Japan's Proactive Public Diplomacy Initiative in the US since 2014

Abstract

Since the beginning of his second premiership, Prime Minister (PM) Abe has presented strong leadership in revitalizing Japans sluggish economy and geopolitical presence on the world map, implying a possible breakaway from the conventional wisdom that Japanese diplomacy is fundamentally reactive and passive. Especially since 2014, the Japanese government has heralded stronger commitment for public diplomacy efforts, allocating additional 50 billion yen for the promotion of strategic communication overseas. Against this backdrop, this research investigates the motivations and strategies behind Japanese public diplomacy in recent years. More specifically, this paper aims to shed light on proactive side of Japanese diplomacy, based on the comprehensive survey of recent development in its public diplomacy.

To this end, this research first examines the context behind Japans increased attention to public diplomacy. Next, public diplomacy initiatives that have been raised since 2014 will be explored, with more focus on diplomatic activities targeting the intellectuals, or knowledge diplomacy, in the US. While public diplomacy basically refers to government activities to earn hearts and minds of foreign population, initiatives created by a government-affiliated organization and private actors will also be addressed for more comprehensive understanding of Japanese knowledge diplomacy. Based on the analysis, this research discusses how recent development in the field of Japanese public diplomacy presents an alternative explanation to long-discussed reactive state paradigm.

In essence, this paper argues that recent development in Japanese public diplomacy features proactiveness that was triggered from reactiveness. That is, albeit as a reacting mechanism to external situations, Japan has shown noticeable aggressiveness and activism in communicating with foreign public. At first, growing fierceness in global anti-Japan campaigns by China and South Korea alerted Japan to serious damage of its national image and moral integrity. Furthermore, negative legacy from the former DPJ government has pressed Japan to reinforce public diplomacy efforts towards its major ally, the US. To counteract external pressures and assume bigger role on global stage, various actors of knowledge diplomacy in Japan have undertaken simultaneous and multifaceted efforts to raise understanding of and support for Japans foreign policies in the US, which can be summarized as follows: (1) immediate news management and PR activities, (2) short-to-mid term response using local presence, (3) reinforcement of networks through human exchange, (4) promotion of intellectual dialogues, (5) education for future Japan specialists, and (6) collaborative works with American counterparts. Increased attention to knowledge diplomacy shows Japans stronger willingness to engage more directly with global public in dealing with abovementioned situations. In addition, Japanese government has shown historically-rare leadership in pushing ahead with knowledge diplomacy, implying more proactiveness to secure support for its policies and ambitions from foreign public. To sum, foregoing approaches and strategies for public diplomacy present an alternative viewpoint about the nature of Japanese diplomacy, that Japanese foreign policies are not necessarily reactive or passive, but proactive and independent depending on the issues.