Diplomacia Washoku: Sobre la Relevancia de la Gastrodiplomacia en las Estrategias de Soft Power de Japón

Abstract

This article aims to analyze how Japan has incorporated gastrodiplomacy into its Soft Power strategies as an element of its foreign policy. To meet this objective, it will be explained that since 2005 the country of the rising sun has incorporated gastrodiplomacy into its foreign policy strategies through two tools. First, through the creation of The Organization for the Promotion of Overseas Japanese Restaurants, a non-profit organization aiming to recommend traditional Japanese restaurants abroad, as well as the use of ingredients and culinary skills. Japanese. Second, through the launch of a national branding campaign, they have successfully added their traditional cuisine, Washoku, to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The article is argumentative and descriptive in nature since it aims to demonstrate the relevance of gastrodiplomacy as an instrument of cultural diplomacy through which Japan managed to mobilize cultural resources to communicate and attract audiences from other countries.