The Influence Of Soft Power

Marcus Tullius Cicero, an ancient Roman politician noted that there are two kinds of activity which can put a state to a higher advantage: activity of the commander or the outstanding orator – the sword and the feather. To achieve full prosperity, there must be a union between the sword and the feather. Since then, the feather or the soft power, has been recognized as a determining factor in one’s conduct of politics. In international relations, influence is power. Soft power has been defined by Joseph Nye as the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payment. It basically means that this kind of power leans on the ability to shape the preferences of others in a way that would be

Historically speaking, the United States ranks among the best when it comes to the use of soft power and sits only a few points behind United Kingdom and France (McClory, 2010). Even though Japan is not on top of the list, their utilization of soft power is still notable. As history would tell, Japan doesn’t have the cleanest slate being an imperialist state that played a big role in the second World War and various crimes against humanity such as the Nanking Massacre. The tides have turned and the question remains, how did Japan utilize soft power to address its imperial past. The Japanese cultural diplomacy that is closely tied to the soft power they wield has been subject to various stages of evolution. Subject to Japan’s case, the main purpose of cultural diplomacy is to improve their image by means of culture such as fine arts, language education, and the likes. The question that we have is what kind of national image Japan seeks to have through this discourse. In the Post-World War II era, their goal was to transform the militaristic image they have to a new Japan characterized by peace and democracy

As defined earlier, one aspect to which soft power rests on is culture and Japan was able to utilize that during the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. What made it even better is the fact that Japan did that without the world noticing it. At first glance, it seems “cute” or kawaii and that Japan was just promoting the things that they excel at but this “promotion” is their way of using soft power -- their way of affecting others to obtain the outcomes they want through attraction. Social media was buzzing with the closing ceremony noting how “techy” it was and how it reminds them of what Japan has to offer in terms of culture exports (manga cartoons, electronic firms, etc.) and tourism. People were attracted and now, all eyes are focused on how Japan will handle the 2020 Olympics which is exactly what the Japanese government wants. Dubbed as ‘Cool Japan’, the Japanese government was able to create a platform that capitalizes on their cultural appeal and use it as a leverage to increase global presence and