Book contents
- Exhibitionist Japan
- Exhibitionist Japan
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Names and References
- Introduction
- 1 Early Modern Exhibitions
- 2 Industrial Promotion
- 3 Municipal Branding
- 4 Modern Times
- 5 War and Peace
- 6 Big Event
- 7 Boom Time
- 8 Beyond Development?
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- Exhibitionist Japan
- Exhibitionist Japan
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Names and References
- Introduction
- 1 Early Modern Exhibitions
- 2 Industrial Promotion
- 3 Municipal Branding
- 4 Modern Times
- 5 War and Peace
- 6 Big Event
- 7 Boom Time
- 8 Beyond Development?
- Conclusion
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Following Expo 70, the Japanese state continued to use international exhibitions and other big events to remodel the archipelago, with Okinawa in 1975 and Tsukuba in 1985 the beneficiaries of the bureaucratic determination to develop the regions. They were vastly outnumbered, however, by a torrent of local initiatives in the 1980s, as cities and regions turned again to exhibitions, as they had in the 1930s, to resituate themselves on the national map, trying to navigate the shift of the economy away from heavy industry. This chapter explores both, thereby tracing the relationship between national plans and regional development. Big cities used expos to rebrand themselves for the information age, regional centres to advertise their distinction. Many expos continued to rely on corporate exhibits to attract the crowds; but some branched out, acknowledging environmental limits, and incorporating the local community, not just as consumers but also as participants. More important than the exhibits, however, was the demand unleashed by the expo and the impact on the local economy.
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- Exhibitionist JapanThe Spectacle of Modern Development, pp. 185 - 211Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025