The Meaning of Internationalization. Edwin Reischauer

Educational Reforms 134 What You Can Do Now 142 152 156

      FOREWORD

      In Japan in recent years, “international” and “internationalization” have become very popular vogue words. In contemporary American slang one might call them buzzwords. But unfortunately such terms often come to mean very different things to different people. For example, in French politics in the past, “radical” came virtually to mean “conservative.” Many countries today like to call themselves “democratic republics,” even though in any real democracy they would seem to be almost the opposite.

      In the West “international” has always stood in contrast to “national.” It suggests understanding and cooperation between different lands rather than isolation and narrow self-interest. It gives promise of peace among countries and harmony based on international law and institutions. Nationalism, on the contrary, implies military conflict and economic warfare resulting from clashes of national interest. Some people do fear that internationalism will weaken or corrupt their lands, but the term on the whole is overwhelmingly favorable.

      Internationalization clearly has a basically good meaning in Japan as well, or else it would not be so popular. But negative attitudes toward the term are much stronger than in the West. Some Japanese equate internationalization with Westernization and fear that it would bring a further loss of the uniqueness they claim for Japan. Such attitudes, however, are quite mistaken. The rapid changes that undoubtedly are taking place in Japan are the product of the development of science and technology and the resultant prosperity they have brought to Japan, not the unwanted results of internationalization. How many Japanese would wish to forego their present affl uence and worldwide economic leadership to return to impoverished isolation?

      Some Japanese also contrast the international turmoil of the contemporary world with the strict peace and order of Tokugawa times, forgetting the harsh personal suppression that accompanied this earlier system. They compare the long peace which Tokugawa isolation made possible with the wars that swept the rest of the world. To them international contacts are associated with war and the frightening threat of imperialist domination of the past. Peace and tranquility seem more attainable through the avoidance of international contacts in so far as possible. Internationalization to such people, therefore, is a dubious and slightly repellent term. But they are grossly mistaken in these concepts. Japan is like a creature that has become much too large for its old protective shell of isolation. Unable under modern conditions to grow a new and bigger shell, it must devise new means to protect itself. Internationalization is obviously the only means Japan has to continue its prosperity and survive in peace.

      Internationalization thus is a key word for Japan today. People should know its true meaning and also its implications and problems. Without it, Japan cannot continue its present affl uence and world leadership as an economic giant. It cannot even survive. It is for this reason that I have composed this little essay on the meaning of internationalization to Japan and some of the problems Japanese need to consider when thinking about it.

      CHAPTER 1

      On Being a World Citizen

      CHAPTER 1

      On Being a World Citizen

      We all hear a great deal these days about the internationalization of Japan and the need for individual Japanese to become more global in their attitudes—in other words, to become what Japanese call kokusaijin , or what in English we might call citizens of the world. This all sounds very fine, but actually just what does it mean? It seems very remote and theoretical, not something that actually affects the way we live. What does it have to do with our everyday lives, especially the lives of younger people? And just why is it necessary to become more international? How would each of us go about trying to achieve this goal? Can’t internationalization be left to statesmen and business leaders to worry about, leaving younger people free to concentrate on whatever may interest them, without concern for such big sounding but vague matters?

      Many people feel that all this fuss about internationalization is what Shakespeare called “Much Ado About Nothing.” Or else they believe that, whatever it may be, it is just too vast and remote a problem for them to do anything about. But if this is the way young Japanese actually do think, then they are making a serious mistake. The internationalization of Japan concerns the present life and immediate future of each individual Japanese. If younger people wait until they themselves have reached positions of leadership, they may find they have waited too long to solve the difficulties Japan might by then face. Internationalization is a challenge that confronts Japan and each individual Japanese right now.

      It is for this reason that I hope you will join me in exploring what it means to be a world citizen, what are the problems this poses for Japan, and what each of you can do to face the challenge successfully. The role of younger Japanese is especially important, because they have more capacity to learn than do their elders, and it is they who will be the leaders of the future who must deal with the results of success or failure today in responding to the present situation.

      Westernization and Internationalization

      In trying to define “internationalization,” we must first dispose of one serious misconception. Many Japanese think it means the Westernization of Japanese life styles and values. They quite rightly see no need for this and feel that Japan has already shown itself to be the most open country in the world to foreign influences. In earlier times, Japanese drank deeply of Chinese culture, and in recent years Western cultural influences have poured into the land. For example, Japanese are now as familiar with Western music as with their own, and they probably have as great a mastery of it as do most of the peoples of the Occident. Foreign cultural influences, such as Chinese painting and Western literature, have greatly enriched Japan and have certainly made it culturally as international as any nation in the world.

      Japan has also been fully open to foreign technology and as a result has now become a world leader in science and technology. The same is true of its political and social institutions as well as its urban, industrialized life styles. Although there is much that is distinctively Japanese in the way people live, the general patterns of modern city