“Cool Japan” fund, is it completely useless or just poorly managed?
The “burst” of the bubble economy in Japan at the beginning of 1990s crushed
Japanese self confidence. Long recession, harsh Korean competition in steel, auto and electronics industries, with US also having the strongest leadership in “IT revolution” and rapid economic growth in China enhanced the depressive mood of “the Lost
Decade”.
However rumors of popularity of Japanese cultural products overseas, such as electronics for entertainment like Nintendo, Tamagotchi and PlayStation among others, revived Japan's confidence. Anime, manga and music were also increasingly gaining attention from abroad. Some examples are Studio Ghibli movies, Pokemon, etc.
1
Japan started gaining …show more content…
However more proposals for policy adjustments within the government started flowing in coming years.
3
This is the base of what “Cool Japan” fund was built upon. A new policy to support the
“content industry”.
The proposal for “Cool Japan” initiative first came to light in 2011 to Ministry of
Economy,Trade and Industry , but was established to take action two years later
4
seemingly due to lack of risk capital funding . Even though the discussions for
5
governmental support for the content industry took place as early as 2002. Following release of “The Policy for Promotion of Content Business: National Strategy in the Age of Soft Power” in 2004 by the Intellectual Property Headquarters, arguing that content industry is a strong soft power and should be the “pillar of national strategy”. The
6
problem was that even though Japanese contents could be popular, it did not have the possibility of gaining sufficient return in the eyes of the government. So the policy was pushed away until better proposal. For many years to come more proposals for similar policies surged but the government kept its position to leave this to private sector due …show more content…
However looking into “Cool Japan
Fund” webpage, under “invested projects” section, I can't blindly agree that “Cool
Japan” is not putting their money where they originally “promised” to do.
Some of the most recent investments are: US based Japanese Tea cafe, Content
Creator Development business and overseas “Japan Channel”.
I can already guess by the titles that there is relevance in all three of these things to have potential of having economical growth for Japan.
For example, Japanese tea cafe is a great investment due to the popular tradition of japanese tea ceremonies and the quality of the tea, worldwide. It represents the soul of many Japanese traditions and the elegance within them, luring in many to get a spark of interest in Japan. The cafe would also introduce japanese sweets on the side and other assorted goods. Fulfilling “Cool Japan's” role of exporting Japanese foods and tastes overseas which they mentioned was one of their
The “burst” of the bubble economy in Japan at the beginning of 1990s crushed
Japanese self confidence. Long recession, harsh Korean competition in steel, auto and electronics industries, with US also having the strongest leadership in “IT revolution” and rapid economic growth in China enhanced the depressive mood of “the Lost
Decade”.
However rumors of popularity of Japanese cultural products overseas, such as electronics for entertainment like Nintendo, Tamagotchi and PlayStation among others, revived Japan's confidence. Anime, manga and music were also increasingly gaining attention from abroad. Some examples are Studio Ghibli movies, Pokemon, etc.
1
Japan started gaining …show more content…
However more proposals for policy adjustments within the government started flowing in coming years.
3
This is the base of what “Cool Japan” fund was built upon. A new policy to support the
“content industry”.
The proposal for “Cool Japan” initiative first came to light in 2011 to Ministry of
Economy,Trade and Industry , but was established to take action two years later
4
seemingly due to lack of risk capital funding . Even though the discussions for
5
governmental support for the content industry took place as early as 2002. Following release of “The Policy for Promotion of Content Business: National Strategy in the Age of Soft Power” in 2004 by the Intellectual Property Headquarters, arguing that content industry is a strong soft power and should be the “pillar of national strategy”. The
6
problem was that even though Japanese contents could be popular, it did not have the possibility of gaining sufficient return in the eyes of the government. So the policy was pushed away until better proposal. For many years to come more proposals for similar policies surged but the government kept its position to leave this to private sector due …show more content…
However looking into “Cool Japan
Fund” webpage, under “invested projects” section, I can't blindly agree that “Cool
Japan” is not putting their money where they originally “promised” to do.
Some of the most recent investments are: US based Japanese Tea cafe, Content
Creator Development business and overseas “Japan Channel”.
I can already guess by the titles that there is relevance in all three of these things to have potential of having economical growth for Japan.
For example, Japanese tea cafe is a great investment due to the popular tradition of japanese tea ceremonies and the quality of the tea, worldwide. It represents the soul of many Japanese traditions and the elegance within them, luring in many to get a spark of interest in Japan. The cafe would also introduce japanese sweets on the side and other assorted goods. Fulfilling “Cool Japan's” role of exporting Japanese foods and tastes overseas which they mentioned was one of their