Japanese Pop Industry

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• Publié par: ykijarac
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• Langue: Français

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    Japanese Pop Industry †       Ichiya Nakamura ∗    

DP-2003-002-E

The purpose of this paper is to study characteristics of Japan's pop culture industry. The scale and the international competitiveness of the pop culture industry including Manga, Anime and Video game is surveyed first, and its special features such as venture aspect and industrial integration in Tokyo are also discussed. Then this argues about unique model of entrepreneurship which consists of a combination of individual creators and enterprise-based producers. It is followed by perspective what the situation means in the process of digitalization such as P2P and ubiquitous computing.  

November 22, 2003 Stanford Japan Center

                                                  † This paper is for SPRIE, a joint research project of A/PARC at Stanford University, Stanford Japan Center, etc. At the same time, this is one of outputs of PPP, a project on pop cultture of Stanford Japan Center and CANVAS. The author wishes to thank Mr. Megumu Onouchi, Research fellow at Stanford Japan Center, for various suggestions and data. ∗ Executive Director, Stanford Japan Center-Research. [e-mail]

Japanese Pop Industry   Ichiya Nakamura

    Chapter 1: Prevalence of Pop   1) Japan as a “Pop Country”   <1> Lost 100 years   The 1990s was the age of the USA. After the cold war, this country practically held supremacy in terms of policy and military might. The economy in Asia, including Japan, which had been a growing sector in the world, stagnated. Europe was struggling with clearing up the aftermath of the cold war and with the unification of the east and the west. During this time, the US took over the world’s leadership with the power of its digital economy. Even within the IT industry, the main business of the 90s, the US gained unchallenged victories in platforms (computers), networks (the Internet), and contents (Hollywood). Japan calls this decade “the lost decade.” After its bubble economy burst, the Japanese economy has been caught in the doldrums and hasn’t made a break-though yet. However, it could really be a hundred years that Japan has missed. At the turn of the Meiji era (1968), Japan was astonished by modern Western civilization and raised a slogan of “Enrich and Strengthen Japan” inorder to gain a ranking among the other world powers. However, its attempt at strengthening the country was abandoned after its defeat in World War II. Next, the Japanese relied on its remaining aim, enriching the country, defining this in terms of economical development. But what happens when this economic growth itself stagnates? All their propositions have vanished and they lose the very ground under their feet. For many older western people, Japan’s image is still about “hara-kiri” and “kamikaze.” The propaganda used by the military state at the time when strengthening Japan was the prime aim, is embedded in these people’s mind and is still vivid. For the after-the-war age group, Japan appears as the country of Toyota, Honda, and Sony. Now the “econo-military” enterprises that are globally competing for the nation’s enrichment have  become the new face of Japan. Building on the high growth of the Japanese economy during the 1960s, Japan survived the two oil crises of the 70s. In the 80s, the expertise of their manufacturing industry, typically cars, home electric appliances, and precision machines, was feared in the US. Also, the Japan money that prevailed in the US—buying up the Rockefeller Center and some movie companies—irritate d the US. After losing its economy strength in the 90s,

 

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