Аннотация:Many researchers agree that H allyu (the K orean W ave) has been pivotal in promoting a positive K orean national image worldwide, including in J apan, due to H allyu 's unique cultural power, which has touched the hearts of many female fans. However, scholars disagree on the effectiveness of H allyu as a reliable soft power for K orean public diplomacy. The attractiveness of H allyu seems to have decidedly waned in J apan amid the emergence of the second A be cabinet, which did not curtail routinized large‐scale anti‐ H allyu demonstrations in T okyo. Simultaneously, the A be government is strongly asserting J apan's new identity as a normal state that could maintain a standing army, while openly engaging in territorial disputes with neighbors and denying wartime atrocities through routine cabinet‐level visits to the Y asukuni S hrine. We argue, however, that H allyu soft power has an enduring impact on the large number of female supporters of H allyu in J apan, including A be's spouse, by empowering them in politics and international relations as a new feminine power group. Unlike the traditional patrimonial households, where J apanese fathers inculcate a strong sense of anti‐ K orea discourse in their children, the new H allyu “moms” are now decidedly training their children to be politically neutral and culturally appreciative of K orea. We find that H allyu , as a cultural alternative to the male‐dominated Japanese pop culture, is gaining unremitting popular support among Japanese women who are disgruntled over J apan's “lost decades.”
