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]
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]
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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]
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]
{{
cite magazine}}
: |author1=
has generic name (
help)