E-ISSN 2240-0524 ISSN 2239-978X Journal of Educational and Social Research www.richtmann.org Vol 12 No 5 September 2022 11 . Research Article © 2022 Fernández-Bedoya et al. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) Received: 14 June 2022 / Accepted: 20 August 2022 / Published: 2 September 2022 Exposure to Anime in Peru and Its Relationship with Demand for Goods and Services Related to Japanese Popular Culture Víctor Hugo Fernández-Bedoya Johanna de Jesús Stephanie Gago-Chávez Monica Elisa Meneses-La-Riva Josefina Amanda Suyo-Vega Division of Research, Universidad César Vallejo, Av. Larco 1770, Trujillo 13001, Peru DOI: https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2022-0118 Abstract Japanese animation, usually referred as anime, has gained popularity around the world. Anime fans, when exposed to this audio-visual product, generate unique feelings, which could develop into an attraction for other cultural products of Japanese origin. The objective of the study is to determinate significates relationships between exposure to anime and the raising demand for goods and services related to Japanese popular (in the means of desire to consume manga, to eat Japanese cuisine, to wear Japanese fashion, to attend a Japanese rock or pop concert, to study the Japanese language, and to travel to Japan). The research was conducted in Arenales Plaza, a famous otaku congregation place located in Lima, Peru. Data was collected through a questionnaire developed by the authors, applied to a sample of 68 observations. The descriptive results identified high levels in each of the observed variables. As for the inferential results, Spearman's rho statistical test determined that there was a relationship between exposure to anime and the desire to consume manga (p. < 0.001; r = 0.75), desire to consume Japanese cuisine (p. < 0.001; r = 0.65), desire to consume Japanese fashion (p. < 0.001; r = 0.65), desire to consume Japanese pop and rock music (p. < 0.001; r = 0.25), desire to study Japanese (p. < 0.001; r = 0.25), and desire to travel to Japan (p. < 0.001; r = 0.53). Keywords: anime; Japanese popular culture; manga; Japanese cuisine; Japanese fashion; study Japanese; travel to Japan; otaku; demand 1. Introduction Before learning what started the interest of a young student in Peru in watching computer animations, reading comics, eating traditional food, buying toys, or listening to music from Japan, a country located 9,632 miles away, a new word needs to be discussed: otaku. The contemporary usage of the word otaku originates in an essay titled “A Study of Otaku” that appeared in 1983. In this essay, anime fans in Japan back then used this word in conversations among themselves (Morikawa, 2012). Otakus are mainly interested in anime, manga, games, the Internet,