The most prominent foreigner I saw during my weeklong stay in Japan wasn’t some hotshot game designer, a touring music superstar, or even a pro athlete.
It was current McDonald’s mascot Mr. James.
Forget about that creepy clown — in Japan, the earnest, easily excitable Mr. James is the face and voice of McDonald’s these days, and he’s everywhere. Hop on the subway, and you’ll see his ads playing on the trains. Turn on the TV, and there he is again. Walk past any McDonald’s, and you’ll soon become acquainted with a life-sized version of the bespectacled, geeky, broken-Japanese-speaking (fictional) Ohio native. And since McDonald’s occupies approximately every 100 yards in places like Shibuya and Shinjuku, your chances of bumping into a cardboard cutout of Mr. James are approximately 100 percent.
But imagine if a group of Japanese businessman came to New York and saw a bumbling Japanese immigrant character dominating advertising on the NYC subway, on TV, and even in Times Square. I don’t think they’d come away with very positive impressions of the country — and they might be reluctant to do business there. Mr. James gives the impression of a country a little out of touch with the current international climate. Japan is filled with dorky white dudes spouting broken Japanese — I should know! But since the Japanese economy is going to be increasingly reliant on foreign trust and investment — especially the gaming industry — is this really the kind of image Japan wants to be projecting? Many observers wonder if the Japanese gaming industry is out of touch with the rest of the world, and caricatures like Mr. James only add ammunition to that argument.
I’m not offended by Mr. James — like I told 1UP editor Matt Leone in Tokyo, I’m more offended McDonald’s didn’t ask me to audition for the part! — but I’m personally worried at the impression it gives, especially in this economic climate. It’s not the 1980s anymore, and Japan doesn’t live in a bubble anymore, either — literally or figuratively. It’s a little issue in the grand scheme of things…but little things can make a big difference.