Interview with Roland Kelts in Consulate e-Newsletter
Interview/Profile, Roland Kelts, Writers 
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I get the Consulate of Japan’s (NY) monthly e-newsletter, and in the October issue I noticed they have a nice interview with Roland Kelts (Osaka, 1998-99) about Japanese pop culture and his book Japanamerica.
Published by the Consulate General of Japan in New York / Japan Information Center
Japanese Pop Culture
Japanese pop culture, such as manga (comic books) and anime (animation), is attracting more and more people outside of Japan. In the following interview, Mr. Roland Kelts, half-Japanese American writer and lecturer, tells us about his observation on this phenomenon as well as his teaching experience in Japan.
JIC (Japan Information Center) : Your position as a resident of Tokyo and New York is unique. What do you see happening now from your vantage?
Mr. Kelts : I think both countries are undergoing severe transitions. America is losing its central place in the world’s imagination. And Japan is finding its current position, as America’s ‘little brother,’ to borrow Takashi Murakami’s term, untenable. A lot of people are looking to Japan for guidance, and Asia is rising fast. Japan needs to understand and accept its own unique strengths.
JIC : But you also teach Japanese students about their own culture-as a half-Japanese American. What do they tell you?
Mr. Kelts : In Japan, a lot of my students are stunned to learn that foreigners care about their cultural products. They (my students), know they’re cool-but they don’t care that much, because they are sincerely worried about their futures. They think that Japan is over, finished, and they are amazed to find that young Americans think they are the hottest culture in the world. Read More
