SULLA, Charles Andrew D.

AB Foreign Service - 301

International Negotiations (INNN17F)
Mr. Jumel G. Estrañero

Ramen, Anime, and J-POP: Japanese Soft Power Influence Towards World Domination

I. INTRODUCTION

Throughout the entirety of the Asian continent itself, China is deemed to be the most
powerful country, second to the United States (U.S. News, n.d.). It is known for its military
spending, as well as vast physical expanse. Added to that is the country’s large economy with a
total GDP of $14.3 trillion. Additionally, being the world’s largest and most populated continent,
Asia offers an incredibly vast selection of countries with a wide range of popular destinations
that many would love to travel to (MyFunkyTravel, 2020). And, of course, China is no
exception. Aside from being powerful, China also topped in terms of being the most visited
country in Asia. In an article posted by MyFunkyTravel (2020), it shows that China is officially
the most visited country in all of Asia during the year 2018. And, whilst emerging as a
superpower in the 21st Century, the country mainly invested on its travel infrastructures. This
then made the country continue to have an abundance of history, as well as many areas of
outstanding natural beauty to offer its tourists.

Moreover, another country that truly continues to be well-known even, during the 2000s,
is none other than South Korea itself. The country used to be a developing nation that is closed
off to much of the world (90 Day Korean, 2021). But then, it slowly gained fame and publicity
around the world. With its ever appreciated global influence, thanks to its K-Pop industry, South
Korea then continues to grow its reputation and become globally known. Landsberg (2021)
expressed in his article that South Korea’s pop culture is also attempting on its own to conquer
the world due to some of its movie series that became a global hit in the recent years, namely the
“Squid Game” as well as the “Parasite” movie that earned various prestige awards. Aside from
K-Pop and its movies, South Korea also became well-known due to its various trends such as
Korean dramas, cosmetics, and even in plastic surgery.

However, one country that continues to be a part of the different world rankings is yet to
have its name a global impact. Japan is but one of the countries that compete against China,
South Korea, Singapore, and other Asian countries when it comes to influence, economy, and
even entrepreneurship. In an article published by Forbes (2018), it shows that Japan ranked first
in the category of being Asia’s Ten Best Countries in the past three years. This shows that Japan
is not out of other well-known Asian countries’ league. Yet again, Japan was such an unpopular
tourist destination back then. Japan Today (2015) listed in their article some of the issues that the
country faced before becoming renowned. Some of such issues include having publicity
problems, soaring high price levels, lacking in translations, as well as Japanese-only convenience
environment. Now, one may wonder on how did Japan start to become globally known. Even if
Japan was actually able resolve such issues of the country, its reputation would not simply
skyrocket in the global sphere. Well, here are some of the factors that resulted the country to
attain such global standing.

II. BODY

JAPANESE CULTURE

One of the factors that made Japan to be a global contender is due to its culture. Japan is
such a unique country for the reason that it can mix its own ancient history and traditions
together with its incredible modern advancements (Internship in Japan, 2019). Walking through
the streets of Tokyo, one may find himself passing through different ancient monuments and/or
temples that have already existed centuries ago but are still firmly standing up to this day. Such
can still be experienced even with today’s modernization and available technological
advancements. And because of this, tourist destinations all over Japan continue to be crowded by
tourists in order to gaze upon its beautiful sceneries.

In relation to Japanese culture is the continuously popular anime industry. Of course, how
can one study about Japan without mentioning anime that is long part of the Japanese culture.
Over the recent years, the popularity of the anime industry, as well as its comic strip counterpart,
manga, has grown considerably great in the Western part of the world (The Japanese Shop, n.d.).
And one of the reasons why anime has grown popularity across the world is mainly due to its
own unique ability to grow along with its viewers. Whether you may be a kid or an adult, anime
is surely to take place in your heart once you are able to watch something that you truly enjoy.
Another reason for its popularity is seen as due to the shrinkage of the Japanese population. This
population decline has resulted the Japanese to have an increased export-minded trade. They see
this phenomena as an opportunity to improve their economic growth since that there will be now
lesser people that would consume the country’s resources. And as such, anime producers have
started to create contents that are in line with the Western tastes. Producing anime overseas is
also said to be much cheaper, thus, leading Japan to having more profit into their hands.

JAPANESE FOOD

What’s interesting thinking about Japanese food is that you do not actually need to be in
Japan to have a taste of it. Similar to most of the Asian cuisines, Japanese food is mainly rice and
noodle based, which is easy to share with others. The food is also generally fried and/or grilled
which is easy to be accepted by foreign and local citizens. There is a wide variety of Japanese
food available almost all over the world, but with the absence in many cases of actual Japanese
based restaurant concepts (Silverstein, 2011). This means that local entrepreneurs from different
countries are setting up food shops that are mainly influenced by the Japanese, resulting it to
have a selection or menu of Japanese foods. One of the popular Japanese foods known all over
the world is the ramen. Ramen can be found in many countries in also many variations. One can
never be loss in choice for ramen because that it offers many flavors, styles, and even toppings to
choose from. What is also great about is that you could enjoy it whatever the occasion may be —
whether it be during a cold day, after a workout, or even just after a very long day at work as it is
sure to fill anyone up. Another popular food is, of course, the sushi. It is widely available in
many countries throughout the globe, especially since that its ingredients can be easily found and
bought. Being mainly and commonly associated with Japan, sushi has already became one of the
world’s food trends. And lastly, one of the most popular and well-known fried food among
tourists, is the tempura. No one could just possibly deny how delicious this food can be. In
tempura, there is truly an endless possibilities of what you would like to fry. But, the most well-
known type of tempura all over the world is made with shrimps. As we know it, food is one of
the best ways to learn about a culture, and Japan is no exception (Hisgo, n.d.). The mentioned
foods are only some of the few that actually continues to still be popular around the world. Thus,
Japanese foods are surely a hit in a global scale.

JAPANESE POP / J-POP

Japanese Pop, or simply J-Pop, is the mainstream form of music in Japan, which actually
has a large cult following all over the world (Hildred, 2021). It first gained popularity during the
1960s, in which can even be traced back to the pre-war era of the Japanese history. By 1990s, it
then hit the mainstream, gaining an even higher level of popularity, and having its name and
status to be known all over the world. J-Pop then applies to various music genres such as jazz,
vocal ballads, pop rock, folk, and even “idol pop”, which is mainly marketed by entertainers that
are known as Japanese idols or part those idol groups (MasterClass, 2021). The proponents of J-
Pop mostly reflects on a positive attitude, and has lyrics concerning simple yet identifiable topics
such as first love, heartbreak, happiness, aspiration, and the like. And like in the Western pop
culture, J-Pop is also marketed through the means of touring, promotional appearances, TV
dramas, and even in the theme songs of anime programs and in video games. And as such, J-Pop
is then able to spread its influence throughout the world. Additionally, if one wishes to take part
of the J-Pop music, some of its popular artists would be YOASOBI, Aimer, Official HIGE
Dandism, Kenshi Yonezu, milet, Reona, LiSA, One OK Rock, and Aimyon.

Of course, one’s culture would be incomplete without the presence of music around it.
Similar to that of South Korea’s K-Pop, Japan also has its own variety being the J-Pop. However,
J-Pop is yet to have a global uprising, since that it still does not have the power and popularity
compared to K-Pop. But even then, J-Pop not just some passing trend. It will surely continue to
be well-known and have its influence spread even further.
III. ANALYSIS

Much like South Korea, Japan also continues to spread its influence globally through the
means of attracting the masses by its culture, food, music, as well as other trends. Certainly,
Japan is no longer what may called as a “Super State” as it was during the 1980s. But then, the
country do have some real soft power aspect through its culture and popular consumer products
as it continues to dominate the Asian landscape (Silverstein, 2011). Despite the country breaking
its streak of year-on-year improvement during the year 2019, it still continues to wield a
considerable global influence due to its soft power assets. Japan also remains as one of Asia’s
highest ranking country, as well as being the sole Asian representative in the top ten of The Soft
Power 30. That being said, we could see that Japan is no ordinary country that is just being and
becoming more globally influential. It could be deemed that soft power approaches can be highly
influential in the long run. Setting South Korea as an example, people all over the world are
becoming more and more influenced by the Korean cultures. K-Pop and K-Dramas are now
being a huge hit whatever your age range would be. And in all of that, we could say that they are
now “controlled” by the South Korean system. Hence, Japan is no different. It is just that
Japanese influence is yet to be perceived by the many. And once that Japan has the same level of
soft power influence as South Korea has, who knows on what may become. Maybe Japan could
bring out more influence than that of South Korea or any other soft power countries in the world.

IV. CONCLUSION

Soft power countries like Japan could actually hit as hard as those hard power countries.
The only comparison between the two is that soft power countries tend to be more influential
rather than being coercive and assertive. This then creates the idea that soft power approaches
tend to have a long term influence to the people, as well as other countries, for it slowly and
deeply affects their behavioral system. It may sound somewhat frightening, but that is truly one
of the natures of being a soft power. Japan used to be covered up by other soft power countries
such as South Korea, India, and France in terms of culture, and even by Italy by means of
fashion labels. But now, Japan is slow and steadily rising up in terms of influences through its
very own culture, food, and music. It even maintains its ranking as being one of the most visited
countries in the world. And, it also stands proud on the development of its technological
advances on the country. Surely, Japan has much more offers in store for us. We are just yet to
know on how Japan would present them to the world.

V. RECOMMENDATION

It is to be recommended that to not turn a blind eye on how Japan slowly influences the
world. Soft powered countries tend to be more ‘vigilant’ on how are they going to influence the
world. Masked by beautiful cultural, technical, and/or even financial offers to the world, these
then tend to be the country’s protection against any possible difficulties or discriminatory issues
that may arise against them. In relation, Japan continues to move on forward being one of the
world’s most influential countries. Its own cultures, food, and music are now becoming more and
more well-known around the world. And once they all gain an even higher level of popularity in
the world, Japan might even become an unstoppable force with regards to global influence.
However, before Japan is able to truly widen its influence, it must first solve the different issues
within it. Japan itself ranks relatively low in terms of the Government sub-index (The Soft Power
30). This means that there are low scores for the people’s trust in government and gender
equality. Gender discrimination also became a hot topic in Japan in 2019 due to the #KuToo
Movement that made waves in social media. The said movement made the Japanese women to
come together and file a petition to ban company dress codes that require female employees to
wear high heels during their work period. Hence, being an uprising soft power country, Japan too
has to solve issues on its own before it becomes an even more powerful and influential country
in the world.
VI. REFERENCES

90 Day Korean. (2021). Facts About South Korea – 30 Interesting Things to Learn.
Retrieved from: https://www.90daykorean.com/interesting-facts-about-south-korea/

Forbes. (2018). Asia's Ten Best Countries--From Abe's Japan To Duterte's Philippines.
Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/03/15/
asias-ten-best-countries-from-abes-japan-to-dutertes-philippines/?sh=3a01f6335b33

Hildred. (2021). A Brief History of Japanese Pop (J-pop) Music. Retrieved from:
https://spinditty.com/genres/A-Brief-History-of-Japanese-Pop-J-pop-Music

Hisgo. (n.d.). Popular Japanese Foods. Retrieved from: https://www.hisgo.com/us/destination-

japan/blog/most_popular_japanese_foods_amongst_tourists.html

Internship in Japan. (2019). What Makes Japan Stand Out from Other Countries? Retrieved
from: https://japaninternships.com/blog/what-makes-japan-stand-out-from-other-
countries/

Japan Today. (2015). Why is Japan such an unpopular tourist destination? Retrieved from:
https://japantoday.com/category/features/travel/why-is-japan-such-an-unpopular-tourist-
destination

Landsberg, T. (2021). Why South Korean culture is a global hit. Retrieved from:
https://www.dw.com/en/why-south-korean-culture-is-a-global-hit/a-60105618

MasterClass. (2021). All About J-Pop Music: A Brief History of Japanese Pop Music. Retrieved
from: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/j-pop-music-guide

MyFunkyTravel. (2020). The Most Visited Countries in Asia. Retrieved from:

https://myfunkytravel.com/most-visited-countries-in-asia.html

Silverstein, J. (2011). Why Japanese Food is Everyone’s Second Favorite Choice in Asia.
Retrieved from: https://ewhospitality.com/why-japanese-food-is-everyones-
second-favorite-choice-in-asia/#:~:text=So%20why%20is%20Japanese%20food,
 similar%20to%20most%20Asian%20cuisines.&text=The%20food%20is%20gene rally
%20fried,is%20a%20key%20reason%20also

The Japanese Shop. (n.d.). What makes anime so popular? Retrieved from:
https://www.thejapaneseshop.co.uk/blog/why-is-anime-so-popular/#:~:text=One
%20of%20the%20main%20reasons,to%20grow%20with%20its%20viewers.
&text=This%20has%20meant%20that%20anime,as%20it%20is%20much
%20cheaper

The Soft Power 30 (n.d.). Japan. Retrieved from:

https://softpower30.com/country/japan/#:~:text=Despite%20this%20fall%2C%20Japan%
20continues,are%20big%20years%20for%20Japan.

U. S. News. (n.d.). Most Powerful Countries. Retrieved from:

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/power-rankings

VII. MESSAGE TO THE PROFESSOR

To our dear professor of this course subject, Sir Jumel, I would like to personally thank
you for all of your efforts teaching and inspiring us to learn more, not only about the subject, but
also about the outside world. It was surely a great semester for having you as our professor once
again during our college journey, being the third time at most. I do hope that you yourself would
continue on teaching more ‘futures’ of this country, and that you keep on pursuing on what is not
just right, but is also good. Once again, I give my thanks you, Sir, and that may the both of us
have more wonderful future ahead of us. Thank you.