ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes Cool Japan as a form of reterritorialization that first seeks to revive nationalist sentiment through the framing of commodities, ideas and services as inherently traditional, cultural and indeed local—and hopefully desirable for foreign audiences—even while these very texts defy “made-in Japan” labels. It focuses on the already transnational production of contemporary Japanese media and the intimate role that Americans, play in the creation of these items—as programmers, producers, community managers, translators and teachers. The chapter explores that nation branding is symptomatic of inverted globalization, a play on narratives of acceptance and openness coupled to a concentrated move to close down dialogue, interaction and connectedness—a key component of the “friction” Anna Tsing identified as inherent to processes of globalization. The symbolic significance of the nation is often believed to have less relevance to everyday life for many; yet this is precisely productive of the kinds of anxieties and opportunities that branding is strategically designed to mitigate and manage.
