In February, American comedian remarked on a Fuji TV talk show that one of the ¡°demerits¡± of being a foreign TV personality in Japan is that he can¡¯t publicly say he thinks those aspects of Japanese culture which Japanese people believe are ¡°uniquely amazing¡± are not, in fact, uniquely amazing. The example he gave was Japan being the only country with four distinct seasons. If he pointed out on a TV show that in the U.S. there are also four distinct seasons, he¡¯s sure the comment would be edited out of the program.

Japanese ¡°uniqueness¡± is often the stuff of jokes among non-Japanese, but it has been commodified by the media. Now, the government is boarding the Nippon Sugoi! (¡°Japan is amazing!¡°) bandwagon, which was launched by TV shows that solicit non-Japanese to point out all the wonderful things about Japan. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has published titled, ¡°Wonder Nippon: Sekai ga Odoroku Nippon!¡± (¡°The Japan That Surprises the World¡°).

Printed in bilingual format, the pamphlet asserts that with the approach of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the world has become interested in what makes Japan special, in particular the ¡°sensitivities¡± and ¡°values¡± that form the ¡°foundation¡± of the ¡°Japanese spirit.¡± So far, so good, but eventually the authors get specific, and matters become increasingly weird. The four seasons cliche is dragged out, and there is a series of gorgeous photographs of natural phenomena, like ice floes and coral reefs, that allegedly can only be appreciated in Japan. A different section claims that Japanese people have a peculiar affinity for ¡°insect sounds,¡± as if they are able to understand what bugs are trying to say.