Main Directions of Cultural Diplomacy of the USA and Japan

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the research is determined by the growing role of culture and cultural diplomacy as a tool of special (“soft”) power in foreign policy and economic relations between countries in the conditions of globalization, virtualization and digitalization of society. Purpose and methods. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of international exchanges and the spread of popular culture as the main directions of cultural diplomacy in the United States and Japan, in historical retrospect and at the present stage. The methodological basis of the study is a dialectical, systematic and interdisciplinary approach to the study of the phenomenon and processes of cultural diplomacy in developed countries. Results. The essence of the concept of “cultural diplomacy” is revealed. The peculiarities of the cultural policy of the developed countries of the West and the East are analyzed using the example of the foreign policy of the United States of America and Japan. The main tools and mechanisms of cultural diplomacy are considered in historical retrospect and at the present stage. The specifics of the implementation of the main directions of cultural diplomacy by the leading countries of the world in the first decades of the 21st century have been revealed. Conclusions. Based on the analysis of the main directions of cultural diplomacy of the United States and Japan, it can be stated that the states pay special attention to the spread of popular culture abroad and international exchanges in order to arouse the interest of the younger generation in their own culture around the world. Cultural exchange in this context is a form of dialogue between states and can contribute to improving the climate of interstate relations, creating preconditions for the develop-ment of interaction in the long term.