The Role of Cultural Diplomacy in Japan's Nation Branding

With the expansion of information technology, the increase of communication between societies, and the growth of awareness of events in other parts of the world, governments have increased their soft power as a supplement to hard power in their macro policies, so building a reliable national brand has become important for the governments of the world. It is because they have well understood that the better image they create of themselves and their countries in the minds of the people of other countries, the more successful they will be in advancing their goals and interests. Cultural diplomacy is one of the tools for exercising soft power in the hands of countries beyond the borders and one of the main pillars of public diplomacy in order to influence the target sosieties. Japan is one of the countries with high soft power and is the only non-Western country among the top ten countries in international rankings. In this article, by describing the components of cultural diplomacy and using the three main indicators of countries' soft power ranking, the construction of this country's national brand and its weaknesses and strengths are explained. The research hypothesis is that culture, which is one of the important dimensions in nation branding, is Japan's strong point and has improved the international image of this country.