{"id":13045,"date":"2015-03-19T16:25:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-20T02:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13045"},"modified":"2015-03-19T16:26:50","modified_gmt":"2015-03-20T02:26:50","slug":"renewed-goj-projections-of-hard-and-soft-power-yomiuri-argues-for-remilitarization-to-protect-j-nationals-abroad-reuters-reports-goj-reinvestment-in-and-overseas-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13045","title":{"rendered":"Renewed GOJ projections of hard and soft power: Yomiuri argues for remilitarization \u201cto protect J-nationals abroad\u201d, Reuters reports GOJ reinvestment in overseas universities, claims “no strings attached”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. \u00a0In the recent vein of the GOJ’s more aggressive stance towards projecting its power abroad<\/a>, we have two articles\u00a0of note: \u00a0One is on the harder power of militarism<\/a> “to protect Japanese nationals abroad” (as the Yomiuri\u00a0capitalizes on\u00a0the ISIL beheadings to nudge public policy), and the other is on a (renewed<\/a>)\u00a0softer power to fund American universities, particularly Georgetown<\/a> and Columbia<\/a>, and therefore have more control over future research directions before they become published<\/a>. \u00a0(The institutions below may claim that there are no strings attached, but as the GOJ knows full well through its domestic education monopolies<\/a>, once you get people hooked on your funding, they have a helluva\u00a0time dealing with the threat of withdrawal).<\/p>\n

One might argue that all countries project power to some degree, and they would be right. \u00a0But we as consumers, researchers, and concerned critical thinkers should be aware of it. \u00a0Especially in Japan, an economy with this degree of public debt (more than twice its GDP<\/a>, the highest in the developed world), a tsunami and nuclear meltdown aftermath\u00a0that still needs cleaning up<\/a>, and an upcoming\u00a0porkbarrel 2020 Olympics<\/a>, these are interesting budgetary choices.\u00a0\u00a0Cherchez l’argent<\/em>. \u00a0Dr. ARUDOU, Debito<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Comprehensively bolster measures to protect Japanese nationals abroad<\/strong>
\n February 04, 2015, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Courtesy of JK<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/the-japan-news.com\/news\/article\/0001906749<\/a><\/p>\n

To prevent Japanese nationals from being targeted by international terrorism, the government must comprehensively reinforce countermeasures to protect Japanese living abroad, gather information on terrorism and guard key facilities.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is recently believed to have killed two Japanese in Syria, is threatening to continue to carry out terrorist attacks against Japanese. Lacking common sense, the fanatic criminal group will not listen to reason. Other radical groups inspired by ISIL\u2019s latest attack may also target Japanese.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We should realize that the threat of international terrorism has entered a new stage.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The headquarters tasked with promoting measures to handle international organized crime and international terrorism at the Prime Minister\u2019s Office adopted a policy Tuesday of keeping Japanese living abroad informed, through Japanese embassies and other diplomatic missions, about local security conditions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The government will also step up security for Japanese schools abroad. Such facilities are easy targets for terrorism because they symbolize Japan, so their security systems as well as commuting routes must be checked thoroughly.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made clear Tuesday that the government will increase the number of defense attaches, who are Self-Defense Force officials, at Japanese diplomatic missions abroad.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Following a hostage crisis in Algeria in 2013 that involved Japanese nationals, the government increased the number of defense attaches. At present, more than 50 defense attaches are stationed in about 40 countries.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

An SDF official can more easily access classified information held by local military authorities. SDF officials should be proactively deployed in such regions as the Middle East.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the latest crisis, the issue of keeping Japanese travelers informed of possible risks has become an important task.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Review travel advisories<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Foreign Ministry issues four different levels of travel advisories for potential threats in accordance with local security conditions. The ministry has issued an evacuation advisory, the highest level in terms of risk, to nationals living in Syria or traveling there.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But the advisory has no binding power since the Constitution guarantees the freedom of traveling to a foreign country.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The ministry had repeatedly asked Kenji Goto, who was killed in the latest hostage crisis, to refrain from entering Syria \u2014 but to no avail.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The government must examine improvements to the advisory levels according to the risks involved, as well as the best way to communicate and distribute such information.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Terrorist attacks must also be prevented in Japan. Immigration checks need to be tightened further to block terrorists at the water\u2019s edge. Security at governmental organizations, airports, nuclear power plants and other key facilities should be enhanced. It is also vital for the government to cooperate with the intelligence agencies of other countries.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

ISIL is trying to spread its radical beliefs beyond national borders by manipulating online resources. It is also necessary to prepare for home-grown terrorism that could be launched by those influenced by such terrorist propaganda.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, in Australia, an attacker who had apparently been influenced by ISIL took hostages at a cafe in Sydney in December. The incident ended with two hostages killed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Are there suspicious people apparently devoted to radicalism, collecting weapons and explosives?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Investigative authorities must vigilantly monitor online activity, detect any sign of terrorism and respond swiftly.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 4, 2015)<\/strong>
\n\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

To counter China and South Korea, government to fund Japan studies at U.S. colleges<\/strong>
\n BY TAKASHI UMEKAWA<\/strong>
\n REUTERS,\u00a0MAR 16, 2015<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2015\/03\/16\/national\/to-counter-china-and-south-korea-government-to-fund-japan-studies-at-u-s-colleges\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The Abe government has budgeted more than $15 million to fund Japan studies at nine universities overseas, including Georgetown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as part of a \u201csoft power\u201d push to counter the growing influence of China and South Korea.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The program, the first time in over 40 years that Japan has funded such studies at U.S. universities, coincides with efforts by conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe\u2019s administration to address perceived biases in accounts of the wartime past \u2014 moves critics say are an attempt to whitewash history.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Georgetown University in Washington will receive $5 million each from the Foreign Ministry\u2019s budget for fiscal 2015, which has yet to be enacted, a Finance Ministry official said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition, the Japan Foundation, set up by the government to promote cultural exchange, will allocate \u00a525 million per school to six yet-to-be selected universities in the United States and elsewhere, the official said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That comes on top of $5 million in an extra budget for fiscal 2014 for Japan studies at New York\u2019s Columbia University, where Japan scholar Gerry Curtis will retire late this year.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Abe government has a sense of crisis that history issues concerning Japan . . . are not properly understood in the United States, and decided to make a contribution so that Japan research would not die out,\u201d the Finance Ministry official said.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The official said Japanese diplomats will vet professors hired for the programs to ensure they are \u201cappropriate.\u201d However, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said there were no such conditions placed on the funding.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Foreign Minister \u201cis not placing any such condition as the GOJ\u2019s (Government of Japan) inclusion in the selection procedure of a new scholar,\u201d Takako Ito, the ministry\u2019s assistant press secretary, said in an email.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Georgetown University and MIT declined comment on the funding, while Columbia University spokesman Brian Connolly told reporters by email: \u201cAs a matter of long-standing university policy, donors to Columbia do not vet or have veto power over faculty hiring.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many Japanese politicians and officials worry Japan has been outmaneuvered by the aggressive public diplomacy of China and South Korea.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After a decade of shrinking spending on public diplomacy, the Foreign Ministry won a total of \u00a570 billion for strategic communications in an extra budget for fiscal 2014 and the initial budget for the next year from April, up from \u00a520 billion in the initial fiscal 2014 budget.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those funds are to be used for \u201csoft power\u201d initiatives such as the Japan studies programs at foreign universities and setting up \u201cJapan House\u201d centers to promote the \u201cJapan Brand.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But the government is also targeting wartime accounts by overseas textbook publishers and others that it sees as incorrect.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One such effort has already sparked a backlash from U.S. scholars, who protested a request by Japan\u2019s government to publisher McGraw-Hill Education to revise a textbook\u2019s account of \u201ccomfort women,\u201d the euphemism used in Japan for those forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.<\/em><\/strong>
\nENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yomiuri: To prevent Japanese nationals from being targeted by international terrorism, the government must comprehensively reinforce countermeasures to protect Japanese living abroad, gather information on terrorism and guard key facilities. […]<\/p>\n

Terrorist attacks must also be prevented in Japan. Immigration checks need to be tightened further to block terrorists at the water\u2019s edge. Security at governmental organizations, airports, nuclear power plants and other key facilities should be enhanced. It is also vital for the government to cooperate with the intelligence agencies of other countries. […] Are there suspicious people apparently devoted to radicalism, collecting weapons and explosives? Investigative authorities must vigilantly monitor online activity, detect any sign of terrorism and respond swiftly.<\/p>\n

Reuters: The Abe government has budgeted more than $15 million to fund Japan studies at nine universities overseas, including Georgetown and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as part of a \u201csoft power\u201d push to counter the growing influence of China and South Korea.<\/p>\n

The program, the first time in over 40 years that Japan has funded such studies at U.S. universities, coincides with efforts by conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe\u2019s administration to address perceived biases in accounts of the wartime past \u2014 moves critics say are an attempt to whitewash history. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Georgetown University in Washington will receive $5 million each from the Foreign Ministry\u2019s budget for fiscal 2015…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,36,19,33,50,4,10,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bad-business-practices","category-bad-social-science","category-education","category-fingerprinting-nj","category-gaiatsu","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-policeforeign-crime","category-japanese-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}