ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to synthesize the Japanese as well as English language literature regarding the links between pop culture contents and tourism, and thereby provide a more nuanced understanding of media-induced tourism in the twenty-first century, which the nations of East Asia will play a huge role in shaping. The chapter examines the growing influence of popular culture on tourism in Japan, particularly in relation to film as an exemplar of today's popular cultural expression. The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced an Asian focused policy initiative in the White Paper Australia in the Asian Century, further acknowledging Australia's place and role in the Asia-Pacific region, now and into the future. The notion of contents tourism is particularly Japanese, with broader research into this phenomenon to date facing a language/interpretation barrier, with key concepts or research findings struggling to make their way from Japanese into English or other languages, despite over a decade of research into the phenomenon in Japan.
