Branding Cool, Bordering Labour

Abstract

Tokyo is routinely represented as a cosmopolitan global city despite having a low foreign-born population compared with other top-tier global cities. This paper explains that gap by bringing together five bodies of literature on symbolic globalization, global-city migration, Cool Japan, world-city cultural production, and differential migrant inclusion. Using a qualitative, document-based comparison of scholarship and institutional statistics, it argues that Tokyo's global-city image foregrounds marketable cultural exchange, tourism, and elite expatriate life while rendering lower-wage migrant labour comparatively invisible. Roppongi serves as a cross-reference point where elite and low-end globalization coexist. The evidence supports a functional interpretation: the brand is stabilized by keeping much of the labour on which it depends outside its dominant imagery. Because the branding and labour evidence comes from parallel literatures rather than campaign-content analysis or interviews, the paper identifies a convergent pattern rather than proving intentional exclusion or a direct causal mechanism.

Cite

Tianbao, Y. (2026). Branding Cool, Bordering Labour. School of International Liberal Studies, WRepo. https://wrepo.net/papers/branding-cool-bordering-labour