Japan’s universities need more global ties

Nancy Snow, japantimes.co.jp

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Excerpt:

China understands national brand management across the entire political economy, and to that end focuses on person-to-person engagement and exchange diplomacy. According to a report out of the College of William & Mary titled “Ties that Bind: Quantifying China’s Public Diplomacy [JB emphasis] and Its ‘Good Neighbor’ Effect,” China leads the world in elite-to-elite diplomacy. China entertains more visiting dignitaries and its faculty and students travel more globally, all with an emphasis on building closer ties — China to the world and the world to China. China’s sister-city ties have expanded 115 percent since 2000, with 950 sister cities in the Asia-Pacific region, including 337 in Japan.

China has also doubled down on informational diplomacy. NHK, which desires to expand its international and regional reputation, can’t compete with China’s state-owned media companies. Just as Xi Jinping was elected to a second term, China announced the merger of China Central Television (CCTV), China Radio International and China National Radio under a single network, Voice of China, whose purpose includes strengthening international communication and telling good China stories.

Japan has plenty of good stories, yet untold, and if it doesn’t take on internationalization with the spirit of a Marshall Plan, its voice will be a whisper to the global and regional public-diplomacy power of its top trading partner.

Nancy Snow is Pax Mundi professor of public diplomacy at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies and author of “Japan’s Information War,” now being translated into Japanese. ...