POPULAR GEOPOLITICS OF JAPAN: GEOPOLITICAL DISCOURSES OF ANIME

Geopolitical discourses are an integral part of the contemporary geopolitics of each state. Driven by geopolitical traditions and imagination, they intercept and thus create all aspects of the discipline of critical geopolitics-the formal, practical and popular. The main area of our research is the discourse embedded in the popular geopolitics of a specific cultural product of Japan, anime. Anime are unique and thus suited for analysis for two reasons. The first is their specific, local production and global recognition. The second is their double coding. Although they are a product of the traditional geopolitical culture of Japan's entertainment industry, they are able to create a contemporary geopolitical culture at the same time. Through an analysis of three anime series, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Earth Maiden Arjuna and Mobile Suit Gundam 00, we explore the geographic and geopolitical characteristics of Japan and their influence on the traditional, as well as the contemporary geopolitical discourses.