Japanese Culture Channel Will be Aired in Indonesia on February 2014

The Japanese government reportedly had funded a special channel about Japanese culture that will be aired in Indonesia on February 2014. With the mission to expand market base for various intellectual products originated from Japan, Indonesia and several other countries will get a special channel that not only airs anime but also drama, music program, and Japanese tourism. To ensure the success, the Japanese government had allocated 15.5 billion Yen (approximately 1.8 trillion Rupiah) to fund the channel. Such huge sum will be used to cover the expense for the subtitling and voice-over, promotion, office administration and production.

Other than Indonesia on February 2014, this channel will also be available in Thailand on January and Cambodia on April 2014. The Japanese government is also considered to air this channel in USA, Europe, and Africa.

On 2002, the Japanese government had announced its policy outline to be “a nation built on intellectual property”. Included in it is on spreading Japanese culture to other countries. However, Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade, and Industry stated that the support is temporary, due to “no specific lead on 11 administrations”.

The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, had announced on June 2014 that Japan will create a program titled “Cool Japan”. This Japanese culture channel is the continuation of Cool Japan program developed by Japanese government and companies to promote Japan’s modern culture, including manga and anime, overseas. This program concentrates on the understanding that Japan’s power in business and international culture lies in anime, manga, movie, fashion, and other fields relating to art and entertainment.

A Japanese newspaper, Sankei Shimbun, reported that the government launched this channel as the form of ‘soft power’ to fight the negative campaign by China and South Korea, especially in the light of continuing territorial dispute between these countries (Japan disputes Senkaku islands with China, and Takeshima Islands (Dokdo Islands/Liancourt Rocks) with South Korea).

[Source: Anime News Network, Kaskus, Jurnal Otaku, Indonesian Otaku]