuku/7363
Gov't Eyes Making Permanent Residency Easier for 'Cool Japan' Talent | Japan Times
japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/26/national/government-eyes-making-permanent-residency-easier-cool-japan-talent/#.WpToGBPwaRs
Is Japan About to Lose its Cool | CNBC
cnbc.com/2015/05/14/who-gets-to-decide-japan-is-cool.html
-----
FREE E-BOOK:
For the free e-book called "The 10 most important lessons I used to break into the K-pop industry as media," sign up for our email list here:
popsori.com/subscribe
If you like this video and want to learn more about Kpop in-depth, please click on the subscribe button. We appreciate your support! Thanks so much!
----
Intro music - Infinite H's "Pretty" instrumental version
WEBSITE:
popsori.com
PERSONAL SOCIAL MEDIA:
Jason's Twitter and Instagram - @iamjangta
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: facebook.com/thepopsori
Twitter: @iamjangta
