Soft Power and National Identity: The Making of
‘Cool Japan’

Japan is a country that needs no introduction. It is one of the countries with perhaps the strongest national “visual identity” associated with it. Its connotations are being the cool land in the East, rich in culture, pop culture, technological advances, and beautiful nature. Yet, the image of “cool Japan” is not accidental at all, but the result of a carefully designed national strategy to change the global perception of Japan. Post World War II, Japan transformed from a militaristic powerhouse into an international influence with a strong national identity. In this essay, I will discuss post-war Japan, its reasons for a national rebrand, and its carefully constructed plan to make Japan what we associate it with today.

Historical Context

To understand Japan’s need to rebrand, we need to understand the context that was the atrocities Japan committed during World War II. On August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped the bomb over the city of Nagasaki, killing over 40,000 people.¹ After the hit on Hiroshima and now Nagasaki, Japan surrendered only days later on the 14th, ending World War II. After the war, Japan was left in a difficult period. Not only were they left in the humility of defeat, but the heinous acts committed during the war caught up to fully change the international worldview of Japan. Japan was responsible for the Nanjing Massacre in China, also known as the Rape of Nanjing, resulting in an estimated death toll of around 300,000 Chinese civilians.² Furthermore, Japan attempted an undertaking in Korea where around 200,000 women (Korean, Chinese, and Filipino women alike) were subjected to forced prostitution by the Japanese Army under the title of “comfort women.” Japan also had multiple violations of mistreatment of their prisoners during the war, resulting in a higher number of deaths among prisoners than both Germany and Italy during World War II.³

As a result, Japan was left isolated from its neighbours, and due to the country’s decreasing standard of living, Japan needed to take action to catch up to the West’s increasing standards. Japan’s use of military strength had not earned them respect; in fact, them achieved the opposite. Joseph Nye stated, “Traditionally, the test of a great power was its strength in war. Today, however, the definition of power is losing its emphasis on military force.” Taking this into consideration, Japan formed a new strategy to regain influence and power.

Japan’s new economic and cultural strategy shifted its focus away from military power and instead aimed to become a soft power state. The term “soft power” was coined by Joseph Nye, referring to a country that gains influence through attraction rather than coercion. “[…] It arises from the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideas, and policies. When our policies are seen as legitimate in the eyes of others, our soft diplomacy is enhanced”.⁴ His theory was that an attractive culture and ideology would make other countries more susceptible to following the lead of said country. In the post-war era, Japan’s circumstances created ideal conditions for a soft power approach to succeed, one of which was the rise of Kawaii culture.

Kawaii Culture

Before we examine the steps Japan took to globally restore its image, it is important to understand how the Japanese people coped with the aftermath of the war. In the aftermath of WWII, Japanese youth embraced maru-moji; a style of handwriting and doodling focused on soft, rounded characters and cartoon-like drawings. The style differed from the traditional way of writing Japanese. The writing style was even banned in schools.⁵ People were seen embracing a new subculture, something away from the traditional Japanese culture ruled by uniformity and patriarchal values. The need for “cute” things in response to the brutalities of the war was met by brands that used maru-moji as inspiration to create cute characters and mascots. In the 1970s, we saw the beginning of Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters, Monchichi, and the beginning of the anime industry. When disposable income increased post-war, the subculture was embraced even more and started its up-and-coming global status. What started as a response to the country's politics by the younger generations would gradually evolve into what would become the backbone of Japan’s national identity, cultural exports, and the start of its soft power image.

But what is kawaii? Kawaii is an inherently Japanese concept that can’t be directly translated into English to capture the true essence of the word. It’s not just an aesthetic term for cuteness, but rather something that is “infantile and delicate at the same time as being pretty.”⁶ Hello Kitty, for example, is a small, soft character with big eyes, no mouth, and a vibrant colour palette. It celebrates a childlike innocence; weak, inexperienced, and sweet. This kawaii branding has become a national identity for Japan. The Japanese embraced the childish appeal of kawaii culture, and with its huge popularity, kawaii culture quickly managed to infiltrate politics as well.

One example of Japan’s commitment to a soft power rebrand is their military mascot, Prince Pickles. The mascot was introduced in the early 1990s and is a small humanoid pickle with big eyes and a friendly smile. He appeared in a three-part comic book aimed at young people. Here, “Prince Pickles overcomes his naïve belief that a land at peace needs no army. He enlists in his own country’s forces to defend against the predations of the neighbouring Evil Empire.”⁷ This naïve and innocent mascot for the Japanese military is ironic considering how Japan is one of the leading military states in the world, ranking number 8 globally according to the 2025 GFP review.⁸ According to Shotaro Yanagi, a Defence Agency official, “Prince Pickles is our image character because he’s very endearing, which is what Japan’s military stands for.”⁹ Bringing a cute mascot to be the face of a brutal industry like the military helps Japan deflect its previous brutalities by saying “No, we are inexperienced and innocent!” when we have seen this to be wildly inaccurate throughout history.

Japan has on multiple occasions been accused of trying to erase parts of its history that don’t align with the image they want to convey. For example, the term “Yasukuni view of history” specifically brings up this ongoing issue: it refers to the Japanese Yūshūkan military museum. A museum that omits to mention any information about war crimes or human rights violations committed by the Japanese military.¹⁰

This friendly image Japan has created for itself has helped improve relations with its neighbouring countries, which previously wanted nothing to do with Japan. For example, Hello Kitty, the adorable and innocent-looking cat, has become the ambassador for tourism to China, something that has pushed the “harmless Japan” agenda despite the negative connotations China had of Japan from the war. Kawaii culture seemed to be a buffer for Japan to escape negative perceptions and its own history, a form of distraction to keep people from bringing up war atrocities and instead have them talk about the adorable cat mascot that welcomes you at the airport.