Japan Reaches Out

(3 of 3)

Giving Something Back
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 homeland's 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.

Related

Photos

Japan and the World

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, "there's a sense that since we were helped by other countries to rebuild 60 years ago, it's a noble thing for us to do the same now."

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, it's nice to be here and help promote Ugandan culture."

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 Japan's aid workers need to amp 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 world's largest bilateral development agency, with more than $10 billion at its disposal. Up next on the tireless 81-year-old's agenda is publicizing more effectively all the aid work that her homeland conducts abroad. "Japan doesn't go around bragging about what it has done," says Ogata. "But Japan's reticence and modesty has not been very helpful in terms of information about what it does in the world."

Charity Begins at Home"]
Other factors have forced the nation to look anew at its role in the world. A crucial consideration is the nation's 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?

In much the same way, Japanese firms face a global imperative. They must expand overseas to maintain growth. There simply aren't enough Japanese to buy their products back home. With domestic car sales slowing, Honda, for instance, just opened a second plant in Thailand so Japan's 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 its largest ever yearly overseas-acquisitions tally.

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 Japan's insular past, Prime Minister Aso might do well to take inspiration from a cuddly cat. Hello Kitty, it turns out, may not be ethnically Japanese. Her surname is not Suzuki or Sato but White. Her parents are named George and Mary. Yet the mouthless feline has prospered as one of Japan's most successful exports, a fitting symbol of an open Japan. Arigato Kitty, hello world.

— with reporting by Yuki Oda and Michiko Toyama / Tokyo