Globalization is usually thought of as the worldwide spread of Western--particularly American--popular culture. Yet if one nation stands out in the dissemination of pop culture in East and Southeast Asia, it is Japan. Pokemon, anime, pop music, television dramas such as Tokyo Love Story and Long Vacation--the export of Japanese media and culture is big business. In Recentering Globalization Koichi Iwabuchi explores how Japanese popular culture circulates in Asia. He situates the rise of Japan's cultural power in light of decentering globalization processes and demonstrates how Japan's extensive cultural interactions with the other parts of Asia complicate its sense of being "in but above" or "similar but superior to" the region. Iwabuchi has conducted extensive interviews with producers, promoters, and consumers of popular culture in Japan and East Asia. Drawing upon this research, he analyzes Japan's "localizing" strategy of repackaging Western pop culture for Asian consumption and the ways Japanese popular culture arouses regional cultural resonances.He considers how transnational cultural flows are experienced differently in various geographic areas by looking at bilateral cultural flows in East Asia.
He shows how Japanese popular music and television dramas are promoted and understood in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and how "Asian" (especially Hong Kong's) popular culture is received in Japan. Rich in empirical detail and theoretical insight, Recentering Globalization is a significant contribution to thinking about cultural globalization and transnationalism, particularly in the context of East Asian cultural studies.
Industry Reviews
"[Iwabuchi's] detailed discussion, articulated in terms of the latest cultural and globalization theories, is very illuminating. Offering, as it does, a challenge to the notion that 'global' really means 'the West', this book is highly recommended as course reading for both Japanese and Media Studies."--Mark McLelland , M/C Reviews "[A]n engaging and timely book. Its focus on Japan and Asia in the context of debates about Western-centric globalization processes is fresh and welcome... [Iwabuchi] has written a fascinating, well-researched, and original book."--Matthew Allen, Journal of Asian Studies "Recentering Globalization offers a rich and complex understanding of cultural flows between Japan and other parts of Asia-primarily Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore-and provides a valuable perspective on studies of globalization that have been centered around Europe and the U.S... It ... will appeal to a broad range of readers in business administration and cultural studies."--Joshua Hotaka Roth, Journal of Asian Business "Iwabuchi offers a powerful critique to the 'cultural imperialism' thesis by allowing for the importance of audience reception... [T]his is a refreshing and original book by a Japanese intellectual. More the hope that it will speedily enter into a popular press Japanese translation."--Geoffrey C. Gunn, Journal of Contemporary Asia F[F]ascinating... [T]he book is well worth a read."--Brian Moeran, Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies Abstract in Business Horizons. Also reviewed in Asahi Shimbun/International Herald Tribune, CHE and boundary 2. Featured in Asia-Pacific Perspectives
