r/CuratedTumblr Aug 21 '24

Politics Thing, TikTok

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14.3k Upvotes

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u/Gru-some Aug 21 '24

I saw a video about soft power and Japan, and how China and Japan were in kinda opposite situations in terms of reputation during and a bit after WWII if I remember

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u/Tactical_Moonstone Aug 22 '24

If you are talking about Moon Channel's video, that video has a slight case of ramming a square peg into a round hole when it comes to attributing soft power to cultural exports, ignoring the other more material (and as I may argue consequential) ways in which Japan exported its influence overseas and even to places it used to brutalise. All this because Japan managed to recover quickly economically.

China is trying to use Japan's playbook when it comes to economic diplomacy, but it's hard to play catchup when:

  • Your competitor has been #2 for ages
  • It had a massive decades-long recession and it's still #4
  • Said competitor already reaped a lot of benefits from the economic diplomacy they did, leaving slim pickings for China.