Nearly three years have passed since I began my involvement in cultural diplomacy through Japan's pop culture. During this time, I have come to understand how truly popular our country is around the world. A watershed moment during these three years was a performance by Japanese rock musician Miyavi I saw at the Japan Expo in Paris in July 2008.

Anime is one of the key elements in bringing Japan's entertainment to the world at large. The popularity elsewhere of anime such as Dragonball and Saint Seiya have made the genre something special. But interest in Japan now extends beyond anime and manga; this country's music and fashion are attracting their own legions of fans.

I was astounded, no, flabbergasted by the scene I saw at the Miyavi show: 15,000 young French Japanophiles had been driven into a frenzy.

I loved music when I was a boy, especially stuff from America and Europe. I listened to songs by the Beatles and Jackson Browne, among many others. I think a lot of people in the music industry felt the same way.

But those blinders of common sense fell from eyes when I saw Miyavi, who was exploring the world with a guitar while I was traveling the world with pop culture. What Miyavi has done is significant for anybody trying to make it overseas. When I met him in Los Angeles in June for an interview during his North American tour, he said; "I've come to the United States many times; I even lived here. Now, I'm more interested in feeling how different I am now than I was then."

It was moving to see how enthusiastically he was welcomed by Americans of all ages. There was even a woman who waited 19 hours in line to get a front-row ticket.

Miyavi is far better known outside Japan. Perhaps people here at home should really look at why he has been so successful at capturing the attention of the world.

Sakurai is a content producer using events and seminars to engage in "pop culture diplomacy." This column, Looking East, consists of selected stories translated from his weekly column in The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Follow Takamasa Sakurai at twitter.com/sakuraitakamasa

(Sep. 17, 2010)