Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s Address at a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress Revived the Initiative in Public Diplomacy

japanpolicyforum

by KANEKO Masafumi, Senior Research Fellow, PHP Institute, Inc

Extract from article:

Prime Minister Abe’s address at the joint meeting of the U.S. Congress was enthusiastically received with over ten standing ovations from the participating Congressmen and observers. ...

In particular, the Prime Minister touched the hearts of the audience when he mentioned the deep repentance that he felt during his visit to the World War II Memorial and said, “I offer with profound respect my eternal condolences to the souls of all American people that were lost. Caught by emotion, some Congressmen present reportedly had tears in their eyes. ...

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By stating feelings of deep remorse, ... Prime Minister Abe responded to the deepest concerns of the audience to a certain extent. ...

Loud self-assertion is often considered to be a way to strengthen public diplomacy, but if such an assertion is not accepted by the counterparties, it becomes meaningless. In this respect, the Prime Minister’s address has been evaluated as one that stated what needed to be stated in accordance with the discourse in the United States.

The success of the address can actually be judged by whether or not its purposes in terms of public diplomacy was achieved more than how it was received by the audience. ...

The Prime Minister’s address accomplished these purposes appropriately. ...

In essence, like diplomacy, public diplomacy have no end either.

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It is expected that by taking advantage of the horizon that the Prime Minister’s address has explored, and by striving to exert synergies through appropriate actions both in Japan and overseas, new opportunities for public diplomacy will be created continually.