Please note that this talk will be given in German.
This event series is a collaboration between the NRW-Forum and the Institute for Modern Japan at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, organised as part of the ASIA POP exhibition.
When exactly did Japanese pop culture become a global superpower? What is the source of the enormous international potential of Japanese pop culture – from Pokémon and Hello Kitty to manga and anime? The lecture explores these questions and examines how, since 2010, Japanese policy has increasingly relied on cultural exports as a form of ‘soft power’. Through the ‘Cool Japan’ initiative, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has made targeted investments in national branding and the international visibility of Japanese culture. Pop culture has thus become not only a major export success but also an important instrument of cultural outreach.
Annette Schad-Seifert is a university professor at the Institute for Modern Japan at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Her research and publications focus on gender studies, media and popular culture, changing family structures, family policy and demographic change.
