Contemporary Culture Going Global

Japan’s Products and Pastimes Seek Wider Audiences

Japan’s pop culture is making inroads in overseas populations and product markets and populations. As seen in this section, this is often on the strength of its creators’ dedication to careful craftsmanship, rather than due to a calculated global marketing strategy.

Decoding the Charm of Japanese Video Games (Part 2)Tane Kiyoshi

Japan’s video-game industry, which has had a huge impact on pop culture worldwide, today faces tough times. This article looks at the dilemma and how the industry might make a comeback in the future.
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A Soccer Hero Adored Around the WorldIwamoto Yoshihiro

The manga and anime series Captain Tsubasa ignited a soccer boom in Japan, has been aired in countries across the globe, and made an impact on many soccer greats. Author Takahashi Yōichi discusses how Tsubasa came into being and the secrets behind the international popularity of Japan’s pop culture.
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Exporting “Otaku”

Japan’s otaku culture centered on manga, anime, and video games is seeing a growing number of aficionados worldwide. We take a look at major otaku-themed events that take place each summer in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Paris and get a glimpse of the Japanese pop culture that is seeking an increasingly global audience.
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Decoding the Charm of Japanese Video Games (Part 1)Tane Kiyoshi

Video game systems from Nintendo and Sony have had a huge impact on worldwide culture. This two-part article explores Japanese cultural factors that helped give birth to these games and the secrets of their success, and is accompanied by an informative timeline of developments in the gaming sector.
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Nearly three decades after the 1983 launch of the G-Shock series, Casio has put its watches on wrists in the world’s mountains, seas, skies, and streets. By pairing functional durability with awareness of youth culture and fashion, G-Shock’s creators have achieved a lasting hit series.
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If It’s Not “Kawaii,” How Can It Be Smart?

A key question faces Japan’s mobile phone industry: When will young women make the switch to smartphones? This demographic has driven mobile phone development for a decade or so, and young women’s tastes have inspired only-in-Japan innovations that have given conventional handsets uniquely convenient—and cute!—functions found nowhere else.
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Rokkaku Ayako: An Artist with the World at Her Fingertips

A rising star of the Japanese art world, Rokkaku Ayako creates a vivid world of color and vitality by painting directly with her fingers without any preliminary sketches or guidelines. Her beguiling works have captured the hearts of people of all ages and backgrounds around the world.
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related articles

other reports: Nippon × Fashion: Local LooksThe original ideas, approaches to color, and designs that characterize Japan’s fashion today do not come solely from leading urban creators. Regional industries throughout the country support the fashion sector as a whole, providing reliable craftsmanship and their own touches of flair.
(More); Nippon × Fashion 2012 Fashion is a mirror of the times, as well as a hint at what future times may hold. Can Japan’s fashion provide insight into the turmoil confronting Japanese society today? In this series we take a close-up look at the reality of the new age.
(More); The Good GrainRice has been a staple of the Japanese diet since the Yayoi period (ca. 300 BC–AD 300). An unrelenting quest for quality today continues to guide the cultivation and preparation of the grain, from the initial stages of breed improvement and production to the final stage when rice reaches the table.
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