COOL JAPAN Video Contest 2021

Due to the ongoing affects of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel throughout the world has come to a standstill. As more and more people's lives turn to an online lifestyle, the need for strengthening communicative abilities is stronger than ever before. In order to increase interest in Japan, create new fans of the country, and revitalize tourism amongst people overseas, it is important to create high-quality digital content and realize the importance of social media as a communication tool to transmit these contents the world over.
According to a joint survey* between the Development Bank of Japan and the Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, there are tremendous amounts of people who want to travel abroad once the pandemic is over, and Japan is high on the list of most-desired destinations.Therefore, by letting people interested in Japan know about its nature, climate, culture, etc., and showing the merits of Japan to those who may be interested, the number of people captivated by Japan will increase, creating fans new and renewed alike. For these purposes, we are holding a video contest to portray the charm of Japan.

• Published August, 2020 DBJ, JTBF Asia, Survey of American, European, Australian Visitors to Japan (2020 COVID-19 Special Survey)
  （https://www.dbj.jp/topics/investigate/2020/html/20200818_202801.html）(Japanese only)

Overview

The purpose of this contest is to encourage everyone to freely express what they want to convey about the charm of Japan through videos and disseminate those videos through COOL JAPAN (CJ). Competition entries will be viewed by judges from pop culture, tourism and culinary fields. Winning entries will be used as content to promote the charm of Japan through various government initiatives, such as diplomatic missions and receptions abroad, and social media promotions.

Nominated Works

General Division

First Place

Runner-up

Runner-up

Honorable Mention

• Video Title

  但馬屋老舗
  
  

  Submitted By

  Tomato Red Motion

• Video Title

  リアルな日本の食文化
  
  

  Submitted By

  Pizzanosuke

• Video Title

  【日本語字幕あり】西九州（有田・伊万里・平戸）で日本文化を巡る旅

  Submitted By

  Feel Fukuoka Japan

Local Government Division

First Place

Runner-up

Runner-up

Honorable Mention

• Video Title

  Mishima City, Shizuoka, Japan -水の都「三島」-

  Submitted By

  Mishima City

• Video Title

  FUKUSHIMA EATS
  
  

  Submitted By

  Fukushima City

• Video Title

  GEO DINING SHIMOKITA
  
  

  Submitted By

  Shimokita TABI Asist

Judges(Candidate)

• 

  Aoki Yu

  President and CEO of MATCHA, Inc.
  Born in Tokyo in 1989 and graduated from the School of Global Japanese Studies at Meiji University. President and CEO of MATCHA, Inc. Regional Producer for the Cabinet Office’s COOL JAPAN. Traveled around the world as a student, and was engaged with the production of the 2012 Doha International Book Fair. He started working independently after serving at the digital agency augment5 inc. He started operating MATCHA, internet media designed for foreign visitors to Japan in February 2014. MATCHA collaborates with various organizations, prefectures and local governments, is currently available in 10 languages and is accessible in over 180 countries.

• 

  Enako

  A cosplayer with an extensive and active background in television, radio, magazines and the internet. In addition to making the cover of various magazines, she has also been expanding her appearances into popular variety programs and television dramas with guest performances. Ever-popular on social media, she has amassed over 1 million followers across Instagram and Twitter. She was appointed as an Ambassador of COOL JAPAN by the Cabinet Office in April 2020.

• 

  Sato Kazutaka

  International Otaku Expo Association (IOEA) Representative（https://ioea.info/） Circle.ms Representative（https://circle.ms/）
  Born in 1970, he has been involved with Comiket and other Doujinshi (self-published print work) conventions since he was a student. He also operates Circle.ms, an online service specializing in sales of Doujinshi. He is a founder and representative of the International Otaku Expo Association (IOEA), an international organization for Otaku Events focused on anime, manga and video games. As of 2020, over 150 events have been held in over 50 countries, and attendees outside of Japan have surpassed 6 million. Since 2019, he has served as a member of The Cabinet Office’s Intellectual Property CreativeJapanWG, and has been focusing on proposals for overseas COOL JAPAN strategies. His favorite anime are Space Runaway Ideon, Ghost in the Shell, Please Teacher!, and Steins;Gate.

• 

  tsao chênchi

  With over 20 years of experience as an editor, she has been involved with all content creation for the Walker series of websites, magazines, and events in Taiwan. She also has experience as an editor of JapanWalker, creating content about Japan from a Taiwanese perspective.

• 

  Tsuji Yoshiki

  
  Born in Osaka, Japan in 1964. School Headmaster of the Tsuji Culinary Institute and Representative of The Tsuji Group.
  Yoshiki Tsuji attended middle and high school in the United Kingdom, and after graduating from university in the United States, he was appointed through his service in a thinktank as School Headmaster of Tsuji Culinary Institute. He supervised the head banquet at the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in 2000, and served as the Executive Producer of the main dinner banquet at the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka.
  He's made several contributions to the culinary industry as a judge in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Cooking Masters, an award institution for chefs, and through his service on the committee to review and register Japanese food as a part of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
  He was recognized as a Knight in his bestowment of the French Ordre national du Mérite in 2018.
  Author of several publications, including Gourmet Technology (Bungeishunjū) and The Undiscovered World of Japanese Food (Shinchosha).

• 

  NICHAREE WANCHA-EM

  NICHAREE WANCHA-EM has been working as a copywriter and editor in various Thai media since 2000. Starting in 2016, she was appointed as SUDSAPDA's Digital Content Manager. She is also a frequent visitor to Japan and is well-versed in knowledge of its culture.

• 

  Makino Tomoe

  Tomoe Makino is Representative Director at the Meta Tourism Promotion Institute and Digital Strategy Advisor at the Japan National Tourism Organization.
  He has been responsible product development and user growth of the Japanese versions of AOL, Google, YouTube, & Twitter. From 2016 to 2020, he was a Representative Director at Trip Advisor and was formerly the CSO of Good Eat Company, Inc.
  In January 2022, he became the Managing Director for Activision Blizzard Japan.
  In addition, he is a member of the expert committee for the promotion of tourism in Tokyo.

• 

  Kenichi Watanabe

  Platform Director of the Cabinet Office of Japan's COOL JAPAN Public-Private Partnership Platform. Value Designer and CEO of XPJP Inc.
  Earth Development Director and Managing Director at Space SAGA. Guest Professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. Researcher for SDM Research Institute at Keio University Graduate School of System Design and Management. Lecturer at Tsuji Culinary Institute. Head of Value Creation and Director at Tatsumoto LC. Licensed chef. Has been involved in the development of projects in and outside of Japan in film, digital strategy, branding, and others, that specialize in solving societal issues through the design of local regions through contextual redesigning. Producer of Ise Grand Shrine's official film FEEL JINGU.

Contact Information

Cool Japan Video Contest 2021 Executing Agency

• Please make your inquiries in Japanese or English.