Children from Xingtang Participated in International Children’s Painting Exhibition

<正>The 11thChina-Japan-ROK Friendship Children’s Painting Tour Exhibitions organized by the Japanese NPO BELLPO-KAI and Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries were held in Fukuoka,Tokyo and Shanghai in July and August this year.Through painting,a common form of culture,as a way to strengthen exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese children,the exhibition aims to promote     

Children＇s paintings and photos on reconstruction of China＇s quake-hit areas exhibited in Japan

It is now one year since the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan of China. An exhibition of children＇s paintings and photographs on the topic of ＂post-earthquake reconstruction＂ has been held jointly by the Chinese Association for International Understanding, Bellpo-Kai, a Japanese non-profit education, and China Association. social organization for National Youth Palace     

Children’s paintings and photos on reconstruction of China’s quake-hit areas exhibited in Japan

It is now one year since the devastating earthquake in Wenchuan of China. An exhibition of children’s paintings and photographs on the topic of post-earthquake reconstruction has been held jointly by the Chinese Association for International Understanding,     

Japan＇ s National Strategy and China＇ s Strategy towards Japan

former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone once said that ＂Japan was a country without strategies.＂ This is not entirely true.Japan has had many definite and stubborn national strategies in the various periods of its history. For instance, Japan launched the war of aggression against foreign countries, occupied China, and attacked America. Japan also has a clear present national strategy to revive Japan under the leadership of Shinzo Abe.     

Thoughts on Japan＇s Big Power Strategy

More than 20 years have elapsed since Japan put forth the slogan of marching toward a ＂political power＂ from an economic one in the mid-1980s. People find that not only Japan＇s economic bubble has burst but its ＂political power＂ strategy is also quite feeble. The mettle Japan held in those years to ＂lead the world together with the United States＂ has long become grievance at the current state of affair and reminiscence of the good old days.     

Japan＇s Diplomacy in Central Asia

Japan＇s diplomacy in Central Asia started in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. After years of efforts, Japan＇s strategy on Asia was formed and its diplomacy in Central Asia entered a stage of steady growth. Though having scored some achievements, Japan still has some marked limitations as far as its Central Asia diplomacy is concerned. In the foreseeable future, Japan will still find it hard to become a main player on the stage of Central Asia diplomacy.     

Observations on Japan＇s New Security Strategy

On December 10, 2004, Japan‘s Security Council (also called Defense Council before 1986, which is composed of Prime Minister and several important Cabinet members) and Cabinet approved and published a new National Defense Program Guideline (““Defense Guideline““ in short), which elaborated not only Japan‘s defense force construction objectives and its detailed development program in the coming 10 years, but also great changes in its basic defense principles, concept of security threats, security objectives and their corresponding measure.     

Japan＇s UN Diplomacy and Its Prospects

Japan＇s diplomacy related to the United Nations can be traced back to 1956 when it formally joined the United Nations. After raising the goal of becoming a ＂political power＂ in the 1980s, Japan, in order to boost its international status, has spared no efforts on enforcing its diplomacy toward the United Nations. Boasting the world＇s second largest economy, Japan, after the end of the Cold War, openly declared its pursuance of permanent membership of the UN Security Council and competed for a permanent seat on the Council respectively during the 50th and 60th Sessions of the UN General Assembly held in 1995 and 2005. Besides, by rallying G4, Japan also aligned with Germany, India and Brazil in jointly claiming permanent seats on the UN Security Council. Though suffering repeated setbacks, Japan has never given up its attempt in this regard.     

The Inability of Japan to Adapt to China＇ s Rise and China＇ s Strategic Response

since China first surpassed Japan in 2010 to become the world＇s second largest economy, the continuing friction and tensions between China and Japan has intensified around issues such as the Diaoyu Islands and the East China Sea air defense identification zone. At the end of 2013, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe＇s visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, the Sino-Japanese relationship was brought to the lowest point in nearly 30 years. What are the deep-seated reasons for this？ What are Japan＇s strategic intentions？ These questions are worthy of further exploration.     

Opening Legations: Japan’s First Resident Minister and the Diplomatic Corps in Europe

This analysis shows how Japanese legations, first established in Europe during the 1870s, were not just symbolic gestures but played a key role in the Meiji government’s quest for international recognition. The concept of resident ambassador was unfamiliar beyond the European world, so the transition from sending visiting envoys to establishing permanent missions was a pivotal stage. Here a comparative framework gauges the importance of Japan’s new strategy within the context of similar experiments by states such as the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and subsequently China and Siam. The case of Sameshima Naonobu, Japan’s first resident minister in Europe, highlights the cultural barriers the Japanese faced. Assisted by Frederick Marshall, an Englishman at the Japanese Legation in Paris, Sameshima’s research on the mysteries encoded in this particular social universe offers some insight on the nature of the diplomatic corps in Europe.     

Memorables in the CAFIU Delegation’s Visit to Japan,New Zealand and Australia

<正>At the invitation of the Kazankai Foundation of Japan,New Zealand Rotary and Australian Rotary,a 5-member CAFIU delegation headed by Deputy Secretary-General Liu Kaiyang visited Japan,New Zealand and Australia from October28 to November 6,2013.I have the honor to be a member of the delegation to visit the abovementioned three countries,which left an     

新疆、陕西的儿童画作品在日本展出

为纪念中日和平友好条约缔结30周年，今年7月24日至29日，由日本社会教育团体碧波会和上海市人民对外友好协会主办的第六届日中友好儿童绘画展将在日本福冈市亚洲美术馆举行。     

Culture and women’s land rights on the ground in Uganda

In this article, culture as an ideology is contrasted to culture as a reality. The article aims to make a contribution to the study of land tenure rights in Uganda by using a cultural lens to discuss how women’s land rights are taking shape as regards changing inheritance practices and improving land use patterns through diversified projects. The evidence from the study villages demonstrates that women’s land rights are not only important for women as a category of people, but also for their immediate and extended families, and society at large.     

＂New Thinking＂ in Japan＇s Diplomacy--On the New Fukuda Doctrine

In September 2008, Yasuo Fukuda resigned after serving for a year as prime minister, and then Taro Aso formed a new cabinet. Due to the boycott of the opposition parties in the Diet, which wielded the majority, the Fukuda cabinet had achieved little in terms of internal affair. In foreign affairs, however, it left a deep impression by improving relations with China and advancing the New Fukuda Doctrine. As for the Aso cabinet, people were once worried that troubles might erupt in China-Japan relations given Aso＇s past stand. But since taking office as prime minister, Aso has kept a positive attitude toward promoting China-Japan relations and Asian diplomacy. Then what are the new considerations of Japan in its Asian diplomacy and Japan-China relations？ What position do China-Japan relations occupy in Japan＇s Asian diplomacy？ What are the tendencies of Japan＇s Asian diplomacy and its China policy？ All these issues warrant in-depth probing.     

ASEM’s role for co-operation on security in Asia and Europe

This article argues that the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process of multidimensional dialogue plays a prominent role in addressing issues of transnational security in both regions mainly in the field of soft and non-traditional security affairs. Furthermore, this significance and effectiveness of ASEM as a tool for mutually enhancing security could be further enhanced through such measures as greater co-operation between the UN and regional organizations, greater complementary efforts from Civil Society, pro-active engagement of ASEM in a changing security environment, greater convergence with other regional security groupings, opening of avenues for track 2 contributions, and heightened consistency in the commitment of the European Union to the process. Despite questions and challenges that ASEM may face, ASEM is now a clear reference in Europe and in Asia – and in Southeast Asia in particular-for security issues.This text reflects the personal views of the author.     

Non-Governmental Organizations from China and Japan jointly issued “Statement of Chinese and Japanese NGO Leader’s Meeting”

OnJanuary２８thisyear，the＂StatementofChineseandJapaneseNGOLeader＇sMeeting＂wasissuedinBeijing．Itsays：Ontheoccasionofthe３０thanniversaryofnormalizationofdiplomaticrelationsbetweenChi－naandJapan，therepresentativesfrom５３non－governmentalorga－nizationsandfriendshipgroupsofthetwocountriesgatheredhappi－lyinBeijing．Theyreviewedthe＂DeclarationofSino－JapaneseNon－GovernmentalFriendshipintheNewCentury＂，whichwasissuedayearago，andlookedfor－wardtotheprospectsoffriendlyrelationsbe…     

Brief Analysis on the North East Asia Policy of Japan＇s Democratic Party

<正>The core idea of strengthening Asia Oriented Diplomacy of the coalition government led by Japanese Democratic Party (DPJ) is to focus on North East Asia and vigorously build up trust     

The daiku phenomenon: social and cultural influences of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Japan

In the rude awakening of western colonisations in Asia during the nineteenth century, Japan drastically embraced the ‘better and more modern’ western values towards the end of that century—which began with the Meiji Restoration (Meiji Ishin [ ]). Since the nation began frantically learning everything Western—while keeping its traditional values at heart, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony ‘Choral,’ or daiku as it is known in Japan, has been present throughout the turbulent twentieth century. The social and cultural phenomenon known as nenmatsu-no daiku ([ ] A countless number of annual year-end Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony concerts held throughout Japan each year.) is the subject under scrutiny in this paper. Japan’s almost desperate pursue toward westernization and the much-debated Japanese cultural trait, the ‘groupism’ mentality would make the existence of the daiku phenomenon appear to the bewildered outsider as a horrendous mix of the two elements, but is that simply so? Evidently, the sudden influx of western cultures and ideologies from Europe and the U.S.A. is in great part accountable for the continual and prevalent existence of the daiku in modern Japan. However, we must not overlook the underlying home-grown factors, which have kept the phenomenon well and alive even today. This paper intends to discuss the historical background leading to this phenomenon and present a summary of what daiku is, giving examples of different types of performances as a result of the phenomenon. An attempt will also be given to examine the significance Beethoven’s Ninth has for the Japanese in both social and cultural contexts.