In numerous contexts, Japan has been labelled a “soft power superpower.” Japan’s approach is often compared to that of its ally, the United States, which relies heavy on “hard” approaches such as military intervention and economic sanctions to accomplish its foreign policy objectives. Over the past thirty years, Japan has quietly made impressive inroads on the diplomatic front using a variety of non-coercive approaches. A major cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy is to use Japanese culture, both traditional and popular, as a means to generate goodwill toward Japan and its diplomatic agenda. Neighboring countries such as China and South Korea have noted Japan’s successes in cultural diplomacy and have developed their own soft-power, culture-based policies. However, the Japanese soft-power approach has also been the target of criticism by scholars of international relations, media pundits, and actual diplomats. In this course, we will study the history of Japan’s “soft power” diplomacy, discuss the actual approaches used, and analyze its effectiveness.