The timetable of the galaxy train
2012-02-03
The public relations culture diplomacy
Retrogressing Japan's organization integration
From page 15 on Asahi Shimbun February 3rd
Keio University professor ( The American studies, the cultural policy ) Watanabe
Yasushi
Main every country in the world is expanding a public diplomacy (the public relations culture diplomacy) substantially including China and Korea.
To be different from the traditional diplomacy which depends on the government functionary fellow, to put a world opinion to one's side through the person exchange, the cultural diplomacy, the policy public relations, the international broadcasting and so on and to carry forward an agenda-setting and model forming in the community in the form which is favorable to the own country are the key.
It may say soft power diplomacy.
As the power which moves international relations, the important thing is still needless to say but in the hard power with military power and economic power and so on, the one with the political risk of the military power use and rising social cost, too, is evident.
As for the economic power, it becomes increasingly more difficult for the inside of multipolarizing's and interdependence's moving ahead to grasp influence having to do with a hegemony of the specific state.
No longer, only the hard power is the times of building actuality.
For Japan where the flounder of the politics and the economy is worried about from the community, too, the reinforcement of the soft power diplomacy should be important like life and death.
However, actually, there is a roughly retrogressing sense.
For example, in the Noda administration, the integration conception of Japan Foundation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jurisdiction and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport jurisdiction international sightseeing promotion mechanism (JNTO) is examined.
The plan to integrate the overseas office of 4 corporations which contain Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japanese trade promotion mechanism (JETRO), too, into is examined.
It is either of the policies which get a conclusion by this summer but it says that will reduce “wastefulness “in tying the organization which the name arrives at, saying “international ".
However, are there dichotomies such as the foreign countries and whether or not it is or the country in the times of the obsolete globalization and is this not anachronistic idea really?
At the diplomatic stage, it is a cultural exchange organization but there are therefore not few, too, admitted cases in the activity from the partner country authority.
When working overseas as one organization to the trade, the investment promotion and the sightseeing, it is accompanied by the big risk.
Yet, when there is something in the authoritarian state which is often left in the world, the refuge which demands an activity stop immediately cannot be easily given.
As for making the nicety of such diplomacy sacrifice, when the major country which is carrying forward integration in the first work with rough finish doesn't exist, I think.
When seeing a series of moves of the government, it is scarce about the recognition to the importance of the public relations culture diplomacy.
Even if it says soft power, it seems that it reflects the intellectual poverty that the argument attains only to the content industrial development and the excursionist attracting degree of the name, “Cool Japan ", at most.
The integration plan may be to be a good sign as the political performance to get “the understanding “of excise tax increase as to become.
However, as for the idea with introversion which was so, wish to be without forgetting that it isn't possible to be mocked from the people who are engaged in the public relations culture diplomacy in the foreign country.