The Japanese [heart] France

The English language in general and the U.S. in particular are a great source of inspiration to Japan, and America often represents many high ideals to socially-restricted Japanese young people, including that always-elusive concept of “freedom” they associate with us, despite not really having an idea what the word might actually mean. Still, it’s not that rare for Japanese to live and find success in places like New York or Los Angeles or London, and as a result there’s a somewhat reduced amount of kakko ii (lit. “good style”) associated with the English language. To be really cool, it seems, you have to go to France, which is idolized by many Japanese because it’s so different, both culturally and linguistically, from this corner of the world. When popular actress Kumiko Gotoh married F1 driver Jean Alesi and moved to Europe, there was a collective sigh of envy from every female in Japan who wished they, too, could be swept off their feet like that, and the actress has been able to maintain her popularity despite not living in Japan full time. Other stars like actress Miho Nakayama and former newscaster Eriko Nakamura also live in Paris, making them minor legends in the entertainment world here. France is used to add mystique to characters, too, such as the fashion doll Licca-chan (far more popular than Barbie here), who is half Japanese and half French, or the magically challenged Louise Françoise de la Bamue le Blanc de la Vallière from Zero no Tsukaima, whose French-sounding name adds a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to her character. The No. 1 manufacturer of beds in Japan is France Bed, which has built quite a brand making people think their products are made in the land of of cheese and wine, although its bed have a large tag “Made in Japan” on their products if you look closely.