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Kawai Shion, an influencer diplomat, talks about cultural communication in the modern age

Exclusive Interview | Kawai Shion (Head of the Public Relations and Cultural Division at the Embassy of Japan in Israel)

Nowadays is the social media era. Social media influencers are becoming a hot topic not only as personal figures but also in business and entertainment fields. The Embassy is no exception to this. The official Facebook page of the Embassy of Japan in Israel has more than 16,000 followers, and the numbers keep growing. Behind the page's success is the hard work of the Public Relations and Culture Team and their passionate desire to convey Japanese culture.


This time, we interviewed Mr. Kawai Shion, the head of the Public Relations and Cultural Division.



Fulfilling a 20 years dream of going to Israel

Kawai san always had aspirations  to become a diplomat and work in Israel. However, the road to this position took a lot of time and hard work.


Kawai san, who originally liked English and was interested in international relations, studied at a kibbutz (collectivist cooperative) in Israel for about a year after graduating from university, and learned Hebrew while volunteering.


“In the kibbutz, there were people from all over the world, but I was the only Japanese person there. I was asked a lot of questions about Japan because of this. Of course, I was just a young foreign student and not a diplomat at that time, but it was a great experience for me to have such occasions to explain about Japan as a “representative of Japan.”


It felt right for me at that time, and I thought that working as a diplomat would allow me to tell the world more about Japan.”


According to Kawai san, his study abroad experience at the kibbutz was an inspiration. It seems that he had a natural  talent even before he became a diplomat.


After returning to Japan, Kawai san joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. When he became a diplomat, he wanted to specialize in Hebrew, but was assigned to study Russian. He studied Russian for two years, and was assigned to work in Kazakhstan and Moscow, and worked in the sections related to Russian-speaking countries in Tokyo to build his career as a diplomat.


When he was about to give up on his dream of being assigned to Israel, Kawai san found out that a position for the Embassy in Tel Aviv was on a list for open recruitment inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He applied for the position without hesitation and was successfully selected, fulfilling his dream of 20 years.



We asked Kawai san what is it about Israel that made it his dream environment to work in. 


“I can’t explain why I like Israel. Just like you can’t explain why you fall in love with someone in your class. There’s something about Israel that I’m attracted to and have feelings for. I felt a strong attachment to this country as if I could not explain it logically.”


Followers are doubled in 2 years! How to transmit culture like an influencer

We asked Kawai san, who is currently working as a diplomat at the Japanese Embassy in Israel, about his job.


“Before the spread of the Coronavirus, we were planning and organizing in-person events, lectures, and workshops to promote Japanese culture in Israel. Very fortunately, here in Israel, there are many people who have rich experiences and professional expertise  in various fields of Japanese culture, such as Japanese drummers, calligraphers, and Japanese language teachers. With their grateful cooperation , we, as the embassy, can provide a platform to connect with more Israelis who are keen to know more about Japan.


After the spread of the Coronavirus, we couldn’t do any in-person events, so we switched to all online lectures.״


At the “Japanese Evening” event held in Jerusalem to introduce Japanese culture.

The most recent project of the embassy was the “Japanese Language Project”. This project offered five lectures on the basic Japanese language to people who are interested in learning it while covering themes such as Japanese food and tourism. The project was a huge success, with over 1,500 people participating.


Embassy Friday Lecture. A lecture is held on Fridays at the library of the Japanese Embassy and they are always fully booked.

One of the Embassy’s initiatives that has been getting a lot of attention is their Facebook page. As soon as they post something, they get a lot of likes. The posts are about Japanese news, the Japanese language, art, cooking, and more. A recent popular post was “Fallen Leaf Art”. It’s a great way to learn about an interesting culture that even some Japanese people are not familiar with.



“If I don’t think it’s interesting, no one else will think it’s interesting.”

“We look for a variety of topics on Japan-related websites and blogs. We are actively using social networking sites to distribute information, and not just in traditional ways.


Today, if you send out information in the old-fashioned “uptight” way, no one will be interested in it. If you want to get proper exposure, you have to be a little softer, especially with younger people.”


Embassy booth at the “Harukon” cosplay event in Jerusalem. Embassy staff also participated in cosplay.

The embassy’s Facebook posts are always full of entertaining content, photos, and videos. One of the most popular is the video in which Kawai san himself appears. In his original videos, he uses the Hebrew he learned on the kibbutz. Now he is known as the Japanese diplomat that explains Japanese culture in Hebrew.


This video was made in collaboration with the Israeli channel “Kan 11”. The video called “How to use chopsticks properly” and had attracted attention.

“One day my local staff advised me to show my face and transmit Japanese culture through videos, so I started to distribute original videos. Israelis don’t usually have Japanese people around them, and they don’t know what kind of people are working at the embassy, so I am trying to give them a friendly image by showing my face in the videos. I wanted to break down the stereotypical image of embassies and diplomats, and I’m not the type of person who doesn’t mind being filmed, so I’ve been brushing up my skills little by little until now.


What I think is important in distributing social media is to find a good balance between classic things such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy and modern things such as anime and cosplay so that people can get to know a wide range of them.


Also, we do not only introduce Japanese culture in a one-sided way but also make an effort to express our sympathy and respect for the history and culture of Israel.”


As an example, the video about the Jewish New Year was a wonderful example of the intersection of Israeli and Japanese cultures. Introducing how to fold a paper pomegranate, the symbol of the Jewish New Year, in collaboration with the Israel Origami Center. Kawai san, as a friendly diplomat who can explain in fluent Hebrew, is probably one of the reasons why the video attracted so much attention.



The Future of Japan-Israel Relations and Kawai san’s Goal as a Diplomat

“As a numerical goal, I'd like to double our current number of followers!”


Kawai san is a skilled influencer. When he walks down the beach in his private time, he is sometimes approached by people who say, “I’ve seen you on Facebook.”


The feedback on his social networking posts has been great, with many comments such as “Kol Hakavod” (well done). At this rate, Kawai san is sure he will reach his goal of increasing the followers soon. Besides, his future goal is to “plant seeds for the future,” he says.


“I hope that the number of Israelis studying Japanese will increase, especially among the younger generation. This will plant the seeds for a better future for bilateral relations between our countries.  Let us imagine that a young Israeli who is interested in studying Japanese will go on to study in Asian studies, go to Japan as a researcher, and become an expert who knows Japan well. Such a case can be a great asset for mutual understanding and respect between our people. 


However, such things do not happen overnight, it is a steady process, but it is a goal for us to develop long term interest with Japan and have Israelis who understand Japan, not just for a temporary boom.”



Kawai san is passionate about Japan-Israel relations and is working while considering the next 20 to 30 years.


“I was lucky. Nowadays, Israelis are interested in everything about Japan,” he says. In reality, however, this is possible due to the creative efforts of the Embassy and the Public Relations and Cultural Division, led by Kawai san.


The Israelis are very pro-Japan. Behind the ever-increasing interest in Japan was the enthusiasm and effort of the PR and Culture team.


Finally, Kawai san gave a message to the readers of ISRAERU.


“Israel is a country that you will never understand unless you come and talk with people on the spot. There are many things that I still don’t understand even after living in Israel for two years,” he laughs.


“It is a small, but deep and fascinating country. Ordinary Japanese people don’t have many opportunities to know much about Israel, so I want to tell them that it is such an interesting place. To do so, I would like to invite everyone to visit Israel and experience it for themselves.”


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Translated by ISRAERU