The acceleration of media culture globalization processes cross-fertilization and people’s exchange beyond the confinement of national borders, but not all of them lead to substantial transformations of national identity or foster cosmopolitan outlook in terms of openness, togetherness and dialogue within and beyond the national borders. Whilst national borders continue to become more and more porous, the measures of border control are constantly reformulated to tame disordered flows and tightly re-demarcate the borders—materially, physically, symbolically and imaginatively. Border crossing does not necessarily bring about the transgression of borders. Transgression of borders requires one to fundamentally question how borders in the existing form have been socio-historically constructed and also seek to displace their exclusionary power that unevenly divide “us” and “them” and “here” and “there.” This book considers how media culture and the management of people’s border crossing movement combine with Japan's cultural diversity to institute the creation of national cultural borders in Japanese millennials. Critical analysis of this development is a pressing matter if we are to seriously consider how to make Japan’s national cultural borders more inclusive and dialogic.  

"Iwabuchi's is the only book by a Japanese author to emphasize the sociological link between cultural borders and ethnic minority groups in Japan, especially the zainichi. . . .Iwabuchi distinguishes himself from other mainstream cultural pundits in Japan by openly underscoring how national borders are reinforcing invisible ones within Japan." - Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review

"The sharp analysis in Resilient Borders and Cultural Diversity offers rich insight into the local effects of the globalization of Japan's media culture. This primarily cultural theory text is a rare gem that uncovers how practices inherent in globalization should lead us to action. The book delivers a sophisticated theoretical engagement with key questions in the study of globalization, cultural studies, and Asian studies. In addition, Iwabuchi's contributions to foreign policy debates, concerns with multiculturalism in Japan, and the broader literature on resident Koreans should not be overlooked. The author's fresh perspective on these issues urges further study on similar processes in other Asian countries." - The Journal of Japanese Studies