Academic Discussion and Writing Governments spending on the improvement of their national image - revised -

Lesson 30  Question: Is it a good idea for governments to allocate financial resources to enhance the image of their own country in various ways on the international stage? 

 

 

☆Let’s Think

1         To what purpose do you think a country spends much on the enhancement of its national image?

2         Which type of teachers do you like better, teachers who spend money on their appearances or teachers who spend money on their personal development?

3         What if a country spent much on the national prestige like an unnecessarily strong military or spying while its people are starving?

Reference: North Korea, Russia, the USA, Japan, etc.

4         Do research on the Cool Japan campaign.

Reference: A Decade in “Cool Japan” – Over the Offing

(https://overtheoffing.wordpress.com/2021/06/10/a-decade-in-cool-japan/)

5         What percentage of Japan’s GDP is tourism?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Agree

1.     Large donations to other countries increase goodwill.

2.     Investment may increase.

3.     Students from other countries may increase.

4.     The tourism industry will benefit from the advertisement.

 

Disagree

1.     The tax money must be returned to reduce problems people are facing, not to a small industry.

2.     The Cool Japan campaign failed with a huge deficit. It started as a campaign to promote Japanese contents like anime and manga, which had already been successful in other countries and did not need any promotion. Then it expanded to promote other Japanese cultures like Japanese food and textiles. The marketing was done not by businessmen but by the government officials and it failed.

3.     Two or three decades ago, tourists started coming to Japan because Japan had attractions such as Akihabara the anime town, the beautiful countryside that retain traditional Japanese life and culture, and good skiing resorts. Now they come to Japan because Japan is cheap. Neither has anything to do with the government spending on the promotion of its tourism.

 

 

☆Sample Essay Structure

【Thesis】Image control is deceptive, but image is often everything. Budget allocation of the improvement of the national image is directed to control the public.

【Supporting Details】To control its image, the country manages the media and education. It is so sophisticated that people do not notice that they are deceived. For example, while no experts can find ways to solve the problem of the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima, the Prime Minister Abe said, “It’s under control,” for the right to hold the Olympics 2020 in Japan. It was all to create the image among the public both inside and outside of Japan that Japan was safe enough to have the huge sporting event, while actually it was not and has not been at all.

【Counterargument-treatment】Tourism accounts for only 1 percent of GDP in the case of Japan and 7.6 percent on average in the world, so the government investment in the area is generally not worth very much. Also, although advertisements may attract tourists at first, it is not good image but good experience that increases royal inbound visitors, and people will come through word of mouth without advertisement.

【Conclusion】Therefore, budget allocation to national image won’t work for the real improvement of the economy and the lives of the people. It just scams with their falsely successful image.

 (218 words)

 

 

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                               DRAFT