Semiotic Analysis Of Japan’s National Image From An Intercultural Perspective

After World War II,although Japan’s economy successfully recovered through a series of national policy reforms,it was still difficult to improve its international status.At present,Japan is the third largest economy in the world,but it still has a long way to go when it comes to attaining its international reputation and voice.As a quadrennial grand sporting event,the Olympic Games has attracted attention from all over the world.Although the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been postponed due to the ravages of the COVID-19,Tokyo Eight Minutes,a preview of the Tokyo Olympics,is still worthy of Chinese consideration and study.Based on Saussure’s "signifier","signified","biaxial theory",Zhao Yiheng’s"accompanying text" theory,and Roland Barthes’s metalanguage theory of "implied meaning",this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the signs selected and applied in Tokyo Eight Minutes.At the same time,based on the results of the above semiotic analysis,this paper summarizes what kind of national image Japan wants to show to the world.This paper is divided into five chapters with discussion.The first Chapter introduces the background,purpose,question,methodology and innovation of the research.Chapter 2 conducts a literature review of the current status of foreign and domestic research,and sorts out the theories related to this thesis,including the connotations of national image,intercultural communication,and semiotics.Chapter 3 provides an in-depth semiotic analysis of Tokyo Eight Minutes,in which the audio-visual symbols are found to be skillfully applied to express the Japanese traditional culture,high-tech achievements and "super symbols" which become popular worldwide:the overall color palette of the show,red,black and white,shows the traditional Japanese aesthetic(mono no aware);the resemblance of the "O" among the words,"Tokyo","sport" and "2020" is used to reflect the Japanese flag;the Japanese urban architecture is endowed with the sports spirit of "higher,faster and stronger";and the modern and anti-war soundtrack indicates that Japan embarks on a new era of peace-loving.On the basis of the third Chapter,the fourth Chapter discusses the national image of Japan presented and shaped by Tokyo Eight Minutes.Tokyo Eight Minutes shows a diversified national image with gratitude,strong IP and innovation to the world.The fifth Chapter explores the enlightenment of the Tokyo Eight Minutes visual symbol to the intercultural communication.First,super-IP symbols should be created to expand the influence of Chinese culture.Find a breakthrough to integrate into the cultural environment of "other countries",innovate cultural forms,and combine excellent culture with the spirit and technology of new era so as to create own "super symbols",as well as continuously expand Chinese influence.Second,new coding methods should be created to break through cultural barriers.Intercultural communication is not merely about outputting "muscle show",but also about striding across "cultural barriers" as much as possible and finding the most appropriate symbolic expression for local culture.Third,cultural confidence should be built to improve national cultural literacy.China’s 5,000 years of culture boasts extensiveness and profoundness,and the most important path to achieve national cultural confidence is to implement the humanities education to the education system of cultural policy and the construction of humanities environment in the social atmosphere.Through the analysis and discussion of this thesis,it is possible to grasp the innovative core of Japan’s application of diversified "cultural symbols" in depth to reshape its national image leveraging on the world stage of Tokyo Eight Minutes,and it also provides valuable experience for China’s intercultural communication and national image building.