The power of circulation: Digital technologies and the online Chinese fans of Japanese TV drama

The wave of Japanese TV dramas in the mid-to-late 1990s covered the whole of the Southeast Asian region, with the greatest influence in societies with a Chinese population.1 The main appeals of Japanese TV ‘trendy’ dramas to Asian audiences are the young people’s stories of love, work, friendship and consumerism in the metropolis, which operates in the cognitive frames of the cultural proximity between Japan and other Asian countries (Iwabuchi 2005: 23-26). In addition, Asian modernity is ‘synchronously and contemporaneously’ experienced by Asian audiences through the viewing of Japanese TV dramas (Iwabuchi 2004: 15). From other perspectives, Japanese TV drama in general symbolizes the high-quality scripts and expensive TV production that also demonstrate the greater advance of Japanese modernity and consumerism (Ko 2004: 420-424; Lee 2004: 135-144). As early as 1993, Taiwan pioneered the fever for Japanese TV dramas whether in legal or pirated form and Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Malaysia have followed in its footsteps. In addition, it is not surprising to find that some Chinese fans may live in Western countries, such as the US, Canada, Britain and Australia. Up to the present (2004), the steady demand for Japanese TV dramas has created a niche market catering for a certain Chinese audience that is consistently interested in watching Japanese TV dramas.