Kimi Onoda, Member of the House of Councillors and Minister of State for Special Missions (Cool Japan Strategy)

2026.04.20

クールジャパン
The content is about Japan's "unlimited resources," a country often described as having few natural resources.

■ Profile
In July 2016, he was first elected to the House of Councillors. Since then, he has served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense. He assumed his current position in October 2025. He has been appointed Minister in charge of Economic Security, Minister in charge of Promoting an Orderly Coexistence Society with Foreigners, and Minister of State for Special Missions (Cool Japan Strategy, Intellectual Property Strategy, Science and Technology Policy, Space Policy, Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Economic Security), and has worked diligently to promote policies in each field.

As Japanese anime, manga, games, and other content gains high acclaim worldwide, Minister of State for Special Missions Kimi Onoda is responsible for the policies that support them. Having aspired to be a politician since childhood, Ms. Onoda persevered in pursuing her dream despite facing numerous obstacles. Currently, she is involved in the Cool Japan strategy and is fully committed to protecting and nurturing Japan's content culture.

■The origin of my aspiration to become a politician was in my childhood.

Since I was a child, I've always wanted to be a champion of justice. However, I wasn't born into a political family; I grew up in a single-parent household in the countryside. During my university years, I spent my days working part-time jobs while attending school in order to become financially independent. At the time, I thought that the only way to become a politician was to become a celebrity politician, so I worked as a model and even entered beauty pageants. Until I was elected to a local council in 2011, I worked various jobs, including magazine editing, tutoring, and working for a game company.
As a result of having worked in various fields, I've gained a realistic understanding of the realities of each industry, which has been extremely helpful in developing policies. I believe that none of my past experiences have been wasted.

■Japanese content is an inexhaustible asset

In 2025, I became Minister of State for Special Missions in the Cabinet Office and have been involved in the Cool Japan strategy, among other things. Cool Japan is a very broad concept, and it can be said that it includes everything that is considered attractive to people overseas as part of Japan's appeal, such as food, fashion, cosmetics, traditional culture, history, and nature. Among these, the fields of manga, anime, and games are attracting a great deal of attention.
Cool Japan has also become a gateway for people to learn about Japan. In fact, in the "Foreigners' Awareness Survey for the Reproduction of Cool Japan" published in 30, 75 percent of people in Europe answered "anime, manga, and games" to the question "What sparked your interest in Japan?".
The other day, a Saudi Arabian who won the Grand Prix at the Cool Japan Platform Awards 2026 told me, "Content is Japan's oil." Moreover, he said that unlike oil, it's not finite, but an infinite asset that keeps being created one after another.
Anime, manga, and games are not things that have grown under government leadership; they are powerful content created by private companies that produce them and the fans that have supported them. Therefore, I don't think it's a good thing for politics to intervene in them.
However, we are considering ways in which the government can support intellectual property protection, addressing common challenges faced by content creators and the government, as well as issues that private companies cannot overcome on their own. We want to move forward with supporting creators so that they can continue to create more freely than ever before.
Another appealing aspect of Japanese content is its lack of taboos. This diversity is evident in Japanese works, many of which boldly deal with religion and historical figures.
For example, there is a culture that accepts the appearance of historical figures as characters or mythological gods in games as "fiction." This is one of Japan's unique characteristics. There is a culture that recognizes diverse values, to the point that it is said there are eight or even a million gods. It is perhaps because of this cultural background that diverse forms of expression are born, which leads to attractive content.

■Regarding initiatives as part of Cool Japan

The Takauchi Cabinet has outlined 17 strategic areas within the Japan Growth Strategy Headquarters, one of which is content creation. By spring, we will formulate a public-private investment roadmap to consider what kind of investments the public and private sectors should make and what kind of support the government can provide.
Furthermore, I would like to create an experiential center that will serve as a core hub for Japanese content and a base for disseminating it to the world. While some countries overseas have established publicly run centers that actively promote manga, anime, and other forms of entertainment, Japan still lacks sufficient facilities to comprehensively promote manga, anime, and other forms of entertainment. I believe it is necessary to develop a hub that can disseminate Japanese content in cooperation with the world, in order to expand overseas.

■Message to junior and senior high school students

What I want to tell everyone is, "Live your life the way you want!" Since I was little, I've dreamed of becoming a politician, and I've said it countless times. Some people encouraged me, but thousands of times I was told, "It's impossible," or "You can't do it." But now I am a politician. Even if people tell you you can't do it, I think you'll have fewer regrets in life if you do what you want to do. Please give it your all.
Another important thing is mental strength. I think the biggest area where Japanese people are currently losing to people from other countries is not in terms of talent or anything else, but in terms of mental strength.
From now on, you'll be competing with mentally strong young people from overseas, so I hope you'll maintain an unyielding spirit, like a weed that grows back even after being trampled.
Even if everyone around you says it's "white," if your belief is "black," you have the courage to say "no." Trust your own instincts and play the leading role in your own life. I wholeheartedly support your endeavors.

Junior and Senior High School Newspaper, April 2026 Issue: Yurie Watanabe, 2nd year student at Josai International University / Ryo Ishikawa, 2nd year student at Kansai Gaidai University

Bringing Japanese culture to the world. We fully support the overseas expansion of content and talent development.

■Please tell us how you became a politician.

I've wanted to be a politician ever since I was in elementary school. I hated injustice and unfairness, so I was determined to "become a champion of justice and fight evil!" I continued to aim for a political career throughout middle school, high school, and university. At the time, I didn't know any realistic way for someone like me, whose parents weren't politicians, to become a member of parliament, so I thought "the only way is to become a celebrity politician," and I desperately tried various things like modeling and participating in beauty pageants. Because I came from a single-parent family, I worked part-time jobs during university, and afterwards, I explored the path to politics while working as a cram school instructor and at various companies such as game development companies, and in 2011 I was first elected as a local councilor. Since then I have served as a member of the House of Councillors and am currently a minister in charge of the Cool Japan strategy, among other things.

■Please tell us about the Cool Japan strategy.

Cool Japan refers to Japanese culture and other aspects that are considered attractive from an international perspective. Recently, content such as anime, manga, and video games have had a significant influence overseas.
The other day, a recipient of the CJPF Award from Saudi Arabia told me, "Content is Japan's oil." Moreover, he said that it's not a finite resource like oil, but an infinite asset that keeps being generated.
Furthermore, when we ask people from overseas what sparked their interest in Japan, a very large number of them answer anime, indicating that content serves as an entry point for learning about Japan.

■What do you want to achieve in the future?

I want to protect an environment where diverse content can be created while also addressing common challenges such as talent shortages.
Furthermore, I would like to create an experiential center as a hub for disseminating Japanese content to the world. While some countries abroad have publicly run centers for promoting manga and other related content, Japan still lacks sufficient facilities to comprehensively promote manga, anime, and other content. I believe it is necessary to develop a hub for disseminating Japanese content in cooperation with the world, in order to expand overseas.

■Please give us a message for students

What I want to tell everyone is, "Live your life the way you want!" When I was little, I told people around me that I dreamed of becoming a politician and fighting for justice, and they repeatedly said, "Are you crazy?" and "That's impossible." But now I am actually a politician. So, don't let someone's words "impossible" hold you back, and go ahead and do what you want to do.

Student Newspaper, April 2026 Issue: Ayatsuki Sakakura, 4rd year student, Tokyo Metropolitan University

Rurika Abe (2nd year, Showa Women's University) / Yurie Watanabe (2nd year, Josai International University) / Ryo Ishikawa (2nd year, Kansai Gaidai University) / Fuka Ota (4th year, Toyo University) / Chiharu Yamada (2nd year, Information Management Innovation Professional University) / Aoba Watanabe (1st year, Hosei University) / Satsuki Sakakura (3rd year, Tokyo Metropolitan University) / Risa Ukita (2nd year, Tokyo Woman's Christian University) / Hinano Shinoda (2nd year, Tokyo Kasei University) / Moe Ota (1st year, Nihon University) / Ayuki Erikawa (1st year, Information Management Innovation Professional University)