Japan is one of the most 'medialised' societies in the world. In the 1960s the renowned French semiologist Roland Barthes called Japan the 'Empire of Signs' and the importance of communication and media in Japan and its global impact is as strong as ever. Japan is home of the walkman and the play station, of manga and pachinko, and also has a huge 'soft industry' exporting anime and visual J-pop to Western markets. The research strand in contemporary Japanese Studies at the Sainsbury Institute concentrates on media history and on intercultural comparisons of media genres and consumption patterns. Ongoing explorations target on the depiction of European history in manga and the design of Japanese TV advertising in the 1960s. With research partners from Europe, Kyoto and Tokyo, a 'Japanese Media Studies' research workshop is held every two years at the Sainsbury Institute in Norwich.