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Japan Surveyed on Anime, Manga, Other Cultural Exports
posted on by Egan Loo
Earlier this month, a team of researchers at Tokyo Polytechnic University conducted a survey of Japan's public opinion on "Cool Japan" — the premise that Japan's strength in business and international affairs lies in anime, manga, films, fashion, and other fields of Japanese arts and entertainment content. Only 29.0% of the respondents had heard of the term "Cool Japan," and only 4.6% said that they were familiar with what the term means. (The use of culture for global influence is also called "soft power," as opposed to "hard power" such as military strength.)
When asked about which fields they want to introduce to the world as "Cool Japan," 56.9% said "animation" — the #1 response. At 49.9%, manga was the #2 response.
Question: "What part of Japanese culture do you want to introduce to the world as a part of 'Cool Japan'?"
Teenagers
| 1 | Animation | 60.9% |
| 2 | Manga | 56.7% |
| 3 | Game | 47.5% |
| 4 | Japanese cuisine | 41.8% |
| 5 | Japan-like scenery | 39.5% |
Twenties
| 1 | Manga | 58.4% |
| 2 | Animation | 57.1% |
| 3 | Japanese cuisine | 53.4% |
| 4 | Japan-like scenery | 49.8% |
| 5 | Traditional arts | 42.9% |
Thirties
| 1 | Animation | 56.2% |
| 2 | Japanese cuisine | 48.5% |
| 3 | Manga | 46.5% |
| 4 | Japan-like scenery | 43.5% |
| 5 | Traditional arts | 38.8% |
Forties
| 1 | Animation | 53.5% |
| 2 | Japanese cuisine | 45.4% |
| 3 | Japan-like scenery | 43.8% |
| 4 | Manga | 39.2% |
| 5 | Traditional arts | 33.8% |
47.7% said that they considered the Dragon Ball franchise and Doraemon to be television anime that represents "Cool Japan," followed by the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise at #3 with 47.6%.
Question: "Which television anime do you think of as part of 'Cool Japan'?"
Male Teenagers
| 1 | One Piece | 50.7% |
| 2 | Dragon Ball franchise | 50.0% |
| 3 | Doraemon | 41.2% |
| 4 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | 40.4% |
| 4 | Pokémon franchise | 40.4% |
| 1 | Dragon Ball franchise | 59.6% |
| 2 | Mobile Suit Gundam franchise | 56.4% |
| 3 | Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise | 50.0% |
| 4 | Doraemon | 45.7% |
| 5 | Lupin III franchise | 42.6% |
| 1 | Mobile Suit Gundam franchise | 61.5% |
| 2 | Dragon Ball franchise | 54.8% |
| 3 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | 47.4% |
| 4 | Doraemon | 46.7% |
| 4 | Lupin III franchise | 44.4% |
| 1 | Mobile Suit Gundam franchise | 48.9% |
| 2 | Lupin III franchise | 46.7% |
| 3 | Doraemon | 40.7% |
| 4 | Space Battleship Yamato franchise | 40.0% |
| 5 | Dragon Ball franchise | 36.3% |
Female Teenagers
| 1 | One Piece | 62.4% |
| 2 | Detective Conan (Case Closed) | 47.2% |
| 3 | Pocket Monsters franchise | 45.6% |
| 4 | Dragon Ball franchise | 43.2% |
| 5 | Doraemon | 41.6% |
| 5 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | 41.6% |
| 1 | Doraemon | 62.4% |
| 2 | Dragon Ball franchise | 59.2% |
| 3 | One Piece | 51.2% |
| 4 | Mobile Suit Gundam franchise | 47.2% |
| 5 | Lupin III franchise | 44.8% |
| 1 | Doraemon | 52.8% |
| 2 | Mobile Suit Gundam franchise | 44.8% |
| 3 | Dragon Ball franchise | 43.2% |
| 4 | Lupin III franchise | 36.0% |
| 5 | Galaxy Express 999 | 34.4% |
| 1 | Doraemon | 51.2% |
| 2 | Mobile Suit Gundam franchise | 46.4% |
| 3 | Dragon Ball franchise | 38.4% |
| 4 | Space Battleship Yamato franchise | 36.8% |
| 5 | Mighty Atom (Astro Boy) | 36.0% |
| 5 | Detective Conan (Case Closed) | 36.0% |
For manga, Dragon Ball was the top response (61.5%) among all demographics except for female teenagers. The top response among female teenagers was One Piece (71.2%). All age groups gave Osamu Tezuka (75.6%) as the top response among manga creators. At 60.8%, the Dragon Quest franchise was the top response for games.
As for Japanese films, the top two responses were Studio Ghibli films (76.3%) and Departures (39.6%). The top response for directors was Akira Kurosawa (70.5%), followed by Hayao Miyazaki (60.7%). Ironically, Miyazaki himself has downplayed the use of Japanese entertainment as a "soft power" to promote the country.
62.8% said that they believe that soft power will become the driving force behind Japan's recovery from the current recession. Former prime minister Taro Asō made soft power a key element in his policies, although the Japanese government has been dealing with soft power before and after Asō's time in office.
On Wednesday, the government laid out a proposal to double the revenues that Japan earns overseas from anime, films, and other content fields by 2020. The "Intellectual Property Promotion Plan 2010" is intended to boost the international revenues in these fields to 2.6 trillion yen (about US$28 billion) in a decade. The plan's backers also aim to reduce the damages caused by piracy on Japanese businesses by half.
The Tokyo Polytechnic University team conducted its survey through mobile phones from April 30 to May 7. The team had a sample of 1,000 respondents between 15 and 49 years old, split between males and females. There were 136 male teenagers, 125 female teenagers, 94 males in their 20s, 125 females in their 20s, 135 males in their 30s, 125 females in their 30s, 135 males in their 40s, and 125 females in their 40s.
[Note: More data from the survey will be presented this week and next week.]
Source: Business Media Makoto, Yomiuri Shimbun
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