| Popis: |
On September 16, 2007, Asō Tarō, who was campaigning to become Prime Minister of Japan, held a rally in Akihabara. The location was symbolic, as stores in the Tokyo neighborhood had long been the place to buy electronics made in Japan, a source of national pride, and were now the place to buy Japanese anime, which was gaining popularity in North America, another source of national pride. Asō said, in part, "Thanks to otaku, Japanese culture, what has been called a subculture, has undoubtedly been transmitted to the world." In this claim, not only does Asō conflate Japanese culture with subculture, but also claims that "otaku," or manga/anime fans, are its ambassadors. On the street, however, the opposite was true : In Akihabara in 2007, otaku were coming to be seen as disruptive and deviant. Based on participant observation in Akihabara, this article provides a historical snapshot of how otaku were problematically incorporated into "Cool Japan" from the mid to late 2000s, and how the meeting of national and subcultural politics generated friction that was resolved by increased surveillance and disciplining of bodily performance on the street. |
