The Myth of Cool Japan: Is Japan a Prisoner of Its Own Success Story?

The Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS) is pleased to present the opening installment of Soft Power, Hard Questions: A Forum for Indo-Pacific Culture, Society & Policy: “The Myth of Cool Japan : Is Japan a Prisoner of Its Own Success Story?”

Japan’s global cultural influence has expanded dramatically through anime, manga, and other creative industries. However, the foundations supporting that success face growing pressure from a shrinking workforce and consumer base, rising production costs, and limited public support. This online discussion will examine the widening gap between the international image of “Cool Japan” and the structural realities beneath it.

The session will feature Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica; Scholar, Journalist, and editor. He will join host Waka Ikeda, YCAPS Research Fellow and Program Director, for a critical discussion of whether Cool Japan has fulfilled its promise or whether Japan has become constrained by the success story it created. The conversation will also consider what other countries in the Indo-Pacific can learn from Japan’s experience with cultural diplomacy and national branding.

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This event is a part of YCAPS' "Soft Power, Hard Questions" series.

Date: Tuesday September 8, 2026

Time: 18:30-19:30 JST

Venue: Online (zoom)

Schedule:

18:30: Discussion by host and guest followed by moderated audience Q&A

19:30: Webinar concludes

Speaker:

Roland Nozomu Kelts is an award-winning journalist and the author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US and The Art of Blade Runner: Black Lotus. He writes for publications in the US, Japan and Europe, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, New Statesman, The Times Literary Supplement, Nikkei Asia and The Japan Times, among others, and has contributed to several book-length collections. He was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University and teaches at Waseda University in Tokyo. He is also an editor of the international Japanese literary journal, "MONKEY: New Writing from Japan." He has spoken on Japanese soft power at the World Economic Forum, TED Talks and numerous other international venues, and is currently filming a documentary about manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka.

Host:

Waka Ikeda is a Japanese journalist based in Budapest and Tokyo, and Research Fellow and Program Director at YCAPS. A contributing writer at The Japan Times, she also writes for Nikkei Asia and other outlets, with a focus on soft power, youth culture, and the intersection of Japan, Asia, and Europe. She conducted the field reporting behind the Poland–Japan Foundation’s April 2026 policy analysis on Japan–Europe cultural diplomacy, and wrote for The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus on “Young Audiences Abandoning Traditional Media in the Age of Takaichi” (January 2026). She hosts Soft Power, Hard Questions.

Format: This event will be recorded and published in our web archive. Questions are encouraged during the live event.

Registration: Required Link

Moderator: Waka Ikeda

Webinar Cost: Free of charge