JETRO Gives Lecture on Media Literacy at J.F. Oberlin University

November 2024

On November 25, 2024, Mr. Shiga Daisuke of JETRO's Digital Marketing Department gave a lecture on“Branding Japanese Products in Overseas Markets Using Foreign Media”at J.F. Oberlin University Associate Professor Nishikawa Junko's Media Literacy (media ethics) Course. Professor Nishikawa is affiliated with Oberlin's College of Global Communications.

The lecture was based on Mr. Shiga's experience at JETRO’s Mexico office. He gave examples of how he handled the expansion of sales channels of Japanese marine products in Mexico. In the debate that followed, students discussed subjects such as how to make use of media outlets and social media to brand Japanese products and what to be aware of to ensure that information on Japanese products and services is correctly reported by overseas media.

Comments from the students included realistic proposals such as: “It would be good for producers including people engaging in farming and fishing to open social media accounts and give firsthand descriptions of how things are like.” “Reporting should be carried out after making sure that overseas audiences don’t find issues with the tone of the reporting and is free of linguistic and cultural problems.”

JETRO intends to keep up its efforts to promote the further development of international business by sparking an interest among students throughout Japan and by demonstrating the importance of international business.