When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor 75 years ago, museum directors across the nation had a decision to make: Should they continue to exhibit the Japanese Friendship Dolls given to the United States by the children of Japan 14 years earlier? It is thought that only one, Harry Davis of the N.C. State Museum, chose to leave the elegantly dressed, handmade wooden doll at his museum on display.

Japanese authorities now want to tap this soft power for tourism, amid an ambitious drive by the Abe administration to double burgeoning foreign tourist arrivals to 40 million by 2020. [...] The association, working with industry members and local governments, wants to create a whole suite of services and products, from shuttle buses to merchandising, to boost the experience for visitors - and bring in the yen.
 

Now there are serious decisions that need to be made in the coming months and years by Japanese foreign policy makers. Both an independent and new foreign policy for Japan in different parts of the world and a new approach to the alliance system with the U.S. may be necessary. Globetrotting may make Japan more visible up to a certain point. 

Yet the presence of costumed adults lining up for London’s own Comic-Con, a Swarovski-encrusted Hello Kittyworth thousands of pounds, and the profiling of Lolita fashion in magazine articles and V&A exhibits, show that cute culture is not just spreading beyond Asia, but it’s here to stay. And it means business. So, what is kawaii and why here and why now? 

In the last few weeks the Catalan Government has carried out some activities to boost and expand its economic relationships with Japan and Central America. [...] In its third edition, this strategy includes business promotion, investment attraction, tourism cooperation, student mobility and cultural and gastronomic exchanges.

Mexico has signed free-trade agreements with more than 40 countries around the world including Japan and the US, and is increasingly gaining attention as an attractive manufacturing and export hub. Economic cooperation between Japan and Mexico is expected to expand further.

The networks that primarily seek to establish, protect and expand US primacy in Asia are driven by corporate and financial special interests including banks, the energy industry, defence contractors, agricultural and pharmaceutical giants, the US entertainment industry and media as well as tech giants.