Big in Japan?

[FrankU]

Big in Japan - is that an idiom and if so what does it mean?
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So, who is the best online chatter in world ;-) ?

[Alan]

It depends on the context but very often this expression is used to apply to film stars/ music groups and people in the world of entertainment. It means very popular/ successful in a country.
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[FrankU]

Hello Alan! Thank you for answering my question so fast. Is it true that the expression Big in Japan can also have a negative meaning? A friend of mine told me that you say that you are big in Japan, it actually means nobody really knows you in your own country.
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So, who is the best online chatter in world ;-) ?

[Alan]

I suppose anything anyone says can also be used in a sarcastic way but that wasn't my initial reaction.
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms