Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi states that Japan's politics are strengthened by Anime: "I feel that the strength of Japan’s anime content enhances our diplomatic power. The market has significant room to expand overseas."

Commentaires

Honest-Antelope-22342026-01-03 11:58

The straw hats wouldn't rock with takaichi

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:12

The reality is that Japanese people support her heavily.

I go to Japan quite a lot and I do feel a shift of mood but regardless, every visit, I make at least five friends there so whatever news or reel you see in the internet how racist Japanese people are, just remember that the few will always be the loudest.

It’s best to visit the country you’re criticizing before forming a solid opinion about it. There’s a huge manufactured trend to hate on Japan right now ever since they announced to defend Taiwan, do your research ;)

I won’t name certain subreddits but there’s a lot of new ones popping out from users that needs to use vpn in order to access Reddit.

And PS, most countries are trending against immigrations as of late, not just Japan.

FortunatelyAsleep2026-01-03 12:29

Nothing of what you said contradicts the statement that the strawhats would oppose her.

PlantainRepulsive4772026-01-03 14:01

Oppose her how? Most of them, including Luffy, would not care. They're criminals. Robin asked Luffy if he wanted to know what was going on in the world and he said "nah".

LasyKuuga2026-01-03 12:35

I feel like I’d agree with you more if it weren’t for the fact that 90% of your comments on Reddit is just shitting on China/ Chinese ppl even those living abroad

[deleted]2026-01-03 12:39

I don’t like their government, I like Chinese people despite their odd habits. I lived there for a few months and plan to stay there for another half a year this year. But we live in an app where we’re allowed to talk bad about things.

I’m allowed to say I loath Trump and MAGA. Equally I’m allowed to say I hate CCP and the way their citizens spit in front of you. But despite it all, I’ve met good people.

Life isn’t full of sunshine and sugarcoats, we’re in Reddit and from an American company where we’re allowed to say what’s on our mind.

Am I only supposed to praise people?

LasyKuuga2026-01-03 12:43

[you lost your shit and went on some pseudo racist rant because some Chinese American put America under maybe countries they want to live in](https://www.reddit.com/r/whereidlive/s/PbgAwDjGlD)

Edit: lol dude deleted his account

Bhavacakra_122026-01-03 12:36

>The reality is that Japanese people support her heavily.

Then the straw hats wouldn't rock with the japanese people lol

Their prime minister is an idiot.

mrnicegy262026-01-03 12:38

I agree with you but the straw hats politics aren't the most consistent in the world to be fair. They obviously hate authoritarian World Government and brutal dictatorships in Dressrosa and Wano but they seem to mostly align with benevolent monarchs in Alabasta or Wano.

Luffy in particular doesn't have much of a political ideology beyond food, nakama and pirate king.

gnome-cop2026-01-03 14:19

I think they follow a bit of a Robin Hood style approach to judging governments. Be nice to your people and they’ll be cool with you. But the second you mess with someone they’ve declared a friend or ally, you best believe there’ll be a rubber fist flying straight at your face and that your kingdom will be going up in flames.

Shiro_no_Orpheus2026-01-03 15:13

I feel like people try too much to put certain labels on One Piece characters, like terrorist, monarchist or whatever, and thereby miss the entire point. The straw hats are no political activist group that fight for ideological reasons against hierarchical structures, they are simple fellows who mostly follow ethical considerations, and these considerations often lead them to clash with monarchs, the world government, slavers and so on.

Oda made it pretty clear thoughout much of the series that it's not supposed to be some kind of anti-monarchist message, but instead, One Piece is about freedom and leadership who ensures freedom for their people. Luffy and his crew fight those who take away others freedom, and especially given more recent plot developments, it is pretty clear how important the concept of freedom is to One Piece.

guesswhomste2026-01-03 15:16

Well it’s definitely not anti-monarchist anyway, like 90% of the time the Straw Hats are trying to help out kings who lost their throne

sylinmino2026-01-03 23:54

I've spent the last year reading and catching up to One Piece (now 101 volumes in. Damn.), and my hottest take is that a ton of the fandom fundamentally misses its nuance.

A lot of the fandom seem to use it as a banner to embrace any anti-establishment/anti-imperialist/anti-big government cause (and painting their real life enemies as pure black-and-white evil), but One Piece's conflicts wildly depend on the context!

There's a general pro-revolution, pro-freedom message (and a lot of arcs dealing with that), but there are also cautionary tales and arcs about revolutions co-opted with bad-faithed actors (e.g. Alabasta). And arcs about rebels under the banner of legit grievances but indoctrinated under extremist zealotry who must be stopped too (e.g. Fishman Island Arc).

And while the World Government is clearly a nefarious org in general, the manga also puts a lot of effort in shining lights on people within it who genuinely believe in the work they're doing (and in their silo'd environments, they oftentimes *are* putting in good work).

The story has actually impressed me far more than I thought it would in terms of displaying this.

futanari_kaisa2026-01-03 13:18

This tracks because Oda is a socialist and Japan's prime minister is a right wing fascist.

ExcitableSarcasm2026-01-03 14:35

Yeah this just makes me feel gross for watching anime. Takaichi is a IJA apologist who's part of a cult whose explicit aims are to revive Shinto led theocracy and roll back protections for women along side all the 'we did nothing wrong in WW2 and if we did it was glorious' celebrating.

cornonthekopp2026-01-03 20:48

Thats a very mild way of putting it

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 11:59

[deleted]

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:06

Entertainment media will always be intertwined since it’s considered soft power…

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 12:10

[deleted]

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:16

A nation has the right to be proud of their soft power, we’re lucky Japan is a democratic country which means they don’t project their soft power in a menacing way.

I’m curious though, why are you scared about this news? Do you really think they’re gonna make animes against immigrations?

You ought to visit Japan and see it for yourself rather than seeing all the manufactured trend to hate on it right now. I implore you, as someone who travels frequently.

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 12:20

[deleted]

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:23

You’re worrying too much for no reason. Can you give me an example?

If what you say is true, then there should have been plenty of animes attacking China due to their regional tensions for decades now when in fact there’s been so many animes depicting its culture in a good way like Aphotecary Diaries.

Japanese people tend to be content at where they’re at. You probably think it’s Japan that’s causing all the issues lol?

It’s okay to proclaim to the defense of Taiwan. It’s a great country with good people.

I like Japan, I like visiting it. I like their media contents. Let them cook.

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 12:25

[deleted]

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:27

So you’re blaming Japan for a Chinese developers decision to scrap it? Tf?

You should be mad at Mihoyo for scraping it, why are you mad at Japan?

Are you okay dude?

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 12:30

Did you read the last part I typed? I'm not blaming Japan. Just politics. Politics isn't just in Japan, you know.

Ponczo1232026-01-03 12:07

The makers of media are also no politician so they shouldn't act like one. They literally have a guy in Hollywood that said the actors are bunch of clowns designed to entertain people who don't know Jack shit about real world and real life problem and they should shut up pick award and leave

lunadiparmigiano2026-01-03 12:09

Anime has played a huge role in washing away every possible negative idea people could have of Japan, after what the country did in the 20th century. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is a bad thing that Japan is now considered a country that produces cartoons instead of a war crime hub, it's more the fault of countries like Germany that have poor soft-power and are still considered evil after decades.

thefumingo2026-01-03 12:11

And especially given the current state of Japan, the usefulness has only increased...

Skwalou2026-01-03 12:15

Current Germany is still considered evil? That's news to me.

lunadiparmigiano2026-01-03 12:37

People still very tightly associate Germany with the Nazi era. I don't think people consider Germany evil, but it's one of the first thing people have in their mind when thinking about Germany.

Compare it to Japan: the vast majority of people at best knows about Pearl Harbor, very few of the rape of Nanking, but when thinking about Japan they have nicer impressions in their minds.

Skwalou2026-01-03 12:43

I see what you mean but I think it is actually showing a very strong western bias. Japan's war crimes and imperialism are still very much present in the minds of Koreans and Chinese while nazis are on the other hand much less well-known in Asia.

Turbulent-Tea-21722026-01-03 12:18

Wild idea: maybe Germany isn’t “still evil”, it’s just the one that didn’t try to rebrand accountability as a PR problem.

Anime is entertainment, not an eraser. Also, if we’re using present-day relationships as a scoreboard: Germany is embedded in a regional alliance with its neighbors;

Japan’s security architecture is basically “the U.S. putting tariffs and the Plaza accord on them” That difference isn’t about “soft power.” It’s about history, geography, and who trusts whom.

lunadiparmigiano2026-01-03 12:31

I didn't want to claim that Germany is "still evil" while Japan is not. I was talking about the general sentiment of the common people, which does not align to how the country is actually perceived in a diplomatic context.

It's not about what chapters of history are being taught in school, because I'm pretty sure every book mentions the wrongdoings of both countries. Difference is that in pop culture, it is very common to hear Nazi jokes when talking about Germany, extremely uncommon or just unheard of to hear jokes about Japanese war crimes.

feb9142026-01-03 12:11

Not directly but it offers soft power. Entertainment been proven to be good way to promote food, art, culture, and even language to other countries. This promotes exports, tourism, and positive views of the country, which is good for international relationship (ie international politics).

There's a reason that Korean president shows up to variety cooking show on Netflix and talk about promoting more Korean foods.

Paralogismo2026-01-03 12:12

Japan has been funding anime culture with government money for decades now, if anything it would be very strange if such a monstrously big industry were entirely unsupervised.

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 12:14

[deleted]

Duyke2026-01-03 12:26

I swear to God you have the understanding of a toddler if you think anime is not political

_DestroyerX2026-01-03 12:28

I never said it was not political. One Piece is literally about that. I'm just worried it will be disrupted by real world politics, like many other media out there. As long as politicians, not just Japan's, keep a safe distance, it'll be fine.

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:31

That dude is blaming Japan because Mihoyo (Chinese developer) decided to scrap Japanese area because of the tension.

Like what? Shouldn’t he be blaming the devs for being snowflakes? Lmao

Paralogismo2026-01-03 12:28

I'm pretty sure it has been already, remember Grave of the Fireflies? However I get the feeling that you are worried about more overt ways to use anime as a weapon in politics, like inserting propaganda into a story or using characters as government mouthpieces; if so then I don't think there's much to worry about.

The true political value of anime is to make everyone in the world care about Japan and what happens there, I for one would not care about the politics of say, Thailand, yet here we are talking about the policy of a country on the other side of the world purely because we care about its media.

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 12:26

There’s no support like that, lol.
People are just making what they love, even while being broke, because they want to create it that badly.
If there were real support, animators would actually be making money, and anime studios wouldn’t be going bankrupt over and over again.

Gregariouswaty2026-01-03 12:16

The US President used to be a reality show star and the President of Ukraine used to be a comedian who played the piano with his weiner.

Noobunaga862026-01-03 12:34

Well, that's one of the purpose of entertainment. Was it Stalin who said that cinema is the greatest propaganda machine ever created? I think since at least the end of 19th century when entertainment became more mass consumed it became politicized.

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:00

Japan’s soft power is honestly OP.

I’d say it’s top 5 with SK’s kpop, America’s Disney, France’s LV, etc

Just uhh.. we’re lowkey tired of Isekai, yeah? ☺️

Mediocre-Leather-5882026-01-03 12:07

Anime is more than just Isekai

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:08

It’s the current trend but I remain hopeful for genre trends in the future.

Imperiax731st2026-01-03 12:10

Truck Kun is getting tired.

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:29

I got confused for a second, I’m guessing you mean truck kun 🫣

Imperiax731st2026-01-03 12:41

Hahaha omg truck kun. 😬

AtFirst_IDidLoveYouu2026-01-03 12:29

Real talk tho, why truck? There's much more transportation but it's always a truck for some reason.

[deleted]2026-01-03 12:33

Let truck kun cook 😤

coffemixokay2026-01-03 12:36

Because mushoku tensei.

alexismarg2026-01-03 13:37

More guaranteed kill rate? You could survive a car crash but I suppose trucks are hefty. And most people aren't getting hit by trains or falling out of planes.

AtFirst_IDidLoveYouu2026-01-03 13:43

I guess so, it's fair but there's also more way to die than traffic accident

LasyKuuga2026-01-03 12:15

Isekai itself isnt a problem it’s just that’s there’s too much isekai slop.

For example Digimon and Inyusha are both Isekais before isekai was a thing but they’re still great

garfe2026-01-03 13:17

To be specific it's Narou adaptations of isekai that's the issue

TtotheC812026-01-03 12:27

The popularity of Isekai is probably (almost certainly) a reaction to Japan's buggered work-life balance. I mean, I can't blame them for wanting to escape the grind and have actual agency in their lives.

silvertwo7772026-01-03 13:32

Sure but atleast make it a different kind of world or dare I say unique world for escapism instead of the same boring western fantasy Dragon Quest-ish world.

regithegamer2026-01-03 12:11

The isekai will continue until morale improves. Spoiler: morale will not improve.

ILoseNothingButTime2026-01-03 12:12

The number one soft power master is America. Everything since the 70s haf been a part of everyone's culture. Shoes, pants, levis, hollywood, animated films, disney, foods, etc. you name it.
Japan and south korea comes 2nd or third with the rise of kpop and anime industry. Then you have china infiltrating the gaming industry with their giant tancent, buying up since they cant compete in softpower like japan and korea so they used gacha and slop games to masquarade their anime like styles.

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:30

They do a great job with their character design, I will forever love Ayaka & Hu Tao’s design.

Let’s give credit where it’s due.

-_Seth_-2026-01-03 12:36

That's actually one of the parts I really dislike about Chinese media. So many characters look grossly overdesigned. I look through Hoyo characters and don't like any of their designs overall.

Future_Onion90222026-01-03 12:58

I love Arknight and Sword of Convallaria character designs because they are rather simple but hit all the spot about looking attractive.

Hoyoverse looks like they are overcompensating by throwing ten thousand stuff on the character and asymmetrical design.

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 12:35

Do you seriously not know Nintendo or Pokémon?
Pokémon is the number one franchise in the world.

Sure, the U.S. is massive, but when it comes to soft power, Japan is number one outside of America.
You might not like it, but that’s the reality.

feb9142026-01-03 12:42

As someone who grew up in SE Asia and been watching anime and reading manga my whole life, I can say that though some anime has global reach, the number is dwarved with how many Hollywood movies and series that influence people's preference. American culture is just so "default" that people don't even think about "Americanization" anymore.

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 12:48

I’m not saying Japan surpasses the United States.
I’m saying that outside of the U.S., Japan is a massive presence.

Sure, Nintendo isn’t especially well known in parts of Southeast Asia, but in the West it’s huge.
The same goes for anime and Pokémon.
Demon Slayer’s box-office revenue surpassed Superman’s, and it is basically the highest-grossing film ever for a non-English-language movie.
Note: this refers to revenue within the U.S.

Future_Onion90222026-01-03 12:56

Yeah China is in high copium about how their ACG softpower was entirely themselves after recently banning japanese stuff

ifnot_thenwhy2026-01-03 14:13

China is doing good recently with their homegrown games like Black Myth Wukong, Where Winds Meet etc. Not to mention Chinese animations too.

Chinese dramas are popular in some parts of Asia but still have less global popularity than Hollywood movies and K Dramas.

feb9142026-01-03 12:13

It predates kpop influence. Many Japanese food in SE Asia, Europe, and North America (and more) become popular because people see them on anime.

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:18

It speaks how Korea did such a great job with their soft power, you gotta respect them for that.

We all grew up on animes though (I’m assuming as we are all in this sub) and it’s one of the reason why I went to Japan and made it a decision to visit it twice a year.

Soft power is OP.

feb9142026-01-03 12:37

Korea consciously use their media to promote Korean culture to international market, while IMO anime is more "we make manga and anime for local market, and they happen to be popular internationally".

This is why Korean shows have English subtitle by default, while anime relies on international distributors (eg Crunchyroll) to translate/dub.

Many anime that's popular internationally don't even make things for international consumption, like annual Detective Conan movies. Or how anime that are blatantly to promote tourism to parts of Japan (eg ZatsuTabi) are aimed for local tourists than international.

Iloveahrisears2026-01-03 13:12

I recommend you check out [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM2VIKfaY0Y) video on the topic of anime soft power.

TLDR is that Japan has several government foundations that invest in anime specifically to project soft power internationally.

lukaintomyeyes2026-01-03 12:17

That's not what soft power is. You're describing cultural exports not soft power.

Dry_Statement_88002026-01-03 12:20

Soft power is a nation's ability to influence other countries through attraction and persuasion, rather than coercion (hard power), by leveraging its culture, political values, and foreign policies to make others want what it wants. It's about shaping preferences through appealing examples, like popular culture (movies, music), democratic ideals, or effective governance, fostering goodwill and making cooperation easier.

//

It made people want to go to Japan and caused it to be one of the most visited countries in the world. The ones who grew up on animes are old enough to have a stable career to visit Japan.

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 12:19

Japan is in second place.
Japan’s IP market ranks second globally, right after the United States. The data clearly shows it earns far more than K-pop.

Pokémon alone is the number one franchise in the world, and anime by itself is a bigger market than the U.S. music industry.
Just games and anime alone generate an enormous amount of revenue.

Anzereke2026-01-03 13:19

IMO, K-Pop's artificiality limits its reach. There's a real uncanny valley type effect for it.

Dexanth2026-01-03 16:56

It's also far less versatile. Like, Anime is a storytelling medium, meaning it can tell /any story it wants/, in tons of styles.

Kpop is a musical style and while there's a lot to explore in music the space is nowhere as broad as something that can contain Gundam, Sailor Moon, Love Live, Frieren, and Grave of the Fireflies.

True_Indigo2026-01-03 20:10

K-Pop is FAR more than a musical style. I would argue the music is not even in the top 3 most valuable aspects of the industry. It is primarily about para-social relationships and selling people the idea of the idols. The music just has to be good enough to carry that.

DueSeaworth2026-01-03 12:44

Theres been a decline of isekai already most of the "isekai" people talk about are just low tier fantasy. The trend right now is 'banished from heroes party' type stories for some reason lmao.

CommentStrict89642026-01-03 12:55

I mean, most isekai has this kind of plot (not all):

A Japanese person is transported into a world resembling medieval Europe (plus possibly fantasy). The Japanese person, utilizing their knowledge, culture, or whatever from Japan, transforms the primitive medieval European society.

See examples:

* Camp fire something.

* Something something bookworm.

* Something pharmacy.

* Make XXXX money.

* Something princess something revolution.

Your typical Japanese savior plot.

Nachttalk2026-01-03 12:07

I'm sure the people who are always angry about "politics being shoved into anime" are going to be very angry at this.

....Right?

.....right guys?

discuss-not-concuss2026-01-03 12:16

that isn’t the same conversation aka false equivalence

Japan’s PM acknowledging that there is soft power *caused by anime* doesn’t equate to fans being unhappy that bad writing occurs *due to shoved-in politics*

horiami2026-01-03 12:56

If she starts demanding anime change then yeah, obviously

kahmos2026-01-03 12:13

Anime is honestly their best cultural export. They have no better ambassador.

biggie_way_smaller2026-01-03 12:26

Cars, machines and electronics

incognito_side2026-01-03 12:32

> their best **cultural** export

did you miss that part?

biggie_way_smaller2026-01-03 12:39

I said what I said, those exports culturally mark their presence around the world through branding, their toyotas, their casios, it's the japanese brand.

Shadow_Gabriel2026-01-03 13:15

Branding is culture.

Few-Insurance-64702026-01-03 13:19

Oh yeah? Well anime is just TV shows and movies, not "culture"!

Thank you for using such good logic so that I could also use your brilliant logic to point out how much of a genius you are.

El_grandepadre2026-01-03 13:38

I think it's their most popular cultural export, their best has been in the food department.

NathLWX2026-01-03 12:32

Dumb question but what does that have to do with culture?

dumpling-loverr2026-01-03 15:42

JDM is ingrained in car culture worldwide for car enthusiasts. Initial D is the perfect example of mixing both worlds.

For machines and electronics just look at how it formed the cyberpunk genre in video game / anime and how most stories of it in the 1980s and even today are so Japanese coded because it was meant to reflect Japan's golden era.

xXKingLynxXx2026-01-03 12:47

Yet when you mention Japan the first thought in someone's mind isnt the Honda odyssey or a Sony TV.

biggie_way_smaller2026-01-03 12:51

Yes they do? You really thought the majority of people around the world knows the japanese primarily by anime?

not everyone watches anime or knows it's from japan, but it's rare to have someone not know any vehicle brands that comes from japan

Pcifa2026-01-03 13:23

It’s not like he’s completely wrong.

Japan is known for having a huge car scene tho, legendary cars like the Supra, Skyline, NSX, Evo. I’m pretty sure there’s car people who immediately think of that when they think Japan

Kadmos12026-01-03 12:51

Godzilla is triggered here.

Barangat2026-01-03 13:16

If you compare Godzilla to franchises like Mario or Pokemon, he doesn’t look like Nr. 1.. He is influential and well known, but doesn’t rake in money like the strong anime franchises, a) because there are so many of them, compared to Godzilla movies and shows, b) through these numbers they can draw in way more and diverse audiences than Godzilla can

mrnicegy262026-01-03 12:30

There is also videogames. So many famous video game companies like Nintendo, Sony, Capcom, Square Enix, SEGA, Konami, Bandai Namco which have iconic franchises under them.

Ok-Suit-88652026-01-03 13:49

You forgot Fromsoftware, a company who’s last 2 games won GOTY and they literally invented a whole genre of game.

Kurokaffe2026-01-03 13:59

Growing up with JRPGs and Pokémon probably brainwashed me into learning the language and living here for several years.

It was never a direct reason for me learning, but it made it feel more familiar in a sense after starting . This will sound pretty crazy to most, but I do think even playing English translations at such a young age carried and imprinted some cultural values or undertones in a very discreet way. Like how characters talk to and interact with each other.

This is SNES+ era so there wasn’t voice acting yet too. Nowadays RPGs are kinda like playing an anime and delivery is over the top, but with text you’re just reading it in your normal mental voice like you would a novel.

Dense_Cellist99592026-01-03 14:42

I learned katakana from an early JP copy of Pokémon Diamond. Took me much longer for hiragana for some reason.

Fun fact: I mentioned 'early' because it was one of those that had the Surf glitch for getting two mythicals without their event items.

Accentu2026-01-03 15:17

Katakana is the bane of many learners, that's for sure. Lots of ambiguity, and much less often used. Most of the time I still pick up シ vs. ツ by context of the characters around it than it on its own.

CobraFive2026-01-03 17:35

**Tsu**nami rains down

Loverboy_912026-01-03 18:22

Welp, this was tremendously helpful. Never heard that one before . Thanks friend! I’ll be remembering this one for life.

MoarVespenegas2026-01-03 18:53

I remember shi as up and tsu as down because that's the pitch they have relative to each other.

PsychicWarElephant2026-01-03 16:01

I found out what the donuts really were cause that never made sense to me lol

Sugar4urProlapse2026-01-03 16:54

Yeah, but I'd love to try some Triangular Jam Doughnuts.

They looked nice.

Virtual_Sundae49172026-01-03 14:08

Thing is video games are doing quite good just by themselves the anime industry is quite the opposite they would really benefit from heavy government incentives just look at the profit margins anime companies have vs video games that translates to the horrible conditions workers face as well

cppn022026-01-03 14:12

> There is also videogames.

But Japanese influence in gaming feels nowhere close to what it was at its peak while anime is still booming.

Falsus2026-01-03 14:50

Things like E33 gets called JRPG despite not even being made in Japan, so they do make their presence known.

Dark Souls and Zelda are two massively influential game titles also. While niche, Metroid and Castlevania also created the Metroidvania sub genre.

Andreiyutzzzz2026-01-03 14:59

I feel like no one sees Dark Souls and thinks of Japan tho

BlackfyreBishop2026-01-03 16:04

And that only proves their range. I can't think of a single type of game where at one point a JP dev didn't rule for a time(FPS...but you know....) Hell, they are now the whole console market, as the Gabe Cube is delayed.

cppn022026-01-03 16:12

> I can't think of a single type of game where at one point a JP dev didn't rule for a time(FPS...but you know....)

RTS

aohige_rd2026-01-03 17:03

Which is kinda funny considering the earliest real "RTS" was probably Herzog zwei on the Mega drive lol

It just didn't manage to catch on in Japan, despite arguably being a major root of the genre

neobowman2026-01-03 17:29

Yeah, RTS is very much a PC-focused genre and Japan's historically not been a big PC gaming country.

strange_wilds2026-01-03 14:22

Cars as well. Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura are one the best selling, most reliable cars in the states. That’s some powerful brand recognition there.

I personally would never own a car that isn’t a Honda, all my life my parents have had Hondas and I grew up in them.

PhenomsServant2026-01-03 21:32

I was planning to buy a Ford or Chevy as my next car since I moved near Detroit a few years ago, and I wanted to support the local economy. But when I saw that they completely abandoned cars and only make SUVs and pickups now I said ‘fuck that’, now my plan is to get a Prius.

strange_wilds2026-01-03 21:47

Yeah…the only “coupe” Ford makes anymore is the Mustang. It’s laughable.

I think you dodged a bullet. Some of the mechanic channels on YouTube joke that Ford stands for “Fix Or Repair Daily” sooo, General Motors is not a lot better. Us Americans have trying to kill the car/sedans for decades because of the weird gas laws surrounding light pickups vs sedans.

vtipoman2026-01-03 15:16

Platinum Games my beloved

Anzereke2026-01-03 13:18

Eh, anime is also at distinct odds with a lot of cultural and societal norms.

It gives them a lot of soft power in theory, but in practice it is kind of an issue when most major international anime feature protags who would despise most Japanese governments in the last century. It makes for content that can be hard to channel in the ways they would like to.

See One Piece becoming a symbol of government toppling protests. Something the Japanese government is hardly in favour of.

Virtual_Sundae49172026-01-03 14:01

They hardly care about that though censorship in anime never happens aside from really absurd stuff like the midori one they always have complete freedom of expression japan is not china or even america to be that paranoid

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 17:22

If you put it that way, that applies to most major powers anyway.
American superheroes and Disney are basically the complete opposite of the U.S. government, lol.

atlasraven2026-01-03 13:21

Gastrodiplomacy but with anime and videogames.

Loeffellux2026-01-03 13:40

there is nothing surprising about this, it's literally been their political strategy to gain soft power since the 80s.

[Here's a great video by Moon Channel about this topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM2VIKfaY0Y).

Virtual_Sundae49172026-01-03 14:04

Except back then it was not the japanese idea but rather western channels wanted to bring anime to the west or adapt them for the western audience just look at power rangers japan never really invested in and for the western world aside from the recent netflix stuff

AnalogRetentive_MkII2026-01-03 14:15

*laughs in Subaru Impreza WRX*

(i like anime too guys please don’t kill me)

jordan8532026-01-04 06:56

It's always a Subaru with the over the top anime decals. There's an Impreza WRX in my neighborhood with an anime girl on the gas cap that says "fill me up, senpai".

Puzzleheaded_Yam22492026-01-03 15:03

I wish their music wasn't focused that much on the japanese market because they're pretty good at it and I think that's one of the most inovative and creative industry in the world

alotmorealots2026-01-03 15:58

Plus, a good chunk of a lot of it is already in English lol However I think K-pop has probably squeezed out J-pop's chances.

michael__sykes2026-01-03 12:13

See, there's soft power (Anime) and hard power (JAV)

mrnicegy262026-01-03 12:32

Would Hentai be medium power?

FriedRiceistheBest2026-01-03 12:40

WMDs

DegreePitiful34962026-01-03 13:13

Weapons of mass discharge

Salty1452026-01-03 13:05

That’s a different kind of hard power

furculture2026-01-03 12:36

The hardest power that even they can't overcome (uncensored)

AustronesianArchfien2026-01-03 12:38

[deleted]

Sugar4urProlapse2026-01-03 16:57

Oh damn, is that the code for uncensored stuff.

I see it all the time but never made the connection.

baquea2026-01-03 20:30

FC2 is the website that sells them (they also do a lot more than just porn but nevertheless). PPV = Pay Per Video.

[deleted]2026-01-03 12:43

Young apprentice, you have a lot to learn ;)

furculture2026-01-03 12:46

No, I know the ways. I would rather see them just accept that uncensored is the way to go straight to release.

Jet_Night2026-01-03 14:14

JAV? Japanese Animal Videos?

Skeletal_Crow2026-01-03 15:52

Is this an Amagi Brilliant Park reference?

kkawabat2026-01-03 16:03

*pat pat* you got it!

AquafyMyLife2026-01-03 16:40

Japanese Avation ofc

Sugar4urProlapse2026-01-03 16:58

Uhhh.... hopefully not.

Vimisshit2026-01-03 12:16

Take me back to the golden age of anime in the 90s and early 2000s back when stuff like Evangelion was pure creative chaos without any government soft power crap meddling in it. Now everything's gotta be sanitized and funded to push "Cool Japan" bullshit, turning art into propaganda to appeal to the western audience, just depressing.

Comprehensive_Dog6512026-01-03 12:23

https://animetudes.com/2021/11/13/the-politics-of-80s-anime-the-198x-controversy/

And there were so many WW2 anime propaganda back in the 40s

Vimisshit2026-01-03 12:26

Thanks I hate it

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 12:31

Don’t worry about it. The U.S. makes propaganda in the same way anyway.
I mean, even the name Captain America itself is basically propaganda, lol.

[https://insidethemagic.net/2017/01/influencing-america-through-animation-wwii-propaganda-cartoons-part-three-walt-disney/?utm\_source=chatgpt.com](https://insidethemagic.net/2017/01/influencing-america-through-animation-wwii-propaganda-cartoons-part-three-walt-disney/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

hizashiYEAHmada2026-01-03 12:16

Surely if they recognize that anime is beneficial to their soft power then they would improve the animation industry, starting with giving the animators livable wage and a respectable workload, right? Right??

Noobunaga862026-01-03 12:32

They don't have to recognize that, Japanese government is influencing that soft power. Read about Cool Japan. Similar things are taking place in South Korea with K-dramas and K-pop. It's all with the government funding.

Audrey_spino2026-01-03 12:35

The government doesn't care as long as it produces results for them. K-Pop's popularity hasn't really helped improve that industry's treatment of employees either.

Noobunaga862026-01-03 12:37

I'm not talking about improving treatment of employees. It was designed that way, partialy by the gov.

Audrey_spino2026-01-03 12:44

Oh for sure it was. I agree with you on that.

NathLWX2026-01-03 12:35

What do you expect from a woman who has "work, work, work" motto and only sleep for 2 hours?

Future_Onion90222026-01-03 13:00

Japan workflow be like "You already achieving this good result despite the budget we gave you? Incredible now im going to cut your budget and expect higher returns"

PrawnProwler2026-01-03 13:18

Hell nah, Japanese politics is in a race to see how much it can fuck over its working class.

tesfabpel2026-01-03 13:43

And maybe improve distribution rights licenses across the world..? Some animes are not available on (legal) streaming platforms in some Countries (eg. Italy)...

I don't care about dubbing, at least have subs and dubs in Japanese / English and I'm fairly sure I'm not alone...

WHY is it so, in ~~2025~~ 2026???

levelstar012026-01-03 14:18

Why would they? They already have the soft power without any of that.

Sanseito-sama isn't exactly pro-worker either.

GomenNaWhy2026-01-03 15:19

Right wing governments do not care about the wellbeing of workers, ever.

AkaruiNoHito2026-01-03 12:20

This strategy is called "Cool Japan". The country exports media and maintains influence in other countries

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_Japan

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 12:38

Basically, the money isn’t being invested directly into anime production itself.
It’s not funding for making anime, but rather investment aimed at overseas markets.

That said, every country has systems where entertainment is supported through public funds or tax-based subsidies.
The U.S. has those as well.

andretheclutch2026-01-03 17:53

Every developed country has that, but since Japanese media has became so popular, people from the US are pissing themselves and searching for conspiracies. Meanwhile they have the biggest soft power by far, and since the world revolves around them its only natural.

Ok_Carob_32782026-01-03 18:14

It’s honestly a ridiculous conspiracy theory.
If the Japanese government had strategically planned and exported things like Dragon Ball or Pokémon, that would actually make them incredibly competent, lol.

To be clear, what Cool Japan actually does is overseas investment. For example, they built anime museums abroad, which ended up running at a loss and shutting down.
State-led projects have failed one after another, and they’re heavily criticized even within Japan.

In reality, the government can’t really control or engineer anime or games in the first place, and business ideas dreamed up by bureaucrats are bound to fail.
The fact is that anime and games spread globally in completely separate ways, driven purely by the private sector. And when it comes to anime’s global popularity, foreign fans playing a huge role by sharing it with subtitles and fan translations was a major factor.

True_Indigo2026-01-03 20:00

> In reality, the government can’t really control or engineer anime or games in the first place, and business ideas dreamed up by bureaucrats are bound to fail.

They could, and this is a wild idea, *support their artists through subsidies*. You know, like how every other sane country in the world that sees value in their art does it.

Japan is gonna suffocate its biggest cultural industry if they continue to drive foreign investment without propping up their local industry. Most of anime is already being outsourced to other countries because demand for it is so high but pay is so low (which is what happens when you let capitalistic interests drive a booming industry).

If this continues in this direction, anime will be Japanese in name only, if that, in a decade or two.

MegaTurtleClan2026-01-03 14:41

Cooru nippon

Ruby_Charm_AI2026-01-03 14:52

They're also making the entire globe tremble with OPM S3.

ballonfightaddicted2026-01-03 15:22

Interested to see if “Cool Britannica” will ever come back

We had an era of Anglophilia in the early 2000s and 2010s with Harry Potter movies, Sherlock and the “Keep Calm shirts” (also mentioning the London Olympics)

We now have a Japan and Korea obsession but I wonder if we will ever have another British obsession or maybe even another prevalent culture

Sugar4urProlapse2026-01-03 17:00

James Bond too.

But an important aspect of cultural exports is actually making the bloody movies.

AdUnfair5582026-01-03 12:25

Is anime still popular?

Noobunaga862026-01-03 12:35

Read about Cool Japan project.

OfficialPrower2026-01-03 12:47

They need to do something about the executives in the industry and all the money going to them instead of the actual people working on the projects simply cos they invested and greenlit things

the_card_guy2026-01-03 12:47

Since this is about politics and the current... Trend... In Japan, it needs a translation:

"We want overseas markets to buy our shit and prop up the economy, but DON'T actually come to Japan where we'd have to put up with your foreign ass"

Source: living in Japan, the political parties are pushing the anti-foreigner sentiment HARD- granted, it's more about residency right now. That said, we saw during the pandemic that Japan needs money from foreign countries (this is where using anime comes in) but din"t actually want the people who would give that money.

smeeagain932026-01-03 15:15

I believe the situation will relax instantly as soon as they figured out how to best cover labour shortage across the country with robotics (not foreigners). Which is why it kind of made sense for Softbank to go all in on openai recently.

They either win incredibly big or they've to accept defeat and open the doors for foreigners even further than they currently would have to.

wankthisway2026-01-03 16:28

The world is slowly retreating back into isolationism.

anarion3212026-01-03 12:50

I hope this means they will care a little bit about the trademarks they export overseas.

One Punch Man is one of the biggest internationally speaking and S3 is one of the worst qualities I've ever seen in my life, excluding like 5 minutes of animation in the whole season.

WhyHowForWhat2026-01-03 13:00

If so, can you stfu and dont make any stupid statement that will fuck the main things that you want to export to especially to biggest market near you which is China?

Salty1452026-01-03 13:06

Ladies and Gents, this is called “soft power” and is why you are *not* immune to propaganda.

Big_Economist_1172026-01-03 14:27

Which is also why Japan can get away with their war crimes easily, which is easily some of the worst crimes in human history.

We have anime, why care right? /S

Salty1452026-01-03 15:26

Can’t wait for the *Sailor Moon* collab PV showing why it was totally necessary to mustard gas civilians.

Janus-a2026-01-03 18:34

It’s blatant how anime / manga writers love to point out bad things the Americans did while completely ignoring the things Japan did. I have never seen an anime or manga show shame of anything Japan did in WW2.

I mean it’s fine if you don’t want to bring up what your country did, just don’t pretend all the other countries are bad.

elbenji2026-01-03 19:00

Higurashi?

dagreenman182026-01-03 16:59

“They copied our whole fuckin flow! Word for word! Bar for bar!”

- America

Salty1452026-01-03 17:05

“Rules for thee, not for me”

Overall-Parsley-5232026-01-04 02:36

America has spent the last year systematically destroying its own soft power for no reason so I don’t think it’ll mind

Plastic-Dependent2026-01-03 23:20

Gate anime is the best piece of JSDF propaganda they will ever make

Crazyripps2026-01-03 13:20

And yet majority of anime MC wouldn’t want anything to do with takaichi lol

wbfchicago2026-01-03 13:29

When will Civilization add anime into the game? As a means for achieving cultural victory for example.

Zado1912026-01-03 13:39

Yet they hate those of us who watch it?

There's always so much mixed messaging coming from over there

BosuW2026-01-03 18:03

They're just being Tsundere 😇

^(/s)

TechWormGeezLouise2026-01-03 13:44

Something something \*recommends the video "[Kawaii: Anime, Propaganda, and Soft Power Politics](https://youtu.be/IM2VIKfaY0Y?si=iCFBU1FGudvzFoGH)"\*

_____pantsunami_____2026-01-03 13:53

> In a recent interview, Anno warned that adjusting creative sensibilities to fit foreign markets could dilute the unique identity of the medium and instead asked the audience to adjust to the content

i agree with Anno.

DirCurrFluxCapacitor2026-01-03 14:30

Takaichi-baachan political goals and her actions are in direct contradiction, as usual

kahzel2026-01-03 15:46

she's a populist through and thorough lmao

she will say and do whatever might give her more approval at the moment

ecktt2026-01-03 15:01

Texas : We don't care

Japanese Animators : Please pay us a living wage.

Animation Studios : Let's keep pumping out the same generic characters and stories.

smeeagain932026-01-03 15:07

It is not just soft power like anime, but also hard power. Memes aside, Japan still has a powerful economy and is quietly conducting their development and research.

They are likely the first country to adapt the use of robots in society to cover for labour shortage at scale and are already experimenting with such wherever they can within Japan. Most notably warehouse/manufacturing, nursing homes and autonomous driving (truck drivers).

Some of their hard power also comes passively from the US. If Japan "falls", the US basically loses all their influence in Asia to China.

ILurveHentai2026-01-03 15:26

That would be hilarious if they used anime as a force for politics. Like sanctions including no more anime tiddies for whatever country pisses them off.

Antares_de_la_Luz2026-01-03 20:11

imagine sanctioning a country with giving them only isekai slop

RelativeMundane90452026-01-03 16:00

This must mean you're going to make sure the animators receive a sizable boost to their income and ensure they have a healthy work/life balance now, right?

#RIGHT?!

ElliotAlderson20242026-01-03 18:24

They need to stop working their people to death.

Illustrious_Arm_7322026-01-03 18:55

Of course no doubt about it! Majority of tourism comes from anime I think