Benjamin Boas

Benjamin Boas (born 1983[1]) is an American author, translator, and contemporary Japanese culture consultant. He has been appointed as a Cool Japan Ambassador by the Japanese government[2] and as a Tourism Ambassador for Nakano, Tokyo.[3]

Biography

Born in New York, he grew up with a fondness for Japanese games and comic books, which motivated him to study the Japanese language and culture.[1][4][5] After graduating from Brown University, he studied at Kyoto University on a Fulbright scholarship from 2007. He has also held research positions at the University of Tokyo as a Monbukagakusho scholar, at the Osaka University of Commerce, and at the anthropology department at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus.[6]

In 2015, he published his experiences of learning Japanese culture and language into a manga from Shogakukan. The same year, he was appointed as a Tourism Ambassador by the Nakano Tourism Association, to spread word about Nakano City.[5]

In 2016, after Studio Ghibli commissioned him to write a critical essay on the Japanese government's self-promotion activities,[7] he was appointed as a Cool Japan Ambassador by the Japanese Cabinet Office as part of their Cool Japan initiative.[2] In this role, he regularly appears in programs on Japan's public broadcaster NHK, such as Tokyo Eye 2020[8] and Journeys in Japan.[9] While spreading the appeal of contemporary Japan through these activities, he also writes critically about how the country could improve its efforts,[10] and has been quoted in news articles for his views of the Cool Japan strategy.[11] He is a frequent speaker at universities and institutions in Japan and the United States.[12][13][14]

Boas holds a 2nd-degree black belt and instructor certification for aikido from Yoshinkan.[6] He also represents the United States in international competitions of mahjong and took third place in the 2007 Open European Mahjong Championship[15][16] and second place in the 2008 European Riichi Championship.[4][17]

Bibliography

Books
  • Boas, Benjamin; Aoyagi, Chika (2015). 日本のことは、マンガとゲームで学びました。 [Learning Japan Through Manga and Video Games]. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-388395-5.
  • Boas, Benjamin; Aoyagi, Chika (2016). 大人のためのやり直し英会話 [Re-Learning English for Adults]. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-388461-7.

Articles

Documentaries
  • Journeys in Japan (NHK WORLD)
    • "Yanai: Old Town of Goldfish Lanterns"[18]
  • TOKYO EYE 2020 (NHK WORLD)
    • Jul. 2017 "Countdown to 2020: Enhancing Tourism with Technology"
    • Sep. 2017 "Nakano: A Subculture Paradise"
    • Jun. 2018 "A Martial Arts Tour of Tokyo"
    • Jan. 2019 "Exploring Tokyo Underground"

Translations
  • Battleship Island Building No. 30, Between Dreams and Reality by Takahashi Masatsugu. Daiwa Shobo
  • Dance Time (2016), directed by Mariko Nonaka[19]

References
  1. Boas, Benjamin; Aoyagi, Chika (2015). 日本のことは、マンガとゲームで学びました。 [Learning Japan Through Manga and Video Games]. Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-388395-5.
  2. "Cool Japan Ambassador : Cool Japan Strategy". Cabinet Office. Government of Japan. 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  3. "観光大使紹介" [Introducing the Tourism Ambassadors]. Nakano-ku Tourism Association (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  4. Galbraith, Patrick W. (28 August 2009). "Q&A Benjamin Boas: Game researcher, mahjong player and Fulbright fellow". Metropolis. No. 805.
  5. Time Out Tokyo Editors (30 March 2016). "I, Tokyo: Benjamin Boas". Time Out Tokyo. No. 9. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  6. Boas, Benjamin (10 May 2019). "What's Cool about Cool Japan?: An Insider's Look at a Domestic Reaction to an International Phenomenon". Asian American and Asian Research Institute. The City University of New York. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  7. Boas, Benjamin (2015). "'クールジャパン'はクールじゃない!?". Neppū. 'Cool Japan' is not cool!? (in Japanese). Vol. 13 no. 10. Koganei: Studio Ghibli. pp. 12–23.
  8. "Exploring Tokyo Underground - TOKYO EYE 2020". NHK World-Japan. NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). 9 January 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  9. Benjamin Boas at IMDb
  10. Boas, Benjamin (24 April 2016). "'Cool Japan' needs to listen to its target market". The Japan Times. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  11. Chandran, Nyshka (22 August 2016). "Super Abe was a taste of Tokyo's 2020 Olympic campaign". CNBC. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  12. "How an American Geek's Love of Cool Japan led him to an Exciting Life in Japan". Japan Society of Northern California. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  13. "Examining the Cool Japan Policy – Is it Actually Cool?". Vital Japan. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  14. "What's Cool about Cool Japan". Kyoto Inspiration: Popular Culture & Traditional Arts. Kyoto Seika University. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  15. "OEMC 2007 Results". Open European Mahjong Championship 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  16. Rep, Martin (31 March 2009). "Benjamin Boas talks: Mahjong has a great potential in Europe". Mahjong News. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016.
  17. "EMA Rankings - Tournament Information". European Mahjong Association. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  18. Yanai: Old Town of Goldfish Lanterns at IMDb
  19. Nonaka Mariko Office. "ダンスの時間". Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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