Japan relies on soft power to gain cooperation from other nations, but its soft power is weak according to Singaporean diplomats and scholars interviewed. While Japanese culture and foreign aid are somewhat influential, lack of transparency, incoherent foreign policy, over-reliance on the US, and inward-looking mentality limit Japan's leadership. Increased engagement with Asia, admitting to its wartime past, and immigration could strengthen Japan's soft power.

1. Japan’s soft power
in Singapore-Japan Interstate
Relations
Shumpei WATANABE

2. contents
• What is soft power?
• Methodology
• Results obtained
• Further remarks on Japan

3. Need for Power
• Most of the Japan’s challenges today cannot be
done unilaterally (security, economy, environment, etc.)
• It is essential to achieve cooperation from other
nations for the success in all these challenges.
• Japan has the responsibility to take leadership
which requires good followership
Question: How do we achieve such cooperation?

4. Three forms of Power
• Force other nations to do what Japan wants
(with Military Capacity)
• Pay other nations to do what Japan wants
• Promote other nations to cooperate with
Japan by attracting them

5. Coercion/Use of Force
• Morally wrong
• Too costly
• Unsustainable
• Japan is prohibited to use force by Article 9 of
Japanese Constitution and Article 2(4) of UN
Charter

6. Payment
• Costly
• Valid only in single transaction
Unsustainable

7. Attraction
• Country with same values and ideals with
Japan can cooperate with Japan.
• Easy to gain support from a country with
population that loves Japan
(culture, values, etc.).
• Country that views Japan as moral authority
or as a credible partner will support and
cooperate with Japan

8. Soft power
• Definition: “getting other countries want the
outcomes that a particular country wants.”
(J.S. Nye)
• Soft power resource
• Culture
• Political values/ Ideology
• Foreign Policy

9. Soft power
• This is what Japan needs to achieve
cooperation and take leadership.
Questions
1. How do we know what Japan’s soft power is?
2. What is Japan’s soft power?
3. What are the challenges and obstacles in
projecting soft power?

10. How do we know?
• If you like me, I never know what you like about me.
• If you hate me, I never know what you hate about me.
• If I assume what you like about me, I will make an ASS
out of U and Me.
• Japan assumes that popular culture is soft power.
• Is it working as soft power? Does it matter?
• Is that the only resource Japan has?
• What is the negative factor of soft power?
Methodology: INTERVIEWS

11. Focus: Interstate relations
• Interviewees are senior diplomats, other
relevant government officials, and
scholars, who make the foreign policies.
• This focus does not preclude the importance
of public opinion since they are one of the
factors that determines foreign policy.

12. interviewees

13. Four points
1. Culture
2. Political goals
3. Foreign Policy
1. Hard Power
• Soft power + Hard Power = smart power = what
we need.
• Showing good practice in hard power can project
good values, leadership, and credibility.

14. Culture
• Popular culture, consumer goods, and art are very
successful.
• Singapore helped Japan establish Japan Creative Centre
BUT
• Popular culture: Subject to competition with other nations
• Consumer goods: So successful that people take them for
granted (tradeoff for success).
Culture is not the most important asset!

15. Political values
• Not a Prime Minister but Prime MinisterS:
Negative Factor
• Manageable government with frequent change of
PMS: Potential Positive Factor
• PMS cannot be viewed as credible partners.
• Social values proved to be of excellence in the
post disaster effort.
Question: why?

16. Problem of transparency (Political Level)
• It is hard to tell what Japan is thinking.
• Making deal behind the scene
• Honne and Tatemae (Mahbubani)
• “Admit mistake so that Japan will be likable
(Geoffrey Yu).”  Lack of sincerity

17. Foreign policy
• Success of Foreign Aid
JSPP21 of today
• JICA
• Fukuda Doctrine, 1977 (3 points)
• Japan will never be a military power
• Japan will built relationship with SE Asian
Nations based on trust
• To be done on equal partnership

18. Strength in Foreign Policy
• Distinctive feature of Japan’s foreign aid:
• Sharing experience and work on project
together, instead of “I’ll give you money so do
as I say.”
Such attitude of Japan: soft power

19. Challenges in Foreign Policy
• Lack of long term coherent strategy
• Lack of coordination within Japan
• Minister recalled birth of APEC.
• Information about Japanese foreign policy not
being shared

20. Problem of transparency (Policy Level)
• Hard to tell what Japan is doing.
• Even though Japan is doing great i.e.
development program in Asia, that is not known.
• Foreign Aid program is difficult to understand.
“What is Japan getting out of this?” Recalling G4 resolution of 2004, UNSC election.
• 「背中で見せる国際協力」
“Our back shows you our international cooperation”
by JICA

21. Hard Power
• What to do with US
• Singapore welcomes US-Japan Alliance
• Japan is following US too much, not
independent.
• Lack of vision makes it impossible for Japan to
be a leader
• Partnership on equal basis preferred (so does
US).

22. Issue of war record
• Japan has to come to term for what we did in the
Pacific war.
• Message is not conveyed well.
• Lack of national consensus/policy
• Lack of coherence
• Note: perception level
• Japan is also traumatized by the war.
• “Leadership in Asia has been taboo since the end
of war.”

23. Immigration
• Why not immigration?
• Absence of immigration creates sense of
rejection.
• “Foreigners are tolerated in Japan and they
are not welcomed.”

24. Mentality
• Inward-looking
• Still looking at Europe even after Japan
became “No.1” and looking down on SE Asia
• “If you want to see yesterday, you go to Paris. If you want to
see today, you go to New York. If you want to see
tomorrow, you go to Singapore (Mahbubani)”
• Ambassador at Jakarta going to London is considered
promotion.
• Singapore indeed would welcome Japanese
leadership in the region.

25. Ambivalence
• How Japan engages with Singapore is the most
important determinant of the success of soft
power.
• Singapore’s perception:
Singapore’s support > Japan’s engagement
• Overall influence of Japan’s soft power is weak
but Singapore still supports Japan
Why?

26. Ambivalence
• Singapore sees Japan as Japan.
• Japan sees Singapore as one of SE Asian
countries.
• Example: Anti-Piracy Center
• Compare: Brussels and Singapore within the
context of regional integration
Small country never abandons friends.

27. Concluding remarks
• Japan can never know what Japan’s soft power is for
other states without asking them.
Need for interactive approach to explore soft power
• Coordination is essential
Need for a good facilitator for coordination.
• Soft power for S’porean diplomats:
How Japan does with its hard power and the factors that
make Japan a credible partner in IR.

28. Concluding remarks
• More engagement will enhance the influence
of Japanese soft power.
“Japan will have to be more serious with Asia
and that is when Japanese soft power becomes
truly influential (George Yeo).”