Q10: What is the recognition and favorability of Japanese characters and content?

How does the world currently perceive Japan? How is the "Japan Brand" – encompassing tourism, land, food, and products – evaluated overseas?

This article presents findings from the "Japan Brand Survey 2016," conducted in April 2016 across 20 countries and regions worldwide. This installment focuses on "Awareness and Favorability of Japanese Characters and Content."

A10: "Pokémon" ranked first in recognition, while "Doraemon" ranked first in favorability
 

Overall, "Pokémon" ranked highest in awareness, while "Doraemon" ranked highest in favorability. This survey was conducted before the global launch of the hugely popular "Pokémon GO." The results show that awareness of "Pokémon" was already extremely high even before the Pokémon GO craze.
 

By region, top-ranked "Pokémon," "Hello Kitty," and "Dragon Ball Z" enjoyed high recognition not only in Asia but also in Europe and North America, indicating popularity across all regions.

On the other hand, while Doraemon, Detective Conan, Ultraman, and Crayon Shin-chan had relatively high recognition in Asia, their awareness was low in Europe and North America, showing differences depending on the region.

Japanese companies increasingly utilize characters when expanding overseas. Japanese characters accepted in each region appear to possess universal appeal.

---

<Japan Brand Survey 2016 Overview>
● Purpose: To understand overseas consumers' perceptions and actual behavior regarding the overall "Japan Brand" encompassing Japanese food, tourism, products, etc., and to support corporate marketing activities.
●Target Areas: 20 countries/regions
China (Beijing, Shanghai), Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia, USA, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia
●Survey Method: Online survey
●Respondent Criteria: Men and women aged 20-59 from middle-income households and above
●Sample Size: 200 respondents per region, total 4,000 respondents
●Survey Period: April 25 to May 18, 2016

---

Dentsu Inc. Team Cool Japan
A company-wide cross-functional project team established to promote 'Cool Japan-related initiatives'—expanding products and services leveraging Japanese culture and strengths into overseas markets. Dentsu Inc. also invests in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Cool Japan Organization (fund). The team brings together client company representatives handling overseas expansion, media and content specialists, overseas subsidiary network managers, producers, and planners to work on initiatives promoting Japan's appeal globally.

DENTSU SOKEN INC. "Japanology" Project
DENTSU SOKEN INC. is advancing initiatives focused on culture as a management challenge for 2020 and beyond. We provide workshops and training on cross-cultural management and organizational culture diagnostics for Japanese companies advancing globalization and foreign companies aiming to penetrate the Japanese market.