The focus of this master's thesis is on the role of specific media in the diffusion of Japanese culture. Even though Japan is both geographically distant and culturally distinct from the rest of the world, it has become popular among fans globally. One of the main factors contributing to this fascination is a so-called media mix including Japan-specific media ranging from manga and anime to videogames. The aim of this master's thesis is to find out, based on a quantitative research conducted in both Czech and English-speaking environments, how various media outlets in Japan contribute to its popularity world-wide, identify the most important medium and scrutinize it through a descriptive analysis based on the theories of globalisation and cultural hybridisation to see what makes this medium so distinct. The author discovered that the most significant medium contributing to the diffusion of Japanese culture is anime. One of the main reasons behind its success is a commercial strategy of Japanese producers who intentionally remove cultural boundaries out of anime to make it globally acceptable. Another contributing factor connected to that, is the hybrid look of anime characters that do not have the physical features of Japanese people, which is why audiences tend to link the characters to their own...

Dans la société d’aujourd’hui, les médias sont indispensables et très importants pour les activités des citoyens. Les médias se sont développés avec les évolutions des systèmes sociaux et économiques aussi bien qu'avec les avancées technologiques. Les médias ont été utilisés par les autorités pour le contrôle de la société pendant la période de la guerre quand la liberté d’expression était sévèrement limitée. Cependant, après l’époque de l’Occupation, le Japon a gagné le statut de régime démocratique où les médias peuvent s’exprimer librement. Le système de 1955, qui a assuré la domination d'un parti du parlement ( le PLD ) sans interruption pendant 38 ans, a été rendu possible par les conditions propres à la situation politique au Japon. Par contre, plus tard, les médias ont largement contribué à la chute de ce système politique solide ayant duré si longtemps. Désormais, les médias ont tendance à exercer une grande influence sur la politique. D’autre part, les autorités ont commencé à prendre des mesures pour le contrôle des médias en leur faveur, ce qui est une ingérence dans les médias et une pression considérable sur leurs activités d’expression. Dans une situation où la liberté des médias est limitée, les citoyens, en revanche, ont réagi face aux autorités avec des moyens nouveaux, et la relation entre les médias et la politique devient plus essentielle pour nous de nos jours. / Nowadays in the society, the media are essential and very important for the activities of people. The media have developed with the evolution of social and economic systems as well as technological advancements. The media were used by the authorities to control the society during the war, when the freedom of expression was severely limited. However, after the period of the occupation, Japan won the state of a democratic regime, where the media could enjoy freedom of expression. The 1955 system, where domination by one party of Parliament ( the LDP ) continued without interruption for 38 years, was created by the unique conditions of politics in Japan. However, later, the media contributed greatly to the fall of this strong political system with long duration. Now the media have a tendency to exert a great influence on politics. On the other hand, the authorities began to take measures to control the media in favor of their policy, which is interference in the media and made considerable pressure on their expression activities. Under the situation where media freedom is limited, the people, however, reacted against the authorities with new means and the relationship between media and politics is becoming more serious for us today.

This master's thesis examines how powerful and determining Japanese cultural influence is and how it impacts today's globalized world. It primarily focuses on the Czech audience and its relationship to Japan. The aim of this research is to assess the current efforts made by the Japanese government to export its culture, and compare them with the image that Czech society has on Japan. The primary source of this research is quantitative data collected from Czech and Slovak respondents. . Data was collected by a semi-structured questionnaire that consisted of both open and closed questions and that was spread in electronic form. The first section of the thesis empirical. The main theoretical, historical, and socio-cultural concepts of Japan. are defined and explained in the context of modern convergence culture and the Japanese media mix theory. Japanese cultural diplomacy and the application of soft power as the primary bearer of influence over the West are explained through the critical analysis of specific campaigns. Then, the methodological section analyzes the answers of 1,609 respondents across three predefined samples. Analysis shows that Japan's cultural promotion efforts in the Czech Republic are limited, and that take place primarily through official agencies or directly through the fans of...