Japan Reaches Out.doc

Japan Reaches OutThursday, Nov. 20, 2008By Hannah Beech / Tokyo1.When Kensuke Onishi decided to use his foreign university degree and fluent English to help internally displaced refugees in Kurdish Iraq, his Japanese mothers friends told her they understood if she wanted to weep. After all, shouldnt a dutiful Japanese son return home and work for a big company, like the droves of salarymen before him? But in 1996, Onishi founded one of Japans largest international NGOs, Peace Winds Japan, which operates everywhere from Sudan to East Timor （东帝汶）. Today, the 41-year-old Osaka (大阪日本本州岛西南岸港市)native has noticed that his countrymen no longer consider helping less fortunate foreigners a shameful occupation. Two former Peace Winds alumni now serve in the Diet, while Onishi recently has been fielding job queries from disillusioned investment bankers. People in Japan live in such comfortable, peaceful conditions, says Onishi. I think more Japanese are realizing that its our duty to help out overseas and bring some of our values to the world. 2.Is the world turning Japanese? Even as Japans domestic economy slips into recession and its politicians dither endlessly, the countrys overseas influence is reaching new heights. Limited by a postwar constitution from developing military power, Japans international clout relies on soft power, the term coined by Harvard professor Joseph S. Nye in 1990 to describe how countries get what they want through attraction rather than coercion. Today, a generation of idealistic Japanese is attempting to sway （影响）the world through cultural, social and economic means. Japan doesnt tend to trumpet its efforts understandable given the nations imperial past and historic disregard for national boundaries. When a Japanese real estate firm snapped up Rockefeller Center in the 1980s, the deal unleashed unease among some Americans, who feared that Japan was literally taking over America. But this time around, its campaign for global hearts and minds has been far more successful. According to a BBC poll this year, Japan ranks second in the world when it comes to a positive global image. (Germany barely edged out Japan for the No. 1 spot, while the U.S. was seventh.) Soft power is a very strong force, says Heizo Takenaka, Japans former Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy （经济财政担当大臣）. If we have the right political leadership, it can be even more powerful. 3.Japans charm offensive is taking shape on several fronts （领域 = field of activity）. Cash-flush Japanese banks, which have only just emerged from their own decade-long debt crisis, are infusing money into distressed companies such as Morgan Stanley. Japan Inc. is going on another of its famous investment sprees abroad, opening factories and representative offices across Africa and Asia. In October, the countrys central bank even offered part of its nearly $1 trillion in reserves to financially strapped nations like Iceland. In November, Japan also expressed willingness to lend up to $100 billion to the International Monetary Fund. But it isnt just money thats being spread around. Because Japans financial system is the least tainted at the moment, says Japanese parliamentarian Kotaro Tamura, we have the opportunity to help save the world and spread a message of social responsibility. 4.Thats new. Until recently, the idea of Japanese values conjured up little more than a picture of workaholic company drones （嗡嗡声）. But throughout the world even in places where Japanese colonialists once unleashed brutal wartime campaigns the worlds second largest economy has suddenly been thrust into the unfamiliar position of exemplar. Developing countries such as Vietnam are studying how Japan refashioned its war-ravaged economy into a technological powerhouse that still maintains its cultural identity. Industrializing nations are looking for ecological guidance from a place that has managed to become an economic giant while still embracing a conservationist ethos. Still others gravitate toward Japan because of its trendy comic books and, not least, for its generous checkbook. Even though Japan has in recent years scaled back its foreign-aid commitments, the nation is still the top bilateral donor to many developing countries, including Cambodia and Nepal. 5.Japan is benefiting because of what it isnt. The worlds renewed love affair with the nation has blossomed just as many nations are growing wary of the rising influence of Asias other superpower: China. Unlike Japan, China has done little to mask its global natural-resources grab. As a result, Japan outranked China in a June survey of soft-power effectiveness in six countries by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Far from China eclipsing Japan, as many once thought, the Middle Kingdoms emergence has actually reawakened international admiration of its neighbor. Theres a strong perception that Chinas not doing enough for peoples rights, says Yasushi Watanabe, co-editor of a new book called Soft Power Superpowers. Japan is more naturally accepted as a member of the international community. The Japan Paradigm6.As a kid growing up on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Alimansyar knew Japan stood for one thing: really hip stuff. His parents generation might have looked askance at the historic aggressor, given its wartime record in East Asia. But for Alimansyar and other younger Indonesians, Japan represents a nation that transformed itself in record time from vanquished pauper to cutting-edge innovator. Today, Alimansyar teaches Japanese at the University of North Sumatra, and the schools rapidly growing Japanese-language program is filled with 500 students who are often lured by Japanese cars, electronics and anim. People in Indonesia look at Japan as a role model, he says. They want to know how Japan was able to rebuild itself from nothing into such an amazing country. 7.Foreign interest in learning Japanese is stronger today than it was in the so-called bubble years when Japans economy was a more dominating force. In 2006, nearly 3 million people worldwide studied Japanese as a foreign language, triple the number who did in 1990, according to government statistics. Foreigners used to learn Japanese for career reasons, says Tsutomu Sugiura, an adviser for the Marubeni Research Institute in Tokyo. But today they learn because they are interested in Japanese culture. To help spread Japanese, the Japan Foundation, the nations rough equivalent to the British Council or Germanys Goethe Institute, invites 500 foreign teachers from more than 50 nations to Japan each year for all-expenses-paid training programs. (Alimansyar is currently participating in the course.) The Foundation also plans to establish 100 Japanese-language hubs overseas by 2010, more than double those that existed just this May. 8.If many Japanese-language students had their druthers, theyd probably want a pair of cool cats to helm their classes. In May, Japan designated Hello Kitty as a tourism ambassador, two months after Doraemon, the aqua-hued robot feline, was named the nations first cartoon envoy. The designation of these two cat representatives symbolizes just how much Japans overseas reputation is tied to pop culture. Thats a connection that surely pleases Japans new Prime Minister Taro Aso. The 68-year-old premier, who is a self-confessed manga addict, has called for Japan to pursue what he calls comic-book diplomacy. (Last year, when he was serving as Japans Foreign Minister, Aso counted among his accomplishments inaugurating an International Manga Award that honors foreign artists.) Asos own internationalism is rooted in personal experience, a relative rarity among Japanese politicians. In addition to studying at Stanford University and the London School of Economics, he spent time in Sierra Leone and Brazil, where he ran family mining businesses. A vocal advocate of Japans foreign-aid efforts, Aso calls assistance for developing countries a respectable means to export Japanese culture and an important means to disseminate Japanese values. 9.Although he has barely had time to articulate his leadership priorities, Aso appears committed to burnishing Japans global influence. Over the past decade, the nations foreign-aid budget has nosedived. In the early 1990s, flush with cash from its long boom, Japan was the worlds largest donor. Now, its fifth. Aso might reverse the trend. In August, Japans Foreign Ministry requested a 13.6% increase in next years foreign-aid budget. In October, Aso made headlines when he signed off on a record $4.5 billion loan to India. That commitment followed on the heels of Japans promise in May to double the amount of aid it doles out to Africa by 2012. With Chinas footprint in Africa growing ever larger, Japan has opened three new embassies on the continent. 10.Foreign aid, of course, isnt an altruistic enterprise. When Japan promises money for, say, a road in Africa, Japanese companies tend to profit from the lucrative contracts. But Japanese aid is about more than just helping Japanese businesses. Just as some in American foreign-policy circles believe that the U.S. has a mission to spread democracy around the globe, an increasing number of Japanese are keen to seed the world with their ideals. One key principle is an ability to modernize without losing its roots. The history of Japan in modern times, says Kazuo Ogoura, president of the Japan Foundation, is to have achieved advanced economic progress and democratic maturity without having abandoned cultural identity and traditions. Environmental protection is another cherished value in a country that is home to the Kyoto Protocol. The leaders of Japanese industry are aware that climate change is an important issue, so they are very focused on energy efficiency, says Takashi Hongo, a special adviser to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which provides financing for poorer nations. We can help developing countries enjoy the good life but to do so in a sustainable way. Giving Something Back11.But Japan is about more than just thinking green. Despite a stagnant economy, life in Japan is still remarkably good. No wonder, then, that some Japanese are turning inward, cozy in their temperature-controlled bubble of convenience stores and well-designed boutiques. Glen Fukushima, a former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, laments how, in international forums, Japanese tend to know a lot but are often unwilling to actually express themselves. Nevertheless, a sizable contingent of Japanese, who grew up in the era of globalization, see it as their homelands responsibility to engage with and help the rest of the world. Peace Winds founder Onishi is just one of a growing group of Japanese who have founded their own international NGOs. Instead of being automatically vacuumed up by domestic firms, many top university graduates are eager to work abroad. The number of Japanese who studied at foreign universities tripled from 1990 to 2004, to 82,925 students. 12.Those back home are eager to learn about the world, too. Onishi recalls how he signed on as a guest lecturer at two top Tokyo universities and wondered whether anyone would show up to hear about remote corners of the earth. Both courses ended up being oversubscribed, with some eager students forced to stand through the lectures. Another telling barometer is the number of Japanese specialist personnel working for the United Nations, which has increased to nearly 700 today from less than 500 seven years ago. Among the Japanese public, says co-editor Watanabe, theres a sense that since we were helped by other countries to rebuild 60 years ago, its a noble thing for us to do the same now. 13.Such idealism drives recruits for the government-run Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), which since 1965 has dispatched more than 30,000 people to do good in 70-plus countries. Today, the bulk of volunteers are women or older Japanese who are searching for meaning in their postretirement lives. Most contribute in fields that seem typically Japanese: planting stronger strains of rice, running environmental-training programs, teaching high school math and science. Chiyoko Ichishima, 33, helps female villagers near the Ugandan capital of Kampala build a local craft trade. When Ugandans think of Japan, they immediately think of cars and other high-tech stuff, she says. But as a Japanese, its nice to be here and help promote Ugandan culture. 14.Most of these volunteers toil quietly. JOCV lacks the global aura of the U.S. Peace Corps. Karaoke may be popular in the developing world, but Japans aid workers need to amp (扩音器) up the volume of their p.r. if locals are to recognize the source of all the largesse. Sadako Ogata, the former U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees, now oversees the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which, after a massive reorganization this year, has become the worlds largest bilateral development agency, with more than $10 billion at its disposal. Up next on the tireless 81-year-olds agenda is publicizing more effectively all the aid work that her homeland conducts abroad. Japan doesnt go around bragging about what it has done, says Ogata. But Japans reticence and modesty has not been very helpful in terms of information about what it does in the world. “Charity Begins at Home15.Other factors have forced the nation to look anew at its role in the world. A crucial consideration is the nations dwindling birth rate. Japan is running out of workers. To fill its factories and care for a graying population, the Asian nation will need to import ever greater numbers of laborers from abroad. What better way to lure skilled immigrants to Japan ones who might be just as interested in moving to the U.S. or Australia than piquing their interest in all things Japanese? 16.In much the same way, Japanese firms face a global imperative. They must expand overseas to maintain growth. There simply arent enough Japanese to buy their products back home. With domestic car sales slowing, Honda, for instance, just opened a second plant in Thailand so Japans second largest auto company can double its annual production capacity in the Southeast Asian nation to 240,000 cars. Japanese pharmaceutical firms have also bought up American and Indian rivals. Overall, in the first 10 months of this year, foreign acquisitions by Japanese firms soared nearly fourfold to around $67 billion, according to Recof Data Corp. If the shopping binge continues, Japan could log （记录）its largest ever yearly overseas-acquisitions tally （记数）. 17.Yet as much as Japan is exerting its influence abroad, the country needs to welcome the world to its shores, too. Back in the 1980s, during Japan Inc.s first global foray, many of its mergers and acquisitions languished because overseas employees chafed under the strictures of Japanese management. In the same way, unless Japan relaxes its rigid immigration policies, cultivating foreign Japanophiles will be a waste of time. Indeed, in moving beyond Japans insular past, Prime Minister Aso might do well to take inspiration from a cuddly (令人喜欢搂抱的) cat. Hello Kitty, it turns out, may not be ethnically Japanese. Her surname is not Suzuki (铃木) or Sato I（佐藤） but White. Her parents are named George and Mary. Yet the mouthless feline has prospered as one of Japans most successful exports, a fitting symbol of an open Japan. Arigato Kitty, hello world. with reporting by Yuki Oda and Michiko Toyama / Tokyo 日本悄悄提升软实力BBC调查:日正面形象世界第21989年，日本索尼公司收购好莱坞著名的哥伦比亚制片公司，日本三菱房地产公司买下美国纽约地标建筑洛克菲勒中心80%的产权。这两笔交易随即在一些美国人中引发关于“日本威胁”的不安和担忧。将近20年后，日本依靠软实力的低调崛起获得了前所未有的成功。日本正以一种更自然的方式融入国际社会。尽管日本政局不稳，国内经济陷入衰退，但日本在多条线路施展魅力攻势，国际影响力达到前所未有的程度。国际形象排第二英国广播公司(BBC)今年做了一项关于各国全球形象的民意调查，结果显示，在正面国际形象方面，日本位列全球第二，仅次于德国，美国位居第七名。“软实力是一种非常强大的力量，”日本前经济财政政策担当大臣竹中平藏告诉美国时代周刊记者，“如果我们在政治上拥有正确的领导力量，这一实力还将变得更强大。”哈佛大学教授约瑟夫S奈1990年提出“软实力”概念，论及各国“借助吸引力而非强制力达到目的”的途径。第二次世界大战结束后，日本宪法限制国家发展军事力量，政府继而开始以增强软实力方式提升自己的国际影响力，试图借助经济、文化和对外援助等多种手段在全球施展魅力攻势。经济手段“救世界”从债务危机中重新崛起的日本银行财大气粗。日本中央银行10月决定向深陷金融危机的冰岛等国提供援助。日本政府表示愿意向国际货币基金组织提供1000亿美元贷款。日本最大银行集团三菱UFJ金融集团10月以90亿美元入股美国金融巨头摩根士丹利。日本最大券商野村证券公司9月收购美国雷曼兄弟公司在亚洲和欧洲地区的业务。另外，瑞穗金融集团和三井住友金融集团也与欧美银行和投资机构有类似交易。日本并非只是在到处撒钱。“在当前金融危机中，日本金融体系受的影响最小，”日本国会议员田村太郎说，“我们有机会帮助拯救整个世界，同时向世界传达一种社会责任感。”与欧美发达国家不同，日本金融机构鲜有涉及美国次级住房抵押贷款金融衍生品业务，受当前这场金融危机波及程度较小。欧美资本市场信贷紧缩时，日本仍有充裕资金可动用，包括将近1万亿美元外汇储备，1.5万亿美元公共养老基金和15万亿美元个人金融资产。日本金融业20世纪90年代遭遇危机，政府和私营部门的专业金融人士对清理银行呆、坏账经验丰富。曾经担任金融担当大臣和厚生劳动大臣的自民党成员柳泽伯夫说，日本打算组织金融专业人士向欧美国家提供援助，帮助清理不良资产以及重整债务等工作。与此同时，由于国内购买力不足，日本企业开始海外扩张，以保持利润增长。Recof数据公司公布的资料显示，今年前10个月，日本企业海外收购金额增加4倍，合计大约670亿美元。按照这一趋势增长，日本今年将创下年度海外收购的最高纪录。多个领域成典范与此同时，日本在多个领域成为全球效仿的榜样。对越南等发展中国家的年轻人而言，日本是从贫穷战败国迅速转型为尖端技术创新国的成功范例。这些国家正在研究，日本在实现这一转型的同时，如何保持自身的文化特征。日本国际交流基金会理事长小仓和夫说：“日本现代历史是在不抛弃文化认同和传统的前提下实现高度经济发展和民主繁荣。”印度尼西亚苏门答腊省的年轻人阿里曼西亚尔说：“日本意味着真正的上等货，印度尼西亚人把日本视为榜样，他们想知道日本是如何从一无所有变成令人惊异的国家。”环境保护是日本作为京都议定书诞生之国珍视的价值观。不少国家正向这个环保思想蔚然成风的国家寻求生态保护方面的经验。“日本企业界领袖深知气候变暖是重要问题，因此非常关注能源效率，”日本国际合作银行特别顾问本乡隆说：“我们可以帮助发展中国家的人们享受美好生活，但我们会以可持续的方式做到这一点。”推广日语增影响在北苏门答腊大学教授日语的阿里曼西亚尔说，这所大学的日语课程发展迅速，学生人数达500人。日语专业学生喜欢日本汽车、日本电子产品和日本动漫。与“泡沫经济”时代相比，外国人今天学习日语的兴趣更为浓厚。日本政府公布的统计数字显示，2006年，日本以外，全球大约300万人学习日语，这一数字是1990年的3倍。“以前，外国人学日语大部分原因是为了找工作，”东京丸红研究院顾问杉浦勉说：“但他们如今学日语是因为对日本文化感兴趣。”为了在全球范围内推广日语教学，日本国际交流基金会每年邀请来自50多个国家的500名外国教师赴日本参加免费培训课程。阿里曼西亚尔正在接受这一培训。日本基金会计划在2010年前在海外建立100个日语中心。日本试图通过推广日语，引发其他国家民众对日本事物产生兴趣，在全球范围内扩大自身影响力。软实力大国作者渡边康说：“日本正在以一种更自然的方式成为国际社会的一员。”输出文化有特色如果问日语专业的外国学生有什么愿望，他们可能想要由一对可爱的卡通猫给自己上课，那就是HelloKitty和机器猫多啦A梦。今