¹ In the years following the burst of the bubble economy, especially between 1991 and 1998, Japan's GDP continued to drop at the rate of one percent every year. See Yoshikawa Hiroshi, Japan's Lost Decade (trans. Charles H. Stewart), Tokyo: The International House of Japan, 2002.

² Yamaguchi Yoshiko was born in Manchuria in 1920. Her father worked for the South Manchuria Railway and she was raised in China. Pro-Japanese figures Li Jichun and Pan Yugui who became her adoptive fathers and gave her alternative names Li Xianglan and Pan Shuhua. She made her debut in a Ma, n'ei film Honeymoon Express (1938, Ueno Shinji) with the stage name Li Xianglan. Becoming one of the company's top stars, she took part in numerous “national policy films.” Her works include Japanese films: Journey to the East (1939/Otani Toshio), China Nights (1940, Fushimizu Osamu), Eternity (1943, Bu Wancang and others) and Sayon's Bell (1943, Shimizu Hiroshi); Hong Kong-Japanese collaborations: The Lady of Mystery (1957, Wakasugi Mitsuo), and The Unforgettable (1958, Bu Wancang). Yamaguchi's Japanese identity was kept secret until Japan's surrender when she was charged with being a “traitor.” After the war she starred in Japanese and American films, as well as Hong Kong's Shaw and Sons’ musicals. Yamaguchi, who was once a superstar in China, provides an example of a Japanese who enjoyed immense popularity in a foreign country.

³ Ishihara Yūjirō (1934-1987) was born in Kobe. He debuted in Season of the Sun (1956, Furukawa Takumi), a film adaptation of his elder brother Ishihara Shintaro's novel. Subsequent films such as Crazed Fruit (1956, Nakahira Kō) and Man Who Causes a Storm (1957, Inoue Umetsugu) made him a superstar and icon of the “sun-tribe” culture. Yūjirō's rebellious and energetic character made him one of the best loved Japanese actors of the Showa period. However, plagued by illness during the last year of his life, he died of liver cancer at the age of 52. The Ishihara Yujirō Memorial Museum opened in June 1991 in Hokkaido's Otaru, a city where he spent part of his childhood.

⁴ Misora Hibari (1937-1989) was born in Yokohama. Her singing talent was recognized at a very young age. At 12, she began her career in a movie called The Age of Amateur Singing Manias (1949, Saitō Torajirō). Her performance in Dancing Dragon Palace (1949, Sasaki Yasushi), a film in which she also sang the theme song, captured national attention. Throughout her career she played in over 160 films including Sad Whistling (1949, Leki Miyoji), Tokyo Kid (1950, Saitō Torajirō), Hibari's Lullaby (1951, Shima Koji) and The Dancing Girl of Izu (1954, Nomura Yoshitaro). A best-selling singer, she was also a frequent guest of NHK's annual kōhaku music show. Her death at the age of 52 was widely mourned. The Misora Hibari Museum was opened in Kyoto's Arashiyama in 1994.

⁵ Some of his best known TV dramas are Long Vacation (1996, Fuji TV), Beautiful Life (2000, TBS), Pride (2004, Fuji TV), The Grand Family (2007, TBS), Change (2008, Fuji TV) and Mr. Brain (2009, TBS).

⁶ Just as SMAP tried to boost the country's confidence with their album, Hirai Ken's latest album is titled Japanese Singer. Released in June 2011, three months after the March 11 earthquake, this title carries special meaning to Hirai because he is often mistaken for a foreigner due to his Westerner-looking face. In an interview with CNN, he spoke of his insecurity for not looking like typical Japanese. See “Hirai Ken Talk Asia Interview,” February 28, 2007. Available here (accessed 7 September 2011). Furthermore, Japanese Singer can also be seen as emphasizing national identity. The CD cover features him holding a red ball, which can immediately be associated with Japan. See “Hirai Ken sannen buri no furu arubamu ga ririsu kettei” [Hirai Ken's new album in three years to be released], Cinema Today, May 10, 2011. Available here (accessed 6 September 2011). In fact the “rising sun,” usually accompanied by slogans like “Nippon ganbare, Tōhoku ganbare” (Don't give up, Japan; don't give up, Tohoku), has frequently appeared in the Japanese media since the earthquake. In the same manner, The Economist features an illustration by Jon Berkeley which shows rescuers struggling to stop a giant red ball from rolling downhill. See “The Fallout,” The Economist, March 17, 2011. Available here (accessed 6 September 2011). In an attempt to raise funds for quake-stricken Japan, designer brand Kate Spade released a limited edition tote bag. It features a “spade,” a “heart” and a “rising sun.”

⁷ The latest of the series Always: Sunset on Third Street ‘64 is scheduled for release in early 2012. The story takes place in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympics.

⁸ Examples of Generation X directors include Sasabe Kiyoshi (1958), Inudō Isshin (1960), Togashi Shin (1960), Shiota Akihiko (1961), Shinohara Tetsuo (1962), Iwai Shunji (1963), Doi Nobuhiro (1964) and Yukisada Isao (1968). Original authors from this generation include Katayama Kyōichi (1959) who wrote Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World, Ichikawa Takuji (1962) who wrote Be with You and Heavenly Forest, Murayama Yuka (1964) who wrote The Angel's Eggs, Asakura Takuya (1966) who wrote The Gift and, Tanaka Wataru (1967) and Matsuhisa Atsushi (1968) who co-wrote Heaven's Bookstore.

⁹ Battle Royale (2000, Fukasaku Kinji), Ju-on: The Grudge (2003, Shimizu Takashi) and Death Note (2006, Kaneko Shusuke) are works that blame incompetent fathers. By contrast,, Poppoya Railroad Man (1999, Furuhata Yasuo), Departures (2008, Takita Yōjirō) and Tokyo Sonata (2008, Kurosawa Kiyoshi) are movies that stress contributions by fathers.

¹⁰ Collage of Our Life (2003, Tsutsumi Yukihiko), Yomigaeri (2003, Shiota Akihiko), A Heartful of Love (2005, Shiota Akihiko) and Heavenly Forest (2006, Shinjo Takehiko) are other examples of post 1990s melodrama.

¹¹ Cary Huang. “Bigger than Japan - now what?” South China Morning Post, August 17, 2010.

¹² On September 7, 2010, Chinese fishing boat captain Zhan Qixiong was arrested by Japan after his boat collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats. The Japanese Ambassador to China, Niwa Uichirō, was summoned by the Chinese government on several occasions in protest against what the Chinese side argued was the illegal detention of Zhan. The arrest sparked anti-Japan protests across China and anti-China protests subsequently broke out in Japan. Sino-Japanese relations hit an all-time low. The two countries did not resume ministerial exchanges until late February 2011.

¹³ Following Abe Shinzō, Fukuda Yasuo, Aso Tarō and Hatoyama Yukio, Kan Naoto became the latest Japanese prime minister to resign. Noda Yoshihiko succeeded him as Japan's prime minister.

¹⁴ Takeuchi Yūko also played in Yomigaeri, Night of the Shooting Stars (2003, Togashi Shin), Heaven's Bookstore (2004, Shinohara Tetsuo), Spring Snow (2005, Yukisada Isao), Closed Note (2007, Yukisada Isao), Flowers (2010, Koizumi) and Wife and My 1778 Stories (2011, Hoshi Mamoru). She is regarded as one of the iyashi kei (healing type) representatives. The iyashi kei phenomenon originated from Iijima Naoko's 1995 canned coffee commercial which was said to be a “spiritual retreat” to the audience. The term iyashi kei, however, first appeared in 1999 when Sakamoto Ryuichi's EP Ura BTTB was described as “iyashi ongaku” (healing music). From then on, whoever (for example Yūka and Bae Yong-joon) or whatever (cute soft toys) is soft and carries “healing” power can be appreciated as iyashi kei.

¹⁵ Likewise in Love Letter, the young male Fujii Itsuki is always showered in sunlight.

¹⁶ The original lyrics are 瞳を閉じて 記憶の中に 君を探すよ それだけでいい なくしたものを 越 える強さを 君がくれたから 君がくれたから

¹⁷ Nagasawa Masami is another icon of Japanese melodrama. She also features in Touch, a film that depicts a period characterized by unity and harmony. Both Touch and Rough (2006, Ō?tani Kentarō), also starring Nagasawa, are adaptations of Adachi Mitsuru's comic. Touch is a 126-episode comic series published between 1981 and 1987. The young characters are energetic and their parents are warm-hearted. The series is a symbol of the 1980s, and the perfect picture it portrays is in sharp contrast with the dysfunctional families in Japanese films produced after the 1990s.

¹⁸ Watanabe Ken is one of Hollywood's best known Japanese actors. Some of his works include The Last Samurai (2003, Edward Zwick), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005, Rob Marshall), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006, Clint Eastwood) and Inception (2010, Christopher Nolan).

¹⁹ Having overcome a series of troubles and accidents, the spacecraft finally returned to earth in June 2010. The story caught the attention of filmmakers and four films about it have already been produced. Apart from Watanabe's film, documentary Hayabusa Back to the Earth (2011, Kōsaka Hiromitsu), Hayabusa (2011, Tsutsumi Yukihiko) starring Takeuchi Yūko, and Okaeri, Hayabusa (2012, Motoki Katsuhide) starring Watanabe Ken's daughter Anne, are also inspired by the event.