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Power Play
Japan needs more than anime to stay ahead in South-east Asia
While polls show Japan being viewed as more trustworthy and likeable than China, it is slipping in economic and political clout
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Cosplayers dressed as characters from Naruto at the Anime Festival Asia in Singapore in 2019.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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TOKYO – On Friday, Singapore will host the three-day Anime Festival Asia, where fans can hobnob with their favourite Japanese cosplayers in an event that had drawn 120,000 visitors in 2019, its last physical event before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Typically an annual affair, Anime Festival Asia comprises anime conventions held in various parts of South-east Asia and a main event in Singapore that is touted as the largest Japanese pop culture festival in the region.
