To further cultural promotions between Israel and Japan, Israel launched a campaign late last year to attract Japanese tourists by using Japan’s favourite cultural tool, “anime”.

On 6 May, Israel’s Embassy in Japan received three awards in the prestigious “2015 WorldMediaFestival | TOURISM – Global Competition for Modern Media” event in Hamburg, Germany. The awards were for Israel, LIKE! Saki & Noriko Sisters’ Journey , an original seven-episode series telling the story of the surprising journey of two Japanese sisters to Israel. The series was produced in Japan by MANGAnimation.

The embassy won three Silver Awards “recognising successful achievement in modern media communication” in the categories of Animation – Anime/Manga, PR – cities, regions and countries, and Web – government-to-citizen.

This first-of-its-kind project by a foreign embassy in Japan is intended to introduce Israel to the Japanese public in a soft, non-political way, focusing on the country’s landscapes, cuisine, long history, vibrant culture and modern lifestyle. According to Israel’s Ambassador to Japan, Ruth Kahanoff, the project’s goal is to “connect to Japanese pop culture, and use anime to reach the Japanese audience, especially youth, and display the Israel beyond the conflict.”