The Foreign Press Center of Japan [FPCJ] televised this special preview [in both Japanese and English] of the Ig Nobel Prize events, and discusses their place in Japanese Society. The FPCJ’s accompanying announcement says: The FPCJ invited Prof. Kiyoshi Furusawa, Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Science Communication Office for Liberal Arts [SCOLA], College of Science, Rikkyo […]
“One bright spot amid the gloom surrounding the state of scientific research in Japan is the fact that the nation keeps winning the Ig Nobel Prize, a parody of the Nobel Prize, whose aim is to “honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think.” Japanese scientists have been among the Ig […]
Cuteness can be powerful on a national level and also internationally, according to this study: “Soft Power: ʻCute Culture’, A Persuasive Strategy in Japanese Advertising,” Oana-Maria Bîrlea, TRAMES, A Journal Of The Humanities And Social Sciences, 2023, pp. 311–324. The author [pictured here] explains: “The article addresses the ways in which soft power is used […]
Nippon.com is running an ongoing series of profiles of Ig Nobel Prize winners. They say: ‘The Ig Nobel Prize recognizes scientific research that “makes people laugh and then makes them think.” Japanese researchers have consistently been among its recipients since 2007, including a Bandai employee who won the illustrious prize for developing the Tamagotchi and […]