This chapter investigates recent Nike ad campaigns in comparison to other sports brand commercials as a window into the discussion on diversity and inclusion in contemporary Japanese society. This particular advertisement has garnered some interest among scholars, particularly in the context of continued oppression of the zainichi (permanent Korean residents of Japan) and the rejection of “superficial multiculturalism” pushed by multinational corporations (Oh and Wan 2021). The backlash was reported in both domestic and international media (Denyer and Kashiwagi 2020 Fickenscher 2020 Mizuno 2020 Mori and Ohno 2020 Reuters 2020). According to one media outlet, there were 46,000 favorable reactions and 29,000 negative reactions on social media in the first four days this was also accompanied by angry calls to instigate a boycott movement against Nike products (Joongang Ilbo 2020). While the commercial was well received among those who agreed with the sporting brand’s progressive message to tackle xenophobia and bullying in Japanese society, there was a sizable backlash from domestic viewers who criticized it as an anti-Japan campaign. This advertisement garnered much attention and was viewed more than 14 million times on YouTube alone in the first 48 hours of its release. It is worth noting that the portrayed ‘victims’ of bullying in this video were those conventionally identified as the weakest members of society, not only because of their gender but in some cases also because of their race or ethnicity. ![]() The two-minute commercial featured several teenage girls in Japan being bullied for their racial or ethnic heritage, but then showed them empowered, having found themselves through the power of sports. Nike Japan, for example, released an advertisement video called “They can’t stop us” in November 2020. Sports brand Nike Japan can be cited as a company engaging in strategic media campaigns that raise awareness of gender-related issues. ![]() While traditional gender norms are being challenged in Japanese youth culture, in particular in anime, manga, cosplay, and so forth, the Japanese advertisement industry continues to rely on more conventional constructs of binary gender, even in their efforts to promote female empowerment.
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