Japanese Soft Power for Russia
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Interview
The complicated international situation notwithstanding, soft power remains a key tool in Russia's foreign policy kit. We asked Akiyama Masahiro, President of the Tokyo Foundation, to discuss Japan's use of soft power, Russia's image abroad and the main obstacles facing Russian soft power.
Interview
The complicated international situation notwithstanding, soft power remains a key tool in Russia's foreign policy kit. We asked Akiyama Masahiro, President of the Tokyo Foundation, to discuss Japan's use of soft power, Russia's image abroad and the main obstacles facing Russian soft power.
Japan appears to be the world's most successful user of soft power, while Russia is just starting to promote itself in this area. What steps do you think are key for explaining why Japanese soft power is so effective? Could Russia apply them as well?
One of the pillars of this image seems to be the pacifist policy. Having lost the war, Japan quickly recovered, among other things economically, and acquired power to match even the U.S.’s trade and economic prowess. Japan was good at building up a likable image of a revitalized state, which has certainly become part of its soft power.
The Japanese think very highly of Russian literature, classical music, ballet and cuisine. Unfortunately, many negative attitudes are leftover from the time of the Soviet Union.
The matter is definitely quite complex. In fact, I'm not really sure what you mean by soft power. If you remember, the author of the concept Joseph Nye insisted that the along with hard power, i.e. the military machine, advanced economy and technological edge, the United States possesses soft power which in fact meant its attractiveness: primarily its social and civil structure, the English language, and the belief that the U.S.A. is a free country where everyone has the opportunity to pursue happiness, while its people are enterprising, active and mobile.
In addition, the United States, in contrast to Japan, boasts the most advanced development of the Internet, another soft power instrument. Finally, soft power means Washington's forceful Internet diplomacy.
Japanese soft power is somewhat more cautious, at least as far as the Internet is concerned, while my country still appears quite attractive for foreigners. For example, the BBC Corporation regularly surveys people's feelings about countries of the world and Japan is invariably at the top, which means that both Japan and the Japanese appeal to others.
One of the pillars of this image seems to be the pacifist policy of Tokyo after World War II, although the wisdom of this is widely disputed inside the country. Having lost the war, Japan quickly recovered, among other things economically, and acquired power to match even the U.S.’s trade and economic prowess.
Japan was good at building up a likable image of a revitalized state, which has certainly become part of its soft power. Because of its complexity, the Japanese language is hardly an asset for attracting foreigners, but Japanese culture, the concept of beauty, arts, cuisine and, of course, manga positively serve as effective soft power instruments.
The Japanese are worried by these authoritarian policies, hence Russia's attractiveness, i.e. soft power, has practically evaporated.
Is there a type of government policy or government-sponsored measures that effectively promote soft power application? Absolutely not, although some projects do exist within the Cool Japan concept aimed at developing the country's positive image abroad and at promoting specific cultural features, such as manga, the country’s cuisine, etc.
No doubt these Japanese projects have proven their effectiveness. Russian culture also has quite substantial appeal but it not nearly as popular in the world as Japanese. Where do you see the problem?
The Japanese think very highly of Russian literature, classical music, ballet and cuisine. Unfortunately, many negative attitudes are leftover from the time of the Soviet Union.
Moreover, even after Russia has turned democratic, the Japanese people still can't believe that it's for real, especially in light of recent developments. While both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev were democratically elected, many regard Russia as an authoritarian state that sometimes uses force against others. The Japanese are worried by these authoritarian policies, hence Russia's attractiveness, i.e. soft power, has practically evaporated.
Russia and Japan in Regional Politics
Tokyo tends to be growing closer to the G7 and needs to make a difficult choice – on the one hand, it appears appropriate to support the West and apply some sanctions, although reluctantly, but on the other, the government doesn’t want to damage relations with Moscow.
Do you see a future for second track diplomacy in relations between Russia and Japan? And who could advance it within the bilateral relationship?
At this level, bilateral relations are rather pitiable, and actually not just between Russia and Japan. As far as other countries are concerned, frequently such relations are practically nonexistent. Hence, both Russia and Japan must work hard to improve the situation. And we have already taken some steps. As I see it, second track diplomacy has a future, especially as the current situation seems fairly amenable for improvement.
The Ukraine crisis and the annexation of Crimea appear to be big hurdles for Russian soft power. What do the Japanese think about Moscow's approach to Crimea?
I somewhat disagree with the government. Tokyo tends to be growing closer to the G7 and needs to make a difficult choice – on the one hand, it appears appropriate to support the West and apply some sanctions, although reluctantly, but on the other, the government doesn’t want to damage relations with Moscow. Although Japan rates Russia's behavior as a violation of international law and imposes some measures, the anti-Russian rhetoric in Japan seems much less militant than in the West, obviously a sign that Japan would like to build a fresh relationship with Russia, among other things, in order to settle the territorial dispute.
Japanese citizens are not aware of the historical intricacies in the Crimean and Ukraine issues and just see that the Russian army has entered a foreign country and forced it to hold elections, which makes the picture look really bad. Having seen the Russian tanks on TV, even I involuntarily recalled the Prague Spring of 1968 and gasped "Has it really happened again?" But most Japanese have no interest in Crimea at all.
Interviewer: Ilya Ivanov, RIAC Program Assistant
RIAC expresses gratitude to Timur Latypov for his help in arranging the interview.
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