japanamerica

JAPANAMERICA returns to Shanghai for CLSA CITIC Forum 2025

2025-12-06T23:15:00.003-05:00

I returned to Shanghai for the first time in five years to deliver a presentation at this year's International CITIC CLSA Forum to talk about my book JAPANAMERICA and the state of the anime industry--with a look back at where it's been, and a quick glance at where it's headed. My humble thanks to my generous hosts and audiences.
(photos courtesy of CITIC CLSA and CLSA Japan.)

Video clips with Andy Summers live in Tokyo

2025-11-30T09:17:00.005-05:00

What IS "Soft Power?" Video of latest Japanamerica presentation at Temple University Japan, Tokyo

2025-11-19T00:49:00.003-05:00

The truth was unavoidable here in Tokyo at last month's Tokyo International Film Festival and Marketing Fair TIFFCOM: Asian content is the future, and Japan is now "Asia's premier IP jewel," the epicenter of the region's Soft Power boom.

But what IS "soft power," exactly? Harvard prof Joseph S. Nye coined the phrase in 1979 to explain the superiority of US cultural appeal (Hollywood and rock 'n' roll) vs the USSR (vodka). But is it real and quantifiable, or a mere measure of pop whimsy? And whatever its strengths, can soft power survive today's hard surges in nativism?

I explore this tricky terrain in my latest presentation at Temple University, Japan Campus in Tokyo, just posted here:

In less than 6 months Japan will be the "Country of Honour" at the 2026 Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes. Unless nativistic knots with China tighten, expect the global IP frenzy over Japan to crest into hysteria -- albeit checked as always by Japan's ever-Byzantine contract negotiations.

"The Religion of Anime," Livestream Event for USJETAA/US-Japan Foundation Wednesday November 12, 7-8.30pm EST (11/13, 9-10.30am JST)

2025-11-10T07:57:00.000-05:00

Join USJETAA and Dr. Jolyon Thomas, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania for what promises to be an in depth look at anime.

We will explore the cultural and emotional forces behind anime’s appeal, with a discussion that will be enthralling for both devoted fans and those who are curious or even puzzled by its widespread popularity. It will also shed light on the intense passion that anime inspires, sometimes described as a kind of “religious” following.

*Register online here.

Panelists include:

Dr. Jolyon Thomas is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania who explores how anime, manga, and pop culture connect with spirituality and everyday life in Japan. He’s the author of Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan and has a new book on the way, Animating Action: Changing the World with Anime, Rituals, and Robots.

Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-1999) is an award-winning Japanese American author, journalist, scholar and editor. His bestselling book Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the West examines how Japanese pop culture captured the world’s imagination. He’s currently a Visiting Professor at Waseda University in Tokyo and is developing two new documentary projects addressing contemporary Japanese pop culture and society.

Yuri Lowenthal (Shiga, 1993-1995) is an actor, writer, and producer whose voice brings to life characters like Spider-Man in MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN, Sasuke in NARUTO, and Ben in Ben 10. With his wife Tara Platt, he co-founded Monkey Kingdom Productions and BugBot Press, co-wrote the bestselling VOICE-OVER VOICE ACTOR, and produced and starred in ORBITAL REDUX with Legendary Entertainment.

Zoom link will be emailed to you upon completing registration.

"If This House Could Speak to Me: My Family's 363 year-old Home," Screening and Appearances at MinkaCon 2025 at Shinshiro, Aichi Japan, Nov. 7-9

2025-11-04T19:32:00.004-05:00

Live in New York with Haruki Murakami, Jason Moran and Motoyuki Shibata December 11

2025-09-19T12:30:00.004-04:00

Please join me this December 11th at Town Hall New York City with author Haruki Murakami, jazz artist Jason Moran and friends, and scholar/translator Motoyuki Shibata for a very special one-night celebration hosted by Japan Society, The Town Hall, The Center for Fiction, All Nippon Airways and McNally Jackson Books. Tix on sale September 26. https://japansociety.org/events/haruki-murakami/

Live and livestreamed at Temple University Japan Tokyo, Oct. 9

2025-09-06T10:52:00.005-04:00

Culture Rules: Japan Found its Cool in the 21st Century, But Can It Keep It?

In-Person / Online Register here.

The branding of "Cool Japan" in the early aughts kickstarted Japan's 21st Century pop culture juggernaut. Global demand for Japan-produced anime, manga, games, fashion and food skyrocketed, and Japanese creatives scrambled to feed it through a rapid succession of media platforms--DVDs, Torrents, Cinemas and Streaming sites--as post-Covid inbound tourism stats exploded. Fiscal analysts now forecast a rosy CGR of 9.8% for Japan's pop culture products and a global market more than doubling to $72 billion in less than 10 years. But spotty government support, a shrinking labor and consumer pool, and rising costs amid a retreat from globalization mean that the sustained business of Cool Japan is hardly a sure bet. Where do we go from here? Pokemon's lucrative lightning might not strike twice.

Speaker:

Roland Nozomu Kelts is an award-winning Japanese American journalist, author, editor and scholar. He is best known for his highly acclaimed bestseller, Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US, and the more recent, Blade Runner: Black Lotus. He contributes to numerous media outlets in Japan, the US and Europe, including the BBC, CBS's "60 Minutes," CNN, NHK, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Guardian and The New York Times, and he has been a contributing editor to the Japanese literary journal "Monkey: New Writing from Japan" since its inception in 2011. Kelts has worked as an author, editor and consultant for publishers in Japan, the UK and the US for over twenty years, and he was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard in 2017. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Moderator: Kyle Cleveland, ICAS Co-director and Associate Professor of Sociology, Temple University Japan

IN CONVERSATION with musician, photographer, author Andy Summers (The Police) Oct. 7 for Asia Society Japan at I-House Tokyo

2025-09-04T22:47:00.002-04:00

Join legendary British guitarist, photographer and author Andy Summers and acclaimed Japanese American author and scholar Roland Kelts for this uniquely intimate onstage dialogue and performance for Asia Society Japan. Please register online here.

Summers will unveil his powerful photographs of Tokyo—some dating back to 1980, when The Police first toured Japan and filmed their hit video “So Lonely” on the Tokyo metro—and give a public reading from two of his seven published books: his award-winning memoir “One Train Later” and short story collection “Fretted and Moaning." As a bonus. Summers will also perform live on guitar, creating a dialogue between photography, prose, and sound that reveals his lifelong fascination with Japanese aesthetics.

That fascination with Japan began in his youth, when he discovered Akira Kurosawa’s films “Stray Dog” and “Drunken Angel” at an art-house cinema in Bournemouth, UK. Since the 1980s Summers has visited Japan several times to take and exhibit his photos and perform as a solo artist. More recently, he met Kelts at his latest Tokyo photo installation, and this spring was introduced by Kelts to Haruki Murakami, who later hosted him on his radio program on Tokyo FM. Now, for the first time, Summers and Kelts share the stage – promising an evening of art, music and conversation you won’t want to miss.

• Event and Registration Details
This event will be conducted in person, and registration is required online here.
In-person participation is for members and guests only. Please pay your fee by credit card (Visa or Mastercard only) or at the door.

Schedule
October 7, 2025, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. (JST)
5:45 p.m.
Door open

6:00 – 7:15 p.m.
Conversation

7:15 – 8:00 p.m. Network reception

8:00 p.m. Door close

My video interview with German TV (DW Deutsch / Deutsche Welle): How AI could save Anime

2025-08-25T06:53:00.004-04:00

<<1:54

AI can help maintain the anime boom, says Roland Kelts, Professor and