Fashion, Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy

In 2010, the Japanese government established ‘The Office of Cool Japan’ to boost its cultural and economic influence by promoting Japanese culture abroad. But can fashion in one country really shape public opinion in another? How far can cultural commodities act as vehicles of soft power, and to what extent can that soft power influence international policy? In this title, Dr Tets Kimura positions fashion alongside other influential Japanese cultural exports, including manga, anime, videogames, pop music and film. Through interviews with everyone from the Japanese Prime Minister’s adviser, diplomats and public servants to key industry stakeholders, including a designer, model and retailer, he investigates how Japanese fashion has advanced Japan’s national interests in Australia, a key strategic partner. Taking this Asia-Pacific relationship as a case study, Kimura combines methods from the humanities with theories from the social and political sciences to propose a new model for measuring the impact and efficacy of soft power. Drawing on examples ranging from Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons and Uniqlo to policy disputes over whaling in the Southern Ocean and the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, this innovative study examines the possibilities and limitations of fashion as a soft-power tool and illuminates significant new directions for policymakers and researchers.