Senior Advisor Benjamin Boas Celebrates Release of From Cool Japan to Your Japan

From Cool Japan to Your Japan

Benjamin Boas’ New Book Explores Japan’s Cultural Assets

日本はクール!?

Benjamin Boas, Parthenon Japan’s Global Communications Advisor and Cool Japan Producer, is a man of many talents. Mahjong, Aikido, communications consulting, localization advisory, and an accomplished translator who has worked on content for Important Cultural Properties and top streaming services.

If you combine Ben’s many interests, you’ll start to see what truly makes him such a powerhouse. He has a multi-dimensional understanding of the many factors at play in Japan’s cultural landscape.

And so in his newest book, 日本はクール?!間違えだらけの日本の魅力発信 (Nihon wa Cool? Machigae darake no Nihon no Miryoku Hasshin), Ben takes on his biggest topic of all: Cool Japan itself!

Using his vast experience monitoring Japan’s cultural assets over the years, Ben asks and attempts to answer questions about the famous soft power initiative’s approach to supplying the world with their fill of Japan.

A Party To Remember

To celebrate the release of Ben’s 3rd book, Parthenon Japan hosted a launch event at Parthenon Japan’s office at Midoriso Nagatacho. With a wide-ranging guest list selected from the Who’s Who of Japan’s creative spheres, the night was spent in good company and animated conversation.

In addition to that, Geoff Wexler of Studio Ghibli, Studio Ponoc, and Kiyuki Inc. also dropped in to discuss Japan’s cultural assets in an open forum. They commented on any number of hot topics, but there was a valuable key takeaway that they hit on. Up until now, Japan has tried to dictate the content which consumers engage with, rather than letting those consumers freely associate with the many cultural treasures of Japan.

The audience latched onto this idea of flipping the script on promotion of Japanese culture. Questions were asked in response to the suggestion that Japan should be a little looser – dare we say cooler – with image management abroad. Some concerns were voiced over the “wrong” narratives potentially gaining traction just as excitement was on display over the prospect of new forms of entertainment succeeding.