Japanese University starts course on ‘anime peace studies’

Keio University in Tokyo has introduced an “anime peace studies” course supported by U.S. streaming giant Netflix Inc. as global popularity of the art continues to soar.

The classes are mainly intended to show how anime can promote discussions on ending violence that continues to plague the planet.

“There is no end to conflicts around the world, and divisions are only widening,” said Tatsuhiko Yamamoto, a Keio University professor of information law. “That drives home to us that law, which has important power, may not be sufficient, by itself alone, for building peace.

“Japanese anime, in the meantime, are loved in countries and regions in conflict,” he continued. “We therefore thought it may have a potential for inducing dialogue.”

Yamamoto is one of the teaching staff members in charge of a lecture series on anime peace studies.

The private university began working on the studies last year and has so far organized a seminar and short educational program on the subject.

The course, which started in spring, comprises 14 lectures that will run through July.

The course is not limited to peace studies on war.

Through the content of anime works, the classes are intended to seek ways to develop mutual comprehension and sympathy between nations and promote coexistence and dignity in a diverse society.

“Anime has multi-sided potential, including what its content says, for representation studies, as an industrial sector, and as a tool of diplomacy in the sense of soft power,” said Eijiro Mizutani, a Keio University associate professor of information law. “Ours is an experimental attempt to think about those things together.”

Japan has defined the content industry as a key sector and has set a goal of expanding the scale of its overseas market to 20 trillion yen ($125 billion) by 2033.

-The Asahi Shimbun