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Lessons in success from Godzilla and The Boy And The Heron

The boom in Japan’s pop culture exports stands in contrast to the struggles of the broader economy.

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Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron won best animated film at the Golden Globe Awards, a first among Japanese directors in a category created in 2007.

Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron won best animated film at the Golden Globe Awards, a first among Japanese directors in a category created in 2007.

HOTO: STUDIO GHIBLI

William Pesek

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Anyone wondering what Japan’s economy needs more of in 2024 found it on the stage of last week’s Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles.

There, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron

won best animated film,

a first among Japanese directors in a category created in 2007. The award was not just a triumph for the renowned anime master, it also spotlighted how Japan is making a comeback as an exporter of “soft power” fare.

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