Глобальные вызовы – японский ответ

Global Challenges – Japanese Response

General Editor: Molodyakova Elgena

Москва, 2008, 308 p.

This monograph was prepared by Russian researchers – specialists in Japanese studies. The authors of the project intended, first of all, to show the new developments in Japan and its place in the world during the period of globalisation. Twelve chapters of the study, divided in two blocks, have the common approach: to show, how globalisation affects Japan and how the nation meets the new challenges. The authors’ aim was to study separate problems in the general context; that is proved by the references of the authors to the each others’ works. The first block of chapters studies the interconnected subjects, related to the important problems of the national spiritual life at this stage of globalisation. First of all, it is a matter of Japanese self-identification, which must be verified in order to meet the new challenges; of the transformation of the national idea, which is currently turning into the notion brand “Japan”; of the Japan’s position in the world and its modern image. Other significant, but little-studied aspects of the Japanese society’s life, examined in the first block of chapters, are inherent confessional tolerance, and, in particu-lar, the spread of Islam in the country; linguistic globalisation and the role of the English language (which tends to become lingua franca in the 21st century) in the life of the Japanese today. Perhaps, for the first time the question is put: can modern Japan claim the role of the global centre of mass culture. The second block of chapters studies various aspects of the Japanese economy. It examines, how separate elements of national economy meet the challenges of globalisation. In particular, the following subjects are considered: Japan’s place in the world economy; the changes in Japan-US relations in the context of globalisation; the situation in the agri-culture, which is currently under heavy pressure of external factors; the national policy in energy conservation; Japan’s achievements in high-technology innovations. All these issues are examined in detail in the respective chapters of the study. Prof. Shimotomai Nobuo (Hosei University, Tokyo) is the specially invited author of the project. He wrote the article about the problem of the “Northern territories” in the Russian-Japanese relations in the context of the period of “cold war” in East Asia. The author thoroughly examines the development of Russo-Japanese relations, concerning the issue of concluding the peace treaty, the history of the so-called problem of “Northern territories” during the “cold war”. The author studies the policy of the Russian and Japanese sides, analyses various contemporary records, which were made available due to the opening of many – previously secret – archives funds. The Project “Global challenges – Japanese response” was conceived and produced in 2008 by the Centre for Contemporary Japanese Studies, established under the agreement, concluded in 1991 between the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (now the Russian Academy of Sciences) and the Japan Foundation (Japan) to promote the studies of Japan in Russia.