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The argument of this article is that privatization of the audiovisual sector has had unintended consequences. The proliferation of private television channels has fragmented advertising markets and created incentives for the increasing importation of cheap American programming. This phenomenon is evident despite the fact that the demand for such programming is eclipsed by audience preferences to see their own cultures on the small screen. Thus the paradox of television privatization is that, in cultural terms, it has led to less, rather than more, consumer choice. While the debates about Americanization have mostly dwelled on the loss of cultural diversity, the consequences for the domination of American popular culture have not only been the erosion of national identities, but also the transformation of local politics as people's political perceptions become increasingly affected by American political reference points and categories.

In October 2005 UNESCO produced its Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. This was largely a response to the worries of countries, especially in Europe and not least of which France, which feared the damaging effects to their cultures if trade in entertainment products remained too one-sided. Generally the argument of this paper is that while initial tensions between the United States and Europe were motivated by the usual commercial concerns, Europeans were increasingly worried about the cultural impact of this commerce. The Japanese, however, have not been nearly so concerned as the Europeans about becoming 'Americanized'. This lack of tension between the United States and Japan in the area of film and television is due to several factors. First, there is a complementarity between American entertainment and the Japanese electronics industry. Second, the Japanese are major players in some aspects of the entertainment industry, most especially in the area of animation, and they are especially influential in Asia. Finally, issues of cultural conflict between the United States and Japan are simply less salient to Tokyo than those which characterize Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors. (Pac Rev/GIGA)