(クールジャパン Kūru Japan)... ? Not so much, clearly.

Cool Japan was an initiative set forward by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) with the purpose of promoting Japan’s “creative industries” to foreign countries.

“The Japanese government made a new attempt at this in the name of Cool Japan, but while they have set up a huge budget for it, they have no idea where that money should go. It’s no exaggeration to say it has fallen into a downward spiral of wasted tax money flowing into little known companies."

“But the Cool Japan budget is still floating in the air. Who the hell is this budget for? I wonder if anyone living in Japan actually understands what Cool Japan does. I wonder what Cool Japan does. How many people can clearly answer that question? It’s sad."

  ~ Gackt ~

A recent online poll asked 

"What do you think of when you hear the words "Cool Japan?""

... an unedited (including spelling, structure, grammar, case errors) sampling of responses: