Japan's pop culture PD--what's that about??

After our talks in class about Japan's PD through its pop culture products, I've had to think quite a bit about the value of such images, and what they might accomplish for Japan. As I said after class, my kids played with Power Rangers, traded Pokemon cards, passed around Manga books (I still remember images from the book like the one you see here, and how much my son loved the wordless stories). We also all saw Spirited Away, a very bizarre
Japanese children's fantasy film, so all of these things were of interest to my kids as well as other young kids in the international community where we lived overseas.

Did they know that any of those things were Japanese? Probably not. They knew the products were Asian, I think, but not necessarily Japanese--mainly the kids just enjoyed the products.

So this gets back to the question, what do these products to for Japan? I have to think that rather than being a Japanese identifier, they at least help promote an industry of books, art and film worldwide. In that way, they serve the country's economic interests. I think realists would say that that's all that counts anyway, and it's a bonus if folks also like the products for their cultural or artistic value.

I'm sure Japan earns more money from its car and electronics industries, but I'll put out the question to others: How big of an industry are Japan's pop culture exports, and how much revenue do they garner? Does the manufacture and sale of those items put a lot of people to work, and really benefit Japanese citizens?

I would also ask, can we call it PD if it's in blatant support of a country's (largely private sector) economic interests? Isn't that part of what PD does in promoting a nation's interests??