Smooth sailing for Japanese entertainment abroad in the 2020s, right? Two recent controversies, though, reminded that Japanese performers…and the companies representing them…simply can’t wedge themselves into other spaces and expect to be embraced. It can actually backfire big time when those running the show don’t understand the context of media itself.
I wrote about this for NewsPicks, and below is my English draft of the same story. As is always the case with NewsPicks stories, I put them behind a paywall here because they also happen to be behind one on the main site. But you can read them and more special bonus writing by becoming a paid subscriber to Make Believe Melodies!
