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Abstract

This study aims to rethink international collaboration between the Philippines and Japan by looking into emergent cultural exchange approaches, policy frameworks on cultural diplomacy, and current scholarship on cultural exchange. It examines and compares Philippines-Japan cultural exchange activities organized and supported by the Japan Foundation from 2018 to 2019 and the early years of international COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 to 2021. The study also features reflexive insights from three female art practitioners in the Philippines who engaged in intercultural exchange with Japanese counterparts during the pandemic. Findings generally indicate that exchanges continued to be prolific during the pandemic, but primary modalities have been restructured toward archival practices and participatory activities shaped by the use of online communication and streaming platforms for hosting virtual gatherings and events. The study determined that Philippines-Japan exchanges continued together with other exchanges within Southeast Asia as agents in the region discussed shared concerns on sustainability, precarity, and marginality in creative and cultural work. By reexamining traditional notions on cultural diplomacy, entities continue to challenge top down, soft power approaches by emphasizing smaller, community centered forms of exchange—a critical point as Japan restructures its international cultural policies in the Asian region. Thus, agents are tasked to rethink cultural exchange between Japan and the Philippines and to reimagine engagements in a post-COVID future.

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