Japan picks "schoolgirl" as ambassador

do you think better about japan because they have school girl ambassadors?


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holy king

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE52B4JC20090312

Japan picks "schoolgirl" among cute ambassadors

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TOKYO (Reuters) - Ever seen an ambassador dressed from head to foot in pastel frills? How about a diplomatic envoy in a mini-skirted school uniform?

In a bid to raise its international profile, Tokyo has appointed three young women as cultural envoys because they represent Japan's long-running craze for all things cute.

Inspired by the characters in Japan's distinctive "anime" animated films and "manga" cartoon books, one of the new ambassadors dresses as a schoolgirl, another as a Victorian doll in voluminous frilly skirts.

The third of the women, presented at a news conference on Thursday, was a singer dressed in a polka dot shirt with a bunny print, offset by bouffant back-combed hair, a look that has made her a fashion leader in Tokyo teens' favorite haunt, Harajuku.

Japan wants to exploit the popularity of the "kawaii" (cute) culture, which has influenced young people in Asia and Europe.

Spoiler :
"You get people to love your culture and use that as a way of gaining power around the world," said Phil Deans, professor of international relations at Temple University's Tokyo campus.

"America has a lot of soft power, because people like American culture."

But these ambassadors, whose role will be to speak at cultural events such as a Japan Expo to be held in Paris in July, may have narrower appeal than Hollywood movie stars.

The envoys, chosen for the clothes they choose to wear in their everyday lives, said they believed their styles would last.

"Every female from small girls to grandmothers loves pretty clothes," said nurse and part-time model Misako Aoki, now ambassador for the doll-like "Gothic Lolita" style.

"I think I can continue to dress like this all my life. Age has nothing to do with it."

Actress Shizuka Fujioka, 19, wears a school uniform even though she's graduated because she felt she missed out by going to a school with an ugly uniform.

The appointment of the three envoys comes a year after Doraemon, a rotund blue cartoon cat with no ears, was named a special ambassador.

While serving as foreign minister, manga fan Prime Minister Taro Aso also launched an international prize for the genre.

"Whether this is a strategy on which the world's second largest economy can base its diplomacy, I have yet to be convinced," said Temple University's Deans.


will this strategy work?


Moderator Action: Poll options are trolling, so I deleted them.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889
 
I'm sure someone likes it.

pedobear.jpg
 
Wait, where you're from leonel, 19 is underage? I mean, maybe you all have a thing for hundreds of years old vampires, but still...

Edit: Also, best mispelling of "homour" to annoy both Americans and lesser English speakers.
 
"You get people to love your culture and use that as a way of gaining power around the world," said Phil Deans, professor of international relations at Temple University's Tokyo campus.

It's not like this is Japan's first choice. They would much preferred to have conquered East Asia and crushed the United States with military force, but that didn't work out so well.
 
Just like in the US, when we pass a law today, you could always say "it's not like this was the US's first choice. They much rather would still have racial segragation, but that didn't work out so well" :rolleyes:
 
So would Germany. Then they gave us Nena.
 
/facepalm

This can go wrong on so many levels.
 
Cultural envoy=diplomat. Makes sense. While we're at it, congressional page=head of a House committee, teaching assistant=department head, I could just go on here...
 
the Japanese men who served in ww2 to build a strong empire are probably rolling in their graves right now, japan used to be feared. now it is known for anime, weird tentacle rape porn, lame ass Jrpg's, and weird game shows. for shame japan, for shame. :shake:
 
Yeah, what the orange hands said basically.
the Japanese men who served in ww2 to build a strong empire are probably rolling in their graves right now, japan used to be feared. now it is known for anime, weird tentacle rape porn, lame ass Jrpg's, and weird game shows. for shame japan, for shame. :shake:
The tentacle rape porn is much older than you think.
 
I stopped thinking better or worse of Japan for crap like this a long time ago. Now, BRING ON THE TENTACLE RAPE!
 
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