Summary
The article provides an insight into the Japanese National cool to demonstrate how the country uses its global cultural influence to accelerate economic growth. According to the author, McGray (2001), argue that despite Japan's economic and political misfortunes, the country is a "reinventing superpower." The country has successfully influenced the world in video games, music, film, anime, fashion, art, and other cultural aspects. The country's growing cultural influence that has expanded across the world has established a powerful notion of "national cool," which is Japanese substantial cultural soft power, as expounded by Joseph S. Nye Jr (McGray, 2001). However, McGray’s argues that the decade of political and economic turmoil has undermined the security of the Japanese fundamental values. Similarly, Lam (2007) argues that failure to overcome Japan’s historical burden has undermined the country’s pursuit of a reputable international image and “soft power.” Heng (2009) also argues that while this soft power has become a fundamental concept in international relations, Japan has established a strong, soft power groundwork. Such power is developed around its attractive traditional and popular culture and embodiment of norms and values in Japanese policies (Heng, 2009).
Critical response
The article has clearly illustrated how a country with appropriate economic infrastructure can successfully apply cultural influence. According to McGray (2001), Japan has been experiencing political and economic turmoil and yet has managed to extend cultural influence across the world successfully. Therefore, McGray (2001) argues, "cultural superpower needs a healthy economic base, but not necessary a healthy economy." This seems to be true because some countries, such as the United States, have been experiencing economic struggles but have developed a large economic base and cultural influence. As a result, with a strong economic base, a country can "reinventing superpower” through global cultural influence despite the economic and political challenges.
‘Japaneseness,' Ethnicity, and Minority Groups
Summary
The author, Sugimoto (2010), extends his argument on Japan's multiculturalism that resembles those of the industrialized society. Historically, the country's political stability and economic success have been attributed to Japan's ethnic and racial homogeneity. In addition, how the Japanese perceive other nationalities is determined by the superiority complex on Asian nationalities and the inferiority complex on the Caucasian West. However, Sugimoto (2010) argues that Japan is shifting from a mono-ethnic society to a multi-ethnic society, especially due to forces of open internationalization and narrow ethnocentrism. Besides, the Japanese are abandoning their perception of other people as they are increasingly seeing no difference between them and Westerners. This multiculturalism has resulted in contemporary challenges such as discrimination against main minority groups in the country, which include foreign workers, Ainu, Koreans, and Burakumin (Sugimoto, 2010). Qi (2010) supports the argument by suggesting that the Japanese multiculturalism style excludes the minority groups because of the impact of multiple power relations. In addition, pressures emanating from domestic and global forces pose significant challenges for institutionalizing Japan's democratic multiculturalism (Kim & Oh, 2012).
Critical response
The chapter has strongly diverted from the common accounts that present Japanese culture as unique and ethnically uniform to address multiculturalism and its contemporary situation. As illustrated above, Japan's multiculturalism has resulted in issues such as discrimination against the minority group. Kim and Oh (2012) argue that this exclusion is fueled by a deep and intricate embedment of multiculturalism in the Japanese education system, Japanese culture, and Japanese society. Therefore, Sugimoto (2010) provides a significant account of Japan's multiculturalism to help unmask the fundamental delusions about Japanese culture and the nature of Japan’s multiculturalism. For instance, Sugimoto (2010) reveals some multiculturalism challenges in the country, such as a lack of clear goals and the definition of multicultural coexistence.
Information as the Key: Evaluating Japan’s Response to COVID-19
Summary
Brown (2020) argues that Japanese officials have been facing noticeable challenges in providing an effective national wide response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Brown views effective responses as the one that has unambiguous and timely information disseminated openly to society, leaders, and government bodies. However, although there has been an incremental improvement in response to the virus, the non-transparency default mode remains an issue. In addition, while better and more information has become available, official messaging remains overly rosy and inconsistent and hence revealing a largely reactive approach (Brown, 2020). Besides, considering that government transparency plays a significant role in building trust in government, the unconvincing assurances during the Diamond Princess cruise ship outbreak influenced people to mistrust the government and prepare for the worst. Grimmelikhuijsen and Porumbescu (2013) indicate that national cultural values shape how people appreciate and perceive government transparent. This has witnessed in Japan's historical disasters like the Fukushima disaster, where the government's non-transparency approach influenced people to distrust the government. However, contrary to Brown's approach to government transparency and communication in responding to coronavirus pandemic, Tashiro and Shwa (2020) counter the arguments on flawed response. Tashiro and Shwa (2020) suggest that Japan’s culture, sanitation, healthcare system, food habits, Japanese behaviors, and immunity has contributed positively towards COVID-19 response.
Critical response
Brown illustrates the significant impact of government communication and transparency on response to the coronavirus outbreak. For instance, the flawed response approach, especially due to the non-transparency model, indicates that the government has not fully understood the culture to provide approaches that align with the Japanese culture effectively. However, while the government may have failed to institute effective measures to curb the pandemic, the article fails to capture important factors that may have improved response to COVID-19 in Japan. For example, other cultural factors such as Japanese culture, behaviors, immunity, and food habits have significantly help to flatten the curve (Tashiro & Shwa, 2020).
To revise or not to revise: the ‘peace constitution’, pro-revision movement, and Japan's national identity
Summary
According to the article revising Japan's postwar constitution aims to establish a new national identity. This identity incorporates a superior sense of national pride to the citizens and promotes collective self-defense, which removes Japan's postwar institutional and psychological limitations on military activities and nationalism (Ryu, 2018). A successful revision should aim at Japan's normalization that involves both security and socio-psychological aspects. The socio-psychological aspect focuses on enhancing national pride, while the security aspect focuses on promoting national security by improving Japan's military in international affairs. Ryu (2009) has examined how normalization in Japan is crucial to help Japan improve its political influence to align with its economic power. Ryu (2018) also recommends that the Japanese government should avoid historical revisionism and instead focus on enhancing the role of the military to enhance regional public goods. However, although this revision provides promising efforts to enhance national security and encourage national pride, some emotional and institutional constraints challenge the revision (Kolmaš, 2018).
Critical response
Ryu (2018) is right that change in Japan's postwar constitution is necessary to establish a new national identity through improved national pride and national security. Several factors, such as improved economic performance and multiculturalism, necessities the normalization of Japan. As the debate of the "normalization" of Japan continues to hit the headlines, the article provides an analytical framework for normalization and revision of the constitution by focusing on national security and national pride. Such a framework offers solutions to the contemporary problems affecting Japan. For instance, the revision should avoid historical revisionism to make it easier for the international and domestic audience to embrace the revision (Ryu, 2018). The article also illustrates how the Japanese government should promote bilateral exchanges and cooperation with China to mitigate security dilemmas and regional power conflicts between Japan and China (Ryu, 2018).
References
Brown, A. (2020). Information as the Key: Evaluating Japan’s Response to COVID-19. The Asia-Pacific Journal, 18(14), 1-13.
Grimmelikhuijsen, S., Porumbescu, G., Hong, B., & Im, T. (2013). The effect of transparency on trust in government: A cross‐national comparative experiment. Public administration review, 73(4), 575-586. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12047.
Heng, Y. K. (2010). Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the softest of them all? Evaluating Japanese and Chinese strategies in the ‘soft’power competition era. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 10(2), 275-304. https://doi:10.1093/irap/lcp023
Kim, H. R., & Oh, I. (2012). Foreigners cometh! Paths to multiculturalism in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 21(1), 105-133.
Kolmaš, M. (2020). Identity change and societal pressures in Japan: the constraints on Abe Shinzo’s educational and constitutional reform. The Pacific Review, 33(2), 185-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2018.1540497
Lam, P. E. (2007). Japan’s quest for “Soft power”: Attraction and limitation. East Asia, 24(4), 349-363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-007-9028-6
McGray, D. (2001). Japan’s Gross National Cool. Foreign Policy.
Qi, J. (2011). Diversity and multiculturalism in Japan: what is called into question?. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 10(2), 105-114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-010-9097-y
Ryu, Y. (2007). The Road to Japan's “Normalization”: Japan's Foreign Policy Orientation since the 1990s. The Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, 19(2), 63-88. https://doi.org/10.1080/10163270709464135
Ryu, Y. (2018). To revise or not to revise: the ‘peace constitution’, pro-revision movement, and Japan's national identity. The Pacific Review, 31(5), 655-672.
Sugimoto, Y. (2010). ‘Japaneseness’, Ethnicity, and Minority Groups. In An introduction to Japanese society (pp. 196-224). Cambridge University Press.
Tashiro, A., & Shaw, R. (2020). COVID‐19 pandemic response in Japan: what is behind the initial flattening of the curve?. Sustainability, 12(13), 5250. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135250