Japan’s government is paying to have Japanese-language nonfiction books translated into English, with the first works to be produced under the program arriving in American libraries this month. The move is one of several nontraditional public-relations steps by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, which is trying to enhance Japan’s profile among U.S. opinion leaders and the general public as it engages in a public relations battle with China and South Korea.

Many of the funds will be used for soft-power initiatives to cultivate “pro-Japan” foreigners, such as supporting Japan studies at universities and setting up “Japan House” centers to promote the “Japan Brand.”

Brand USA, the public-private partnership charged with promoting international tourism to the United States, today announced it has selected Ogilvy Public Relations as its global media relations agency of record following a competitive RFP process.

Turkey launched a new European Union communications strategy on Oct. 16 to repair its broken perception in the eyes of European citizens, prioritizing as targets countries that support Turkey’s accession process the least.

For the leaders of the Brics countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, andSouth Africa), the announcement in July of their agreement to establish a "New Development Bank" (NDB) and a "Contingent Reserve Arrangement" (CRA) was a public-relations coup.