The rise of internationalism, rather than nationalism, characterises major changes in Japanese diplomacy since the 1990s. The political discourse and some political moves, however, have assumed a nationalistic tone in recent years. How should we understand this apparent gap?

The talk will explain the structural problem of post-war Japanese diplomacy, which has been premised on the post-war constitution and the US-Japan alliance: these schemes have actually been the main instruments to constrain Japan’s freedom of action, and thus have been the primary targets of constant political attacks by the nationalists in one way or another. This structural problem has manifested itself once again after the end of the Cold War, in a new political context after the demise of the 1955 regime of post-war Japan. This new political context, however, has not proven itself to be the catalyst of changes in the substance of Japanese diplomacy. Rather, post-Cold War challenges to Japanese diplomacy have indeed required internationalist responses on the part of Tokyo. True, nationalistic discourse and actions have certainly complicated not only external perceptions but Japan’s external relations. The rise of nationalism, however, is simply an exemplification of the structural problem of Japanese diplomacy, and will fail to guide the future course of Japanese diplomacy.

Under the pressures of global economic competition, governments in advanced countries have engaged in education reforms for two decades. In most cases, these reforms are targeted at enriching the human capital of a society with “high skills.” High cognitive skills as well as social-communication skills, creativity, problem solving, and learning skills are high on the reform-agenda of many countries aiming to increase their competitiveness in the “knowledge-based economy.” It is a global phenomenon. Results of international testing, such as PISA or TIMMS, are often cited by the media as indicating a nation’s competitiveness and, therefore, as a sign of a successful education. In that sense, education reforms have now entered into a global race.

However, the increasing severity of this education reform race does not necessarily lead to governments increasing their investment into public (state) education. Neo-liberal thought is applied to education as well. As a result, the public (state) education system is now at risk of privatisation. Here we find a paradox: on the one hand, the global economic and educational competition push countries to give their education systems more complicated and difficult tasks, but on the other hand, most countries do not (or cannot) spend more money on education.

In this paper, I will explore how Japanese education has fared in this paradox. Especially, I will focus on recent reforms of education budget allocation and new school curricula, and their impact on inequality in education. Using survey data of pupils in elementary and middle schools, I will show how inequality in pupils’ ‘learning capital’ is expanding.

Growing rates of childbearing outside wedlock have been at the heart of family research in industrialised countries over the past decade. Numerous studies have aimed to uncover why an increasing number of women make the decision to have a child independently of the decision to marry. However, most of these studies are based on data collected predominantly in western countries and therefore their applicability could be limited, particularly as illegitimacy trends in some non- western countries differ dramatically from those of their western counterparts.

Using Japan as my case study I will show how greater attention to non-western countries can improve our understanding of the causes of the similarities and differences in illegitimacy trends between societies. In particular this paper has two main goals (i) to investigate the meanings Japanese unmarried mothers ascribe to three ways of resolving premarital pregnancies: marriages, abortions and having a child outside wedlock, (ii) compare their evaluations to those of unwed mothers in the U.S., a western country with an illegitimacy rate almost 20 times higher than that of Japan, and speculate about the effects the differences in perceptions are likely to have on the decisions of premaritally pregnant women. To do this I will (i) present the views of Japanese women based on detailed qualitative interviews carried out in 2004-2005 (ii) compare them with the perceptions of American women as documented in several secondary sources (iii) validate these qualitative findings against two recent surveys (WVS and Cabinet Office) that collected data on the matter.

The globalisation process has reached Japan also in the form of an increasing migration to the island. The migrants, mainly from Southeast-Asia, gather in urban regions, they create social networks and also foster their cultural impact with the help of “ethnic media” in their own language (Tajima Junko). The increasing foreign influence to Japan is a vital aspect of the de-traditionalisation of contemporary Japan. Although it is often criticised by conservative factions, a number of positive effects on the ageing and urbanised industrial society can be observed. This is for example mirrored in the growing number of international marriages and the numerous TV serials with intercultural love affairs (H. Goessmann. Further examples: “Kirakira hikaru”, “Go”). As the tradition of omiai is fading, young Japanese are enjoying, and reflecting the semantics of speed-dating/gôkon (gôkon no shakaigaku).

The globalisation of intimacy introduces both the option of a partner from another country or culture and the adjustment of the semantics of love. In the case of Japan, social obligations have to be discussed (e.g. in the case of Masako-sama) or even abolished. The question remains, if speed dating strategies will evoke a new type of partnership.

The globalisation of Japanese brands has been discussed not only as an economic but also as a cultural phenomenon both inside and outside academia, oftentimes with nationalistic fervour. On the one hand, it has been argued that the successful globalisation of Japanese brands, for example in electronics and automobiles, is due, paradoxically, to a lack of Japanese cultural presence. The success, particularly in Asia, of cultural ‘lifestyle’ brands, such as in clothing and cosmetics, is understood, on the other hand, in the context of a growing Japanese cultural presence. These two views share the same assumption, which is very much influenced by Americanisation: Globalisation of a particular national brand is closely associated with the appeal of national culture. If you love the country, you love the brand. But is it as simple as that?

My paper discusses this assumption which is often taken for granted and characterises discussions about the globalisation of ‘Japanese’ brands. I will analyse the issue of cultural characteristics of contemporary brands and then go on to examine the ways in which brands are distributed globally. I shall argue that it has become increasingly difficult to discuss the globalisation of Japanese brands following an Americanisation model and that a new approach is needed to understand the complex and contradictory relationship in such a dynamic process.