OSAKA ¨C ¡°Cool Japan Heats Up¡± declares a sign welcoming visitors to an area of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) devoted to the country¡¯s hottest pop culture exports.
Now in its second year, USJ¡¯s ¡°Universal Cool Japan¡± event features special attractions that run until June 26. It promises to deliver ¡°the finest of Japanese entertainment to the world¡± ¡ª assuming everyone who wants to receive it can fly to Osaka.
It¡¯s easy to be cynical about the whole concept. The entirety of the government¡¯s Cool Japan push thus far has seemed like a billion-yen sinkhole ¡ª especially compared to the more successful soft-power push of South Korea.
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