ASSESSING JAPAN’S IMAGE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Japan and Europe are both democracies which not only share common values and interests, but also cooperate closely in international fora such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7 and G20. They are also accelerating negotiations for a strategic partnership agreement and a free trade deal which together promise to take their bilateral relationship to a new level. Moreover, there are a number of economic fields where the European Union and Japan share interests and are keen to learn from each or at least exchange views and experiences such as, fiscal policy, climate change, renewable energy, agricultural reforms and demographic change. Yet despite their long-standing, solid relationship, there is a perception among European government officials, academics, the media and think-tanks that there is a lack of significant international cooperation between Europe and Japan, according to a recent survey conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Japan's image across Europe.

Japan-Austria

The overall consensus among all respondents was that, as far as they can tell, there is no specific image of Japan among administration officials in Austria and, where there is it is limited to a small number in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Economically, there was a mixed picture from respondents with some saying that Japan has lost much of its image as a powerful economic player due to its slow growth and the rise of other markets in the region, most notably China, whose strong presence has “pushed” Japan off the radar of Austrian media and public. Others stated that despite being “taken over” by China in terms of GDP, Japan continued to be one of the largest and most important exporters, with a special relevance in the field of innovative technologies and a key economic market for Austria. There seemed to be little intense political relationship building between Austria and Japan. Japan appears far away from an Austrian foreign politics that is very much focused on regional issues. Austria, as of now, has no particular agenda in Asia that would warrant more focus on a partnership with Japan. However, the possibility of a closer relationship in the future was not ruled out, since Austria occupies a geographical and political position that has the potential to bridge gaps between the West and the East, especially the Near East. Japan’s soft power-image in Austria seemed to be much clearer to the respondents than its political and even its economic image. Over the past decades, there has been a steady demographic with a high interest in and positive image of the more stereotypical aspects of Japan’s traditional culture, and recent years have seen a surge of a high number of other imports from Japanese culture. Sushi and various interpretations of “Bento” have become a staple in most take-outs and delivery services. The younger generation is much more consciously engaging with Japanese popular culture than previous ones, often watching anime shows in their original language and reading manga comics, with a strict differentiation between western and Japanese content. 

Japan-Germany

Most experts agree that the general image of Japan among German officials is positive, as it has been for some time, though there is a certain amount of disinterest from officials, excepting those few with personal ties or an affinity with Japan. Japan is seen as being similar to Germany and facing similar economic, social and ecological problems. Furthermore, it has a similar view on the international relations and similar values: peace, stability, free world trade, market economy, sustainability. Japan is generally viewed rather as an economic player then a political one. In the long run there has been a change in the view of Japan as an economic player. It is still seen as being similar to Germany in many economic aspects: a market economy, strongly interested in international trade and the global development of the economy. Japanese and German companies are simultaneously in competition and cooperation, as they are active in many of the same industrial sectors. In the 1980s Japan was a role model for economic success but now that the Japanese economy is in recession the measures it takes to fight against it are being evaluated. Abenomics gained a lot of attention in Germany but many measures were viewed critically. On foreign policy, though the general view of Japan as a political partner is positive, particularly in contrast to China, experts noted that, although present in multilateral forums, Japan seems to lacks its own profile and is seen as a country that seeks to avoid contentious issues. Therefore, even though Japan remains a strong partner of the USA, it doesn´t appear to Germans as a big international player. Constant changes in key figures within the Japanese government have, historically, made personal diplomacy difficult between Germany and Japan, although the greater stability in the administration under Abe have made this easier and holds the promise of greater cooperation going forward. The most widely reported on Japanese security issue in Germany is the reinterpretation of Article 9, Japan’s pacifistic constitutional clause. The German public is very sceptical about these changes with the media heavily influenced by the image of Abe as a right-wing nationalist. On the contrary, German decision makers understand the changes in security laws under Abe administration as a normalisation process, similar to the one that Germany went through. There is a broad agreement between the experts that Japanese soft power, understood as cultural influence, is present and well received in Germany. Culturally, Japan has a very positive image of a country of sushi, manga, robots, gadgets, fashion, and computer games. The interviewees stress that this is more a question of cultural globalisation and consumption rather than of a bilateral relationship between Germany and Japan. However, Japan is not seen as a soft power in the sense of a modern political power, as an actor creating international norms and social models. The cultural influence is not mirrored by a political one.

Japan-France

Japan has an overwhelmingly positive image among French administration officials. France and Japan have deep political ties with frequent interaction between administrations, which have helped to build a relationship of confidence between officials. A diplomat described the French-Japanese partnership as “outstanding”, especially since the beginning of a “2+2” dialogue, a meeting of ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of defence in January 2014. This positive perception of Japan among French officials started to evolve in the 1990s, especially under the influence of President Jacques Chirac, a noted Japanophile. Under Nicolas Sarkozy, France came closer to China at the expense of Japan, but François Hollande is following a policy of balancing between the two and is reviving ties with Japan. Japan is perceived as a good and very reliable economic partner, benefitting from a professional, effective and hard-working workforce. Moreover, it is also seen as a modern and technology-oriented economy. France and Japan have very strong economic relations: France is the second biggest destination for Japanese direct investment in Europe; Japan is the biggest Asian investor in France; and bilateral trade amounts to €15 billion (1.6 percent of French trade). Most respondents stressed the fact that Japan is a very closed market. Many sectors such as defence or aeronautics are the preserve of the US. However, France is pushing politically to open the Japanese market, especially in the area of public tenders. There are developing cooperation in sensitive sectors like nuclear energy. An official explained that entering the Japanese market requires heavy initial investment, but is very rewarding in the long term, especially when confidence is established with Japanese partners, and when French companies demonstrate their commitment to quality and their reliability. However, French investors tend to be put off by the closed nature of the Japanese market and tend to prefer China, even though the return on investment rate is much more uncertain. On foreign policy, French diplomats described Japan as an “outstanding” partner. The two countries have a strategic partnership and share common values such as democracy and liberalism: as one official said to us, they are seen as member of the same “club” as Western Europe and North America. However, there is consensus on the idea that Japan could and should do more on the international stage. French officials and academics alike criticised  Japan’s absence from many international crises including Syria and the refugee crisis. Japanese “chequebook” diplomacy is deemed insufficient and respondents thought Japan should have a more proactive role on the international stage. Nevertheless, France is sympathetic to Japan’s security concerns regarding the rise of China in the region. All respondents described Japan’s soft power image as being very good in France. Although people can sometimes have a cliché image of Japanese culture (“zen”, “sushi”, “geishas”), France is very interested in Japanese culture. This interest has deep roots, as it started with the Japonisme movement in final years of the 19th century. There is a long-standing interest in Japan’s traditional culture by French elites, but in the last few decades, a new kind of interest has grown amongst a popular audience, focussed on Japanese modern and youth culture (mangas, anime, cosplay…)

Japan-Italy

Italy’s image of Japan is characterised by a clear dichotomy between insiders – who include entrepreneurs, officials and enthusiasts for Japanese culture - and outsiders – those with a general and superficial understanding of what Japan is. Both these groups seem to have a generally positive image of the country, with the “insiders” having obviously greater awareness of the many facets and nuances that compose the general picture. Moreover, the general good – albeit at times superficial - image of Japan seems to have remained stable over the years. China seems to be the only potential “interference” factor in the bilateral relations between Italy and Japan, and clearly has the capacity to gain even greater importance in the future. Italy is traditionally an export-oriented economy and so the greater the market potential of a country, the greater importance that country will be given. These commercial – and, consequently, political - imperatives influence the perceived inevitability of ever-increasing Italy Sino-Italian relations. In light of these considerations, realistically, the role that Japan will have in Italy in the years to come seem to depend greatly on how it will be able to work out its relations with the bigger neighbour. One aspect that was not directly touched by this experts’ survey but which has the potential to positively influence the overall image of Japan in Italy is the topic of capital punishment. Italy is perhaps one of the countries which care the most about capital punishment. If Japan was to increase the public discourse on capital punishment and was to revise its stance on the matter, there is reason to believe that the overall image of the country would greatly benefit.  

Japan-Portugal

All administration officials interviewed had an overall good image of Japan that was mostly based on the view that Japan is a reliable partner, an efficient and coherent international actor, with whom Portugal shares various interests and political values and has solid and stable ties. Officials also mentioned that in the last five years or so bilateral relations between the two countries have progressed enormously, mostly as a consequence of more high ranking diplomacy that materialised in mutual official state visits of the prime ministers. However, officials were also unanimous in saying that Japan is not as important as it used to be, and that there are countries in the Asia-Pacific region that are currently more exciting to Portugal (namely India and China). Portugal views Japan as the economic power it really is: still the third largest world economy (in terms of nominal GDP), and an innovative and flexible economy, with a highly competitive market of 126 million citizens that are sophisticated consumers with a strong purchasing power and a love for foreign goods. Portuguese-Japanese bilateral trade and investment relations have remained very much unchanged over the last 30 years. They are still modest and clearly in favour of Japan but there are potential markets for Portuguese exports to Japan that Portugal is keen to exploit. That is why Portugal is a firm supporter of the EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated. The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been particularly active in the defence and debate of the EU-Japan Agreement, including organising several colloquia. Portugal has also invited Japan to be a permanent of observer of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries. In terms of security, Portugal perceives Japan as an actor which is increasingly feeling threatened by both China and North Korea. The regional balance in the Asia-Pacific region shifting, creating new pressure on Japan’s security and foreign policies. The recent debate that led to the reinterpretation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution was evaluated by Portuguese analysts and officials as a logical reaction to China’s reinforcement as a regional power and its rising as a global military power. Japan’s soft power image in Portugal’s civil society is still rather good but starting to change. For the last two decades Japan has been seen by the Portuguese public opinion as a modern and vibrant society, in the forefront of high-tech gadgets and as a global trend-setter in culture and fashion. Some Japanese “goods” that still have a strong impact on Portugal’s civil society are sushi and related food, anime and manga. These last two have marked strongly an entire generation but are beginning to fade out. 

Japan-Spain

All those interviewed agreed that the Spanish administration has historically had a very positive image of Japan. However, despite shared interests and values, and Japan’s economic importance, Spain does not devote enough resources to the region. The lack of a strategic vision, the scarcity of speakers of Japanese language, or concrete measures such as the creation of a General Directorate for Japan within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were mentioned as examples of this lack of engagement. Spanish economic actors consider Japan a land of opportunities for Spanish companies that is yet to be fully explored. Japan is perceived both as a very strong economic player and a solid partner, but ranks poorly (22nd) among Spain’s trade partners, and bilateral investments remain relatively low. In the field of security and defence, Spanish officials welcome the possibility of a more active Japanese engagement in international military operations, provided the country respects UN conventions and international law. However, similarly to other European countries, Spain does not perceive the military rise of China as an imminent security threat and, as a consequence, the priorities and motives of Japanese defence policy are not always shared or understood by Spanish officials. This is reflected, for example, in the different views expressed by Spain and Japan concerning the reform of the United Nations Security Council, or in the absence of a Spanish defence attaché in Japan.

Japan-Sweden

The strongest common impression of today's Japan was that the country had been struggling with various difficulties ever since the collapse of the bubble economy and that the 2011 natural disasters had made restructuring even more difficult. Japan was an aging society and respondents said that they did not understand how Japan would be able to cope with its various challenges. On the other hand, Japan was seen as a strong civilisation and it was noted that even more difficult challenges in the past had been solved with surprising capability and energy. Therefore, it was better not to predict how the Japanese society would develop economically and socially. No one had an overall negative image of Japan. On the contrary, what Japan had been through made it appear societally closer to Sweden which is facing up to similar political issues and exploring solutions to them. The image of Japan as a unique case among nations was not as strong as it had been in the 1980's, when the success of the Japanese business model was on everybody's lips. Today the image of the Japanese business climate was one of trustworthiness (once you understood the necessary code words), but also one where the doors to the inner decision making rooms are tightly sealed. Japanese culture has always been perceived as interesting in Sweden, and those interviewed were no exception.  However, when being asked what it was in Japanese culture that interested them, the answers were relatively vague, with many references made to classical culture and to the fact that many of the interesting features of the modern culture were probably more focused on the younger generation, with manga and anime being striking examples. The Japanese political climate was generally perceived as being hard to understand, mostly due to the constant formation of new political parties, the seemingly destructive factional infighting inside them and the frequent reshuffles of the sitting cabinet. As for Japanese foreign policy, almost all viewed it as being close to Swedish foreign policy in content, but relatively invisible on the international scene, especially within the UN system. Few understood why Japanese peace keeping troops had to keep an extremely low profile, and only the administration officials had paid any serious attention to the reinterpretation of the article 9 of the Japanese constitution.

Japan-UK

As a general trend, all interviewees agreed that the image of Japan over the past couple of decades has changed, and it has changed in a positive fashion. Some two decades ago, Japan was seen primarily as an outward investing economy, with an opaque domestic economy that, whilst not formally closed to the outside world, was extremely difficult to enter. Through its ambitions to join the UN Security Council as a permanent member and its recent security posture change, Japan is broadening its global role and actively seeking Foreign Direct Investment, although it is currently starting from a low base. The contributors all shared a similar understanding that Japan is regarded as a longstanding economic partner for the UK. In particular, Japan is still identified in the UK as strong exporter of high-quality manufacturing products with very good brand visibility (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Brother, SONY, etc.). Japan is still synonymous with high quality and major economic player, but it is increasingly understood as the Switzerland of East Asia: affluent, old, but somewhat insular. Abe Shinzo’s Japan has certainly dispelled that image, but the Chinese presence is incredibly pervasive: people throughout Europe already believe China to be the richest world economy. China is certainly regarded as a growing and possibly more ‘strategic’ partner than Japan. A bolder, more assertive Japanese foreign and security policy has been continually encouraged by the UK because of the stabilising influence it could have on regional and international affairs. Similarly, Japan may emerge as an important regional security actor, complementing US led efforts in regional security capacity building, and helping to advocate for international law and norms against would-be challengers, such as China. In the perception of soft power, one major cleavage in the UK is between large urban areas, and the rest of the country. In larger urban cities with a strong well-educated portion of society, Japan is recognised with brands that contribute to shape specific aspects of daily life. From Play Stations to Uniqlo, Japanese brands are recognised to be trendy, designer-savvy, tech-savvy, and high quality. Outside the context of urbanised areas, it is hard to see Japanese soft power having any impact at all. In part, this is also because Japanese brands are perceived as serving the high value luxury market and therefore less relevant to the average British person. All respondents agreed that Japan’s soft power does not necessarily translate in increased global political influence. The reasons for this are unclear, but may stem from Japan’s traditional reluctance to take a leading role in global politics, and therefore less directly related to soft power itself.

Conclusion

What is important for Japan is to become a country which can win trust from European people as a reliable political partner or player. The question here is how to actively send a message to the world as such a country. Japan should have its own global diplomatic wisdom and views. It is only when Japan has become such a country that it can really build relations of mutual understanding with Europe and their relations can grow further. How Japan positions Europe as a connecting point and how it can build diplomatic ties with the region for the betterment of both parties are being tested. A difficult part of Japan building its relations with the European Union (EU) is how Japan can connect such multilateral relations with its bilateral ties with EU members such as France, Germany, and Britain. Unless what Japan pursues in its bilateral ties with EU members is clarified, the country’s overall relationship with the EU will lack focus.

In thinking about strengthening Japan-Europe cooperation, what is significant to understand is that cooperation as such is not an end in itself, but only a means of achieving something between Japan and Europe. Therefore, both sides need to focus more on what is to be attained or what they are aiming for through the strengthening of cooperation.