History and the Absence of History in Japanese International Relations: Perceptions and Possibilities of the Emergence of Japan as an Ethical Force in the World (Abstract)
Paper to be presented at the 20th International Conference of the Japanese Studies Association of Canada, York University, Toronto, Aug. 16 ~ 19, 2007
This paper introduces a paradox in international perceptions of Japan’s presence in the world. When Japan is positioned in an East-Asian regional frame a troubled history is seen radically to delimit Japan’s efforts to insert itself more fully into the world. But when Japan is positioned in a global frame Japan’s lack of history, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, in contrast to Europe and the United States, opens the possibility of an eventual Japan that is perceived as having, or has been successful in projecting itself as having, or has, an ethical function in the world. The analysis is derived from twelve discussions of “Japan in the World” undertaken in Tokyo in 2005 between a group of Japanese postgraduate students of international relations and the Ambassadors to Japan from Egypt, Jordan, Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Norway, South Africa, and the Philippines.
