Japanese local government and non-state actors' public diplomacy to promote Kamakurakokomae Station after the release of the First Slam Dunk in 2022-2025

This study examines how Japanese local governments and non-state actors conduct public diplomacy to promote Kamakurakokomae Station after the release of The First Slam Dunk in 2022–2025. Employing a descriptive qualitative approach, it conducts document analysis of policy materials, official tourism portals, municipal communication outputs, media archives, and publicly available digital content. The analytical lens combines the role concept with Jian Wang’s sub-national public diplomacy indicators: interests and capabilities, dimensions of goals, multi-layered communication, and involvement and roles. Findings show that Kanagawa Prefecture institutionalizes the fan-recognized “Slam Dunk spot” into an official destination identity by framing Kamakurakokomae within anime-based narratives and route-making. Kamakura City complements this branding by visualizing visitor experience through official video content and by communicating norms of safe, orderly visitation in a small everyday space. Non-state collaboration particularly Enoden’s mobility services and participatory community mechanisms such as citizen-contributed promotional symbols help translate symbolic popularity into practical access, legitimacy, and wider visibility. Slam Dunk’s fanbase functions as a transnational non-state actor by continuously circulating repeatable social-media visuals that reproduce Kamakurakokomae’s meaning as an anime pilgrimage site across borders. Overall, the study argues that anime-driven attention becomes more durable when promotion is coupled with coordinated destination governance and inclusive partnerships that reinforce Japan’s positive image abroad over time.