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In modern international politics, it is just as important to win hearts and minds, in one’s own country and abroad, as it is to have power by force of arms. We call this power over hearts and minds: the power to sway people by persuasion rather than by force, soft power. And no country on Earth has mastered the art of soft power through cultural media quite like Japan has.
In this video, we’ll explore the roots of Japan’s soft power initiatives: how modern anime taps into pre-war orientalism, how war-time propaganda birthed the modern anime industry, how the Japanese government utilized soft power cultural diplomacy to manipulate the world’s perception of it, and much more!
You are not immune to propaganda. It’s OK, neither am I! But with a little awareness, we can at least inoculate ourselves against its effects.
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NOTE CONCERNING BRAZIL FOUNDATION:
Apparently, YouTube needs a few days to validate this charity organization. If you choose to donate on your own, send me an email (you can find it in my channel description), with a screenshot of your donation, so I can keep track!
https://brazilfoundation.org/en/
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You can learn more about Doctors Without Borders at https://www.msf.org/.
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Please also consider supporting Moon Channel on Patreon!
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Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
04:33 – Historical Context and Orientalism
21:18 – The Power of God (And Anime)
27:31 – Pure or Peril?
50:12 – Soft Power
1:04:37 – The Rise of Modern Anime
1:11:50 – A Strategy Born of Necessity
1:16:57 – The Japan You Were Taught to Adore
1:30:50 – Commodification and Plastic Love
1:47:00 – Summary and Subsidy
1:54:41 – The Cultural-Industrial Complex and the LDP
2:13:49 – Hearts and Minds
2:26:00 – Conclusion/Caveat (Emptor)
2:29:55 – Credits Gag
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The Video’s Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLETW98X7fZkO5QgpD3XbIHjfirgvbkToQ&si=Cd55Of7byjcDw0cU
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Attributions and Additional Reading:
History –
China Illustrata – https://htext.stanford.edu/content/kircher/china/kircher.pdf
Valignano, Alessandro (1584). Historia del Principio y Progreso de la Compañía de Jesús en las Indias Orientales.
https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/american-visitors-to-meiji-japan/
Soft Power and Anime –
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259779790_Geopolitics_and_Soft_Power_Japan%27s_Cultural_Policy_and_Cultural_Diplomacy_in_Asia
https://web.archive.org/web/20040403225208/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/cool_japan/story.html
https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/mono_info_service/mono/creative/
https://web.archive.org/web/20110323050051/http://www.gov-online.go.jp/pdf/hlj_ar/vol_0028e/21-23.pdf
https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/japans-creative-industrial-complex/
Cool Japan Fund:
https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/2791/en
https://www.cj-fund.co.jp/en/about/cjfund.html
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Finance/Government-weighs-fate-of-floundering-Cool-Japan-Fund2
https://animationanomaly.com/2013/04/16/a-theory-on-government-subsidies-for-animation/
J-LOP/J-LOX:
https://www.cao.go.jp/cool_japan/english/link_en/link_j_lop_en.html
https://www.vipo.or.jp/project/j-lop-plus/list/
https://jloxplus-jp.translate.goog/office/?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Assorted Other:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/williamyang/taiwan-comfort-women-statue
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/27/the-silencing-of-japans-free-press-shinzo-abe-media/
https://www.dw.com/en/why-japan-ranks-poorly-in-press-freedom/a-65549778
Miyazaki on Nationalism:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/nov/25/hayao-miyazaki-ponyo-cliff
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Please also check out more work from this video’s thumbnail artist, @louritashine
Twitter: twitter.com/LouritaShine
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/louritashine
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The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Sun Tzu said that. And I’d say he knows a little bit more about fighting than you do pal, because he invented it!
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Hi everyone! With regards to the fundraiser, apparently YouTube has to approve the Brazil Foundation first. I didn't realize, at the time of posting, that there would be this hold-up.
I'll update the fundraiser the moment I can, but please refer in the meantime to the description! Thank you all so much for supporting this cause with me.
– Moony
EDIT: It's been half a day already, and it is still processing. If this approval process ends up taking too long, I'll carry the fundraiser over to the next video. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience.
You didn’t think you could slip the niche Bad Apple reference via the instrumental music at 49:28 past ALL your fans, I hope
How did Moonie know I listen to plastic love once every 3 months but I don't know the latest fast and furious movie???
Hayao Miyazaki doesn't make magical girls. He makes Holy Maidens
Also I love the shout out to FD signifiers video on attack on Titan being fascist. This was another great video Moonie! Love your stuff
29:36
Good argument, but i have portrayed myself as the westernized modern army and yourself as the primitive eastern barbarian
This has got to be one of my new favorites from you. I really hope people aren't actually complaining on previous videos about the history lessons, because I think they're fascinating and you present them really well! Lots to chew on here!
Its not an anti LBP channel, but they cant help themselves with their actions
Omfg, your music choices are absolutely killing me. Hearing the beginning of the Mario 64 minigame theme and then realizing the rest of the song was actually Komm Susser Tod was such a joy. It may have slightly distracted me from the point you were making, however. 😛
Seeing Space Battleship Yamato in this context is always weird for me, because I'm a big fan of the modern remake (Yamato 2199) because I love me a good goofy space opera with absurd retro aesthetics playing everything completely straight like that. (I even do indeed have models of several of the ships.) And yet, its many charms and improvements over the original can never hide the fact that it's a remake of a very pro-imperialist story. I'm not pro-Imperial-Japan or in favor of Japanese re-armament or anything, and I certainly don't have any fond feelings towards the real Battleship Yamato or anything it stood for, so I'm tempted to say I haven't been affected by this specific bit of propaganda, but… well.
Once again, Moony delivers, excellent video my dude. I wasn't aware about the intricacies of Soft Power before, and now I definitely can't unsee it.
All the war crime denying the japanese government does is very odd to me, as a descendant from a german refugee from World War ONE, Germany post-WWII has taken full accountability for their crimes and even makes it so that students are obligated to visit sites where concentration camps used to be, if I'm not mistaken, and the japanese government did the complete opposite. But as you said, what a government thinks and what its people think aren't the same, and I'm sure there are many japanese who think Imperial Japan's crimes in WWII deserve to be mentioned and remembered.
Last, but not least, thanks for giving Rio Grande do Sul some attention at the end, I'm brazilian and that means a lot to me, please keep the Brazil Mentioned meme going, I love it and I'm sure my fellow countrymen would agree.
I'm just glad there's no astroturfed political message behind all the gay porn i watch
Right?
Thanks for the video!
For anyone wanting to hear Japanese progressive perspectives on Japanese fascism, listen to the podcast Against Japanism.
Japan is not even close to being the best on soft power, that's a weeb take (and funnily enough, result of japanophilia). USA and URSS (now China and Russia) outmatch Japan by far
What an idiotic video
Hey, great eye-opener there!
Just make sure to address the donations to NGOs rather than the government! Specially since they plan to rebuild the state (or its capital at the very least) following the stratification game like New Orleans post-Katrina.
1:47:12
Congrats, jumpscare successful!
Shoutout to the FD Signifier vid thumbnails you showed. His videos are so good.
TL/DW: Governments of the world need to ban Anime, Manga, and Games imported from Asia outright.
The legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright was a massive weeaboo
Brazil Mentioned!
Your channel is rapidly becoming my favorite one. Every video you post instantly makes my week better as i rewatch them many times!
It took me a few days to watch the entire video, so it shocked me when I saw the end of the video. I was already shocked to discover that Moony is a Reformed Christian (I'm a Presbyterian), and now even more that he made a fundraiser for my state… I know it was actually a big deal, but never expected it to go so far as to become known to such a niche channel I'm subscribed to because of Ace Attorney…
Thank you very much for caring about us Moony, from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul! I don't think I can love this channel more than I do now
Been watching your vids for quite a while now, and every single one of them has been a treat! Love the historical insights, they really give context to things I'd never even imagine were related!
Would love to see a video going more in-depth into the "otaku/gamer to alt right" pipeline, I'm sure your takes would definitely make things a lot clearer!