Japan Reaches Out

(2 of 3)

The Japan Paradigm
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 school's rapidly growing Japanese-language program is filled with 500 students who are often lured by Japanese cars, electronics and animé. "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."

Related

Photos

Japan and the World

Foreign interest in learning Japanese is stronger today than it was in the so-called bubble years when Japan's 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 nation's rough equivalent to the British Council or Germany's 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.

If many Japanese-language students had their druthers, they'd 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 nation's first cartoon envoy. The designation of these two cat representatives symbolizes just how much Japan's overseas reputation is tied to pop culture. That's a connection that surely pleases Japan's 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 Japan's Foreign Minister, Aso counted among his accomplishments inaugurating an International Manga Award that honors foreign artists.) Aso's 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 Japan's foreign-aid efforts, Aso calls assistance for developing countries "a respectable means to export Japanese culture [and] an important means to disseminate Japanese values."

Although he has barely had time to articulate his leadership priorities, Aso appears committed to burnishing Japan's global influence. Over the past decade, the nation's foreign-aid budget has nosedived. In the early 1990s, flush with cash from its long boom, Japan was the world's largest donor. Now, it's fifth. Aso might reverse the trend. In August, Japan's Foreign Ministry requested a 13.6% increase in next year's 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 Japan's promise in May to double the amount of aid it doles out to Africa by 2012. With China's footprint in Africa growing ever larger, Japan has opened three new embassies on the continent.

Foreign aid, of course, isn't 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."