24-5 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031
Tel: 03-5456-8082 Fax: 03-5456-8388
Mail: info@japancivilization.org
http://www.japancivilization.org/

Newsletter Vol. 5 Autumn 2016

On 24th August, 2016, the fifth symposium held by Japanese Civilization Institute took place at Japan University of Economics in
Shibuya, Tokyo. A heated discussion took place under the theme,“Globalization and Nation. The path that Japan should take, with
U.K. leaving the European Union and the U.S. presidential election
coming up,” between California lawyer and TV personality Kent
Gilbert, international politician Lully Miura and Professor at Collegeof Risk Management, Nihon University, and Ken Kotani with Naoki Inose—director of Japanese Civilization Institute—serving as MC.
The following is an extract of the event (reprinted from “Shukan
Dokushojin,” 7th October, 2016, No. 3159)

Greetings
Ms. Kimiko Tsuzuki—Chairperson of Japanese Civilization InstituteThanks everybody, a year has passed since we established Japanese Civilization Institute. This summer, Tokyo governor Yuriko
Koike returned from Brazil with the Olympic flag. The theme of our fifth symposium is “Globalization and Nation,” but I
believe that the Olympics themselves are an international sports event with 196 countries taking part. Of course it is without
doubt that athletes wish to receive the honor of a gold medal, but there also are the many supporters, the country’s dignity,
pride, identity, and peoples’ various ideologies involved along the way, to make this event possible.
For example, I heard that the swimwear worn by Japan’s synchronized swimming team went through over 400 samples,
involving numerous textile manufacturers and dyeing artists of kimono. It also needed several Japanese minds, Japanesetraditional crafts, and innovative technology to come up with that classic design of “Fujin (wind god) Raijin (thunder god).”I think behind the medals, are these kinds of passion and expectation of the people.
The idea of the world becoming one through globalization is a big dream. But how should each country balance their identity, autonomy and independence? And how should Japan pave its way toward the future, while undertaking power battles
with other countries? We have panelists discussing these kinds of themes today. I hope you will enjoy it all.

Mr. Naoki Inose—Director of Japanese Civilization Institute
It’s a year since we invited journalist Soichiro Tahara to our first symposium on August 28th 2015. We’re entering our second
year now and I sincerely would like to thank all those who have supported us up until now. We hope we can continuously
develop this organization further, by communicating with people of various fields and gather intellectual help by doing so,in order to deeply understand Japanese Civilization. I hope you will all continue your support you have shown us so far.

Past symposiums were held under the following themes:
・1st Symposium: “The characteristics of Japanese Civilization after 70 years of WWII.”
・2nd Symposium: “Reconsidering Regional Revitalization and the future of Japan on the day Japan and theUnited States opened war.”・3rd Symposium: “The Path that Japan Should Take—The Future of Japanese Civilization.”・4th Symposium: Why Japanese sake tastes good?”—Japanese cuisine leads the world
Details of each event can be viewed through back issues of newsletters available at the website of Japanese
Civilization Institute. http://japancivilization.org/#newsletter

About the groupJapanese Civilization InstituteEstablished in August 2015

Address: 24-5 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031
Tel :03-5456-8082 Fax:03-5456-8388
Website: http://www.japancivilization.org/

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A report on the 5th Symposium“Globalization and Nation.
The path that Japan should take,with U.K. leaving the European Union andthe U.S. presidential election coming up”

Kent Gilbert vs. Lully Miura vs. Ken Kotani
MCNaoki Inose
Will Trump become
the next US
president?—thereason behind his
popularity
Inose: Recently, UK voters opted towithdraw from the European Union(EU) and the unthinkable became
the thinkable. A wave of popularity
caused disorder within a systemized
realm. A nation’s walls are no longer
as strong as they used to be. At thesame time, over in America, real-estate developer Donald Trump is receiving support. It seems that America is having a hard time outlining
their country too. Mr. Gilbert, why
do you think Trump is receiving somuch support?
Gilbert: To answer that question, I
think we need to look back in history
and see how America formed itself asa nation. America never became theUnited States of America as soon as
the thirteen colonies fought against2

the British. It slowly united together,but because each state had differing
policies of their own like sovereigncountries, chaos emerged. So theydecided to hold a constitutional convention and form a government. But
the initial plan was to keep sovereignty in each state active, so that theConstitution of the United States
only stipulates the tasks each statedelegates to the Federal Government.
The government takes care of the nation’s defenses, postal service, legislative investigation, trading between
states, and that’s about all. In otherwords, each American state retains its
sovereignty, Constitution and a courtof justice. If the Federal Government
tries to take them away, the people
will protest. At the same time, America doesn’t regard the United Nations
to be all that important, although it
makes use of its powers. When the
security-related legislation is discussed, there are debates on whether
self-defense forces should use military power under the UN resolution,
but America has no interest in seeking UN guidance on such matters.

Kent Gilbert (U.S. California lawyer,
TV personality)

Inose: That’s true. There are times
when states are compared to countries. In 2015, there was news that
the GDP of California was 6th in theworld, exceeding France.
Gilbert: That’s right. Also, adjustments need to be made when trade
agreements are put forth, taking into
consideration how much foreigncountries can gain benefits, but
Americans don’t like that. When freetrade agreements are concluded, import items are sold cheaper and laboropportunities increase in general. For
example, when North America Free
Trade Agreement was concluded in
1990, manufacturing industries immediately turned to Mexico, resulting in many American employees
losing their jobs. Politicians and academics want to pursue globalization
because they find it efficient. But it’s
only investors and top company executives who profit from free trade
agreements. Meanwhile, there are thepeople who suffer from lower salaries
and unemployment. So such people
have come to hope for a politician,
who might think about their benefits. That’s where Trump comes in.
People today want someone to protect them. Rather than agreeing with
TPP—with which they have no clue
as to how their life might improve—
they prefer to support Trump.

Republicans, Bush junior started the
Iraq War using the Islamic State as an
excuse. In times when people no longer trust the Republican or the Democratic Party, Trump emerged like atrickster.

Inose: So you think that sort of emotion of the people has risen to thesurface.

Inose: How do you see this situation,
Mr. Kotani?

Gilbert: I think in the background,
there’s this distrust toward politics.
Right now, the Republicans hold alarger number of seats, but President
Obama is a Democrat so there’s aparadox. The goal of the Republicans
is to make sure that Democratic Presidents are unsuccessful. It’s the sameas the Japanese Democratic Party
having small goals of “allowing theruling party to occupy no more than
2/3rds of the seats.” There are heaps
of issues to be tackled, but they’re nottackling them. I think the only issue
that’s been dealt with is health careinsurance reform and that’s not evenfinished yet. It’s when all these problems remain unsolved, that peoples’
frustration explodes and they startseeking for a dictatorial leader who
might put reform under way. The
same can be said with Philippine’s
President right now.
Inose: President Obama couldn’t accomplish many of his promises. On
the other hand, when we look at the

Gilbert: Plus Trump is famous. Hisname became first known when herepaired the public skating rink inCentral Park, New York. The repair
had been going on for 6 years, andnever seemed to finish. Then Trumpcame in and finished it in a short period of 3 months, investing in his
own money.
Inose: Do you think Trump will become the next President?
Gilbert: I think it depends on thepresidential debates.

Kotani: I think just from hearing
Trump’s words, it’s clear that he’s not
fit for President. The theme of thisdebate centers around, “how weshould tackle globalization?” We
know that Trump was against TPP
from the start. But recently Hillary
Clinton has also started denying TPP.
It seems that TPP is going to lose
track no matter which candidate becomes President.
Gilbert: I think Obama is going tofinish off TPP as his last task.
Inose: In the end, it’s probably obvious that Clinton will become thenext President, but Ms. Miura do
you think there’s a chance for Trump?
If Trump becomes President, what do
you think might happen?
Miura: Up until now, news continually reported that there was nochance for Trump to represent theRepublicans and run for President.
Mr. Gilbert said so too. I also
thought it was a bubble phenome-

Ken Kotani (Professor at College of
Risk Management, Nihon University)

non. But last year, when I visited theAmerican South, I was surprised tosee how much Trump was supportedby the higher earners including accountants and company executives. I
received a different impression towhat the Japanese media and CNN
were reporting. Mr. Gilbert mentioned that the American people are
not too keen on free trade and that
there are signs of opposition against
globalization, which intellectuals andpoliticians are trying to push forward. I think that can explain almost
half of why Trump is running for
President. The other half, I think, isthat maybe Trump—while making
comments on racial discriminationand conservative Christianity—is being used as a tool to promote a moderate economic strategy line. In otherwords, I think they “discovered” aclever way to promote a moderate
economic line without being criticized as a being a weak liberal party.
I think behind this is the way thatthe Democratic Party has become
way too liberal. During the 8 years
that Obama was President, there
were many liberal debates that were
way too much for conservative people to accept, such as making toilets
for people whose gender was uncertain other than women and men toilets. There were also much talk about
abortion regarded as a just action,although it itself is an act of terminating unborn fetuses.

3

order that has continued since theCold War ended is beginning to
crumble. I think we Japanese need toreconsider our consensus along withthat. Mr. Kotani, don’t you thinkthat the current atmosphere is close
to that of 1930 when our country
was facing disturbance?

Ruri Miura (Political scientist, Policy
Alternatives Research Institute of the
Univ. of Tokyo)

Meanwhile, the Republic Party tried
to hang on to social conservatism as
their core principle, but they only expressed hatred toward liberal people
like doctors who perform abortions,so they lost their perspective along
the way. As a result, middle-of-theroaders got left behind. I think
Trump was fast to sense the disappointment of these kinds of people.
But I think whoever is chosen a deep
scar is going to remain. Opposing
forces are probably going to battle
against the Democrats, without handling some of the many issues thatare left unsolved.

Inconsistent
American politics
and Trump’s
ideology
Inose: So you’re saying, although liberal policy is something that is reflecting the current state, it’s also creating confusion among existing values, so people are unable to define
what’s right and wrong.
Trump is also arguing that Japan
should pay all costs of stationing the
U.S. forces in Japan. In 2013,
Obama said that the “U.S. will nolonger be the world’s policeman.”With refuges coming in from Syria,
and issues of the Islamic State andUkraine crisis to be solved, the world

4

Kotani: Yes. The 1920s was a time of
the Versailles-Washington System, inwhich the victorious governments
collaborated to strengthen world harmony. But upon entering the 1930s,
each country alienated itself and became unable to make adjustments,
which led them to WWII. Sure,
there are parts of today that are similar to that time, but it’s not exactly
the same. We can also learn from history, see. So even if each country isheading towards isolation, I don’t
think we’re going to step into war.
Gilbert: I think that president
Obama made a realistic decision toward the Far East. Just because
America succeeded in converting Japan into a democratic country, it
doesn’t mean they can do the samewith Iraq, especially with a religion
that goes back well over a thousand
years. But with Syria, I think they
did too little.
I also think it strange that Trump
should stress that Japan pays for its
defense. The U.S. Military base is
not just for protecting Japan. Its aim
is to protect the whole of the Far Eastand protect Japan –which America
took away its armed forces—along
the way. Even if they changed theConstitution, I don’t think the U.S.
Army will leave Japan.
Inose: So you’re saying both Kadena
and Yokosuka Bases are there not only to protect Japan, but are there aspart of a world strategy to protect thesafety of the Far East. To think thatsomeone who lacks such common
sense might become President isfrightening for us.

Miura: It’s true that Trump lacks certain understanding, but when you
listen to his diplomatic policies andtry to analyze them, you begin to see
his core ideas. Firstly, he’s stating that
America should have free access todeciding global ideas, including
whether or not they should withdraw
U.S. military bases from Japan. He
thinks military strategies and globalization strategies have become ossified, so he wants to make adjustments. I think it’s instinctive. Compared to when Great Britain
evacuated from the Suez Canal,
America today has a sufficientamount of power. I think he wants tocorrespond to the situation while
America is still in a dominant position in the world.
I think Trump is like President Nixon. Nixon became President at a chaotic time, after Kennedy and Johnson. They were the Presidents who
built conflict between the Soviet
Union and the U.S. and started theVietnam War. Trump is in many
ways like Nixon, who having had tostart from minus, surprised the world
by paying a visit to China. The key
to Trump’s speech is “unbound diplomacy.” His slogan, “Make America
Great Again,” is merely a catchphrase. The truth is that he’s irritatedby the way politicians after the Cold
War have continuously made pathdependency decisions. He thinks
they’re lacking consistency. The Clinton Administration dragged into
conflict, while the Bush Administration actually started the Iraq War.
Trump started having doubts about
the Iraq War at an early stage whenpeople were enjoying the victorious
mood. Trump is by no means a pacifist. His intuition as a businessman,
simply told him that this wasn’tright.
Inose: That’s true. In the past,
Kissinger took control of the diplomatic policy under Nixon’s Administration and normalized relations with
China and thereby maintained bal-

ance under the Cold War structure.
And yes, there is a dragging atmosphere in the Obama Administrationand there certainly was one in theBush Administration. You’re saying
this inconsistency, plus Trump’s management ideology, plus the atmosphere of the American people, iswhat’s behind this current situation.
Gilbert: I think the problem of immigration is symbolic. There are
11million illegal immigrants from
Mexico in America today but nothing is done. Trump is saying that he’s
going to deport them back home andbuild a wall along the Mexican border. He’s saying there’s no budget todo this on the American side, so he’s
going to have Mexico pay for it andeven impose duties. What Trump issaying sounds unrealistic, but supporters have expectations for Trump
to accomplish things that others haven’t tackled, like the public utility hereformed in New York. So now,
chances are that Trump just might
become the next President. Who
knows?
Kotani: Even so, I don’t think he’ll
become President. At the last stagesof voting, I think people who can’t
make up their minds will choose
Clinton just to be on the safe side.
Miura: Of course there is the uncertainty of the people in the moderateline, but if Clinton wins, I think it
has a lot to do with the Hispanic
votes she has. But even so, Clinton isa weak candidate who’s failed to appeal herself strongly. It has a lot to dowith that fact that she’s unsupported
by male supporters. She’s an elite, but
she’s also a representative of women—the vulnerable side of the coin.
Therefore, she’s acclaimed to be aloud woman who’s raising her voice
to get her ideology through. In fact,
Clinton is not at all masculine. She’s
served finely as First Lady and as amother. She’s very feminine. We allknow that societies—not just in the

U.S.—have double standards. It’squite easy for strong and liberal malepoliticians to gain support, but whenit comes to a woman who’s after bothjustice and power, people regard her
as being untrue. Therefore, Clinton
has chosen the path to become popular and started denying TPP.

Similarities
between the 1930s
and today / the U.K.
leaving the EU andimmigration issues
Inose: There’s the Trump phenomenon in America, but when we lookover to the U.K. we see it leaving theEU. We just talked about how we
can compare today to the 1930s, but
I have a feeling that we’re moving
away from an ordered, stable world
to a completely different one. To begin with, it was after WWI that we
decided to abolish war or else wewould destroy ourselves. So they
formed the League of Nations,agreed on the Kellogg-Briand Pact
and raised spirits to integrate Europe
to some extent. After WWII, the EU
developed into an economic organization that almost lacked the notionof nations. I think the leaving of the
U.K. is a relapse of that, but my, it
was unexpected.
Kotani: When you compare today to
the 1930s, you see that economic
globalization is saturating the world.
American scholar Danny Roderick
writes in his book “Globalization
Paradox” that the world is sufferingfrom trilemma. Trilemma represents
democracy, nation and economic
globalization. The three cannot coexist at the same time, he says. Two can
blend together but not three. When
we look at the real world, all went
well when democracy and nation
blended together, but when the EU
considered democracy as unimport-

Naoki Inose (writer, director of Japanese Civilization Institute)ant and when nation and globalization started to blend together, a situation emerged in which people could
no longer gain more benefits. Afterall, it’s the big companies, multicultural companies, major banks andonly a small percentage of the people
at the top, that make profit from globalization. The remaining people
who can’t profit from globalization—
typically the working class—went
against globalization. I think it’s thiskickback that happened in the U.K.
Gilbert: The U.K. is a country thatvalues national sovereignty. Though
the U.K. is a EU member state, it
hasn’t replaced its currency with thecommon euro currency. Just in yourmind, try and imagine that you madea union like that of the EU with China, Korea and Vietnam. What if thecapital of the union was in Pusan?
And what if government officials of
Pusan standardized electronic devicesof Japan? The advantage of different
countries sharing common grounds
is completely understandable, but
electronic companies are not going tobe happy, right? The same goes for
the EU. The British people are dissatisfied because a lot of things concerning their own country are decided in Brussels, Belgium.
Kotani: Globalization is somethingthat cannot be decided by democracy. Economic strategies are decided

5

by each country’s top leaders while
the public are unaware.
Gilbert: Plus, the EU has to deal
with the issue of refugees. The decision for accepting refugees should beleft for every country to decide, but
because Merkel decided that EU isgoing to limitlessly accept millions ofrefugees, the EU has become literally
borderless. As a result, every country
is facing crisis now.
Miura: According to a survey put
forth by Lord Ashcroft, people who
voted for leaving the EU, lacked theunderstanding that remaining in asingle European market and self-regulating immigrants was a barter. Of
course there was a mood for denying
globalization, but that was more of
an intellectual, political ideology.
The pro-Brexit people themselvessaid, that because U.K. was a leading
economic country it would never be
shut out from the EU. Anotherwords, they weren’t aiming to protect
themselves from the global economy.

6

An indicator that’s in correlation
with the referendum is QOL (Quality of Life). People wanted to protect
the quiet English rural landscapewith grazing sheep, and traditional
English life. They were fed up withpeople selling Kebabs and destroying
the environment. I think these factors that directly link to everyday life,
are actually what effected the result
the most. I think they should havejust talked about regulating the immigrants without leaving the EU.
Inose: So you think the problem wasjust the regulating of immigrants?
Miura: If you enter a British hotel orrestaurant today, you see many workers from Poland and Hungary. The
English people are short-handed sothey need their manpower. But they
made an extreme decision to get ridof them. I think this is what’s behind
this story. In his book, “Togo-no
Shuen” (The End of Integration) Ken
Endo writes that EU never reallyplayed the role of becoming theworld’s government. Recently wehear talks on principle of subsidiarity,in which decision-making and selfrule is done in small units and issues
that overflow are done in larger units.
Ultimately, the EU only deals in issues that remain. It was reaching thatkind of stage. So the U.K. didn’t really have to leave the EU, but I think
the elites in London, urged emotional ideologies on anti-immigration too
much. Londoners were seen as looking down upon country people. So
the U.K. leaving the EU is said to be
the result of elitism being defeated.
Gilbert: When we look at Japan, we
see Kurdish people who are unable toreturn home, working as laborers engaged in demolition work in the construction business. Of course Japanneeds their manpower, plus we can’t
just send them back. That’s inhumane. But I don’t think we can accept them as refugees either. When
compared to other countries it’s verysmall, but we do have immigration
issues in Japan too. But should weaccept refugees from Syria? I don’t
think so. We have neither the function to accept them nor the system todetect Islamic State members.
Inose: In 2015, only 6 Syrian refuges
were authorized. I agree that we can’t
accept tens of thousands of refugees
all at once, but I do think we should
practice accepting refugees startingwith perhaps 1,000 at a time and try
and find a way to accept them. If
something happens in North Korea,
refugees will immediately cross theocean and flood into Japan. I think
we’re too optimistic about these issues.
Miura: Compared to other countries, Japan has been free of immigration issues, but over the past 30
years, we have accepted over 10,000
boat people and dispersed families. If
we were to accept immigrants, weneed to think about how to practice
cultural assimilation. The word “assimilation,” sounds very negative. We
have the image of taking forcefulmeasures to strip national characteristics from people. But at the heart ofAmerican capitalism, there is an asceticism that’s typically Protestanttoo. If you don’t consider what’s culture and what’s system carefully, friction will be caused and values will betorn down. It was good to see thoseathletes with two cultural identities
participating in the Rio Olympics.
As Japanese, I think we’re applauding
those who personify Japanese culture
and value. We’re not clinging onto
national characteristics, are we?
That’s why when we open Japan tothe outside world in the future, weneed to thoroughly think about what
we value and treasure the most.
Kotani: This assimilation issue is exactly what the British and German
people are facing right now. With
immigrants continuously entering
their country, they can’t keep up witheducating them and teaching them
the language. As a result, communi-ties of immigrants emerge and communication with local British andGerman people becomes difficult. In
rural schools, there are often immigrant children who can’t speak English so the speed of studying in aclassroom becomes slow. It’s a toughissue to solve.
Gilbert: Another problem is thatchildren born in America are regarded as Americans. Even if an illegal
woman enters America, if she gives
birth in America, the child becomesan American. If that happens, you
can’t just deport the mother backhome. But then, you don’t want togive her citizenship either, because
she initially entered the country illegally. This issue with immigrants isvery difficult. That’s why Japan
should tackle this issue with greatest
care. If I were German, I would beannoyed by the way Merkel tackled
this problem as she pleased.
Inose: When I saw 500-1,000 Syrian
refugees boarding a boat of 100 tons
and falling into the MediterraneanSea, I knew I was looking at a situation of people with no nation. WhenJapan lost in WWII, a Japanese nation collapsed in Manchuria, andmany people returned to Japan withbare necessities of life. Today, when
Syria is falling, millions of people entered EU and instantaneously broke
peace and order. I thought I vividly
saw the fear of that. Japan seems to
see this problem as something outside their own situation but I cameto realize once more that nations are
something to be built upon.

Accepting freedom
and capitalism to bechangedMiura: I would like to add to what
we were talking about earlier, about
how we can compare the 1930s totoday. I think at the time, it was cru-

cial that people were disappointed incapitalism. Capitalism isn’t something you should be disappointed by.
I think it’s something that you addchanges to.
Inose: When we look at the 1930s
from a historical point of view, there
was this flow of idealism, from a feudal society to a capitalistic society
and then to a communist society.
Then when the Russian Revolution
actually peaked, several countries became communist. There seemed to
be an answer if you went towards
that direction, although it turned out
to be a mere illusion.
Like you said, Ms. Miura, when you
think about what kind of ideal model you can have today, you noticethat changes can be made to capitalism. But I think it’s what kind of image you have beyond that, that’s important.
Miura: When the Nazis emerged, I
think that communism played therole of disappointing people about
capitalism. In America, there waseven a happening in which anarchists
and communists shot repatriated
WWI soldiers during a victory parade. Deterioration of order was at its
peak. The average people found it
hard to grasp communism, so communists became their enemy. But
while fearing communism, they also
became disappointed with capitalism
because they were suffering from theGreat Depression. That’s how statesocialism emerged. Today, we haveno real threat from communism, but
at the same time, we’re disappointed
in capitalism. So what will happen?
The middle classes of advanced nations will start protecting their assets.
Starting from pensioners and thoseover 60-years-old, people are going
to become more conservative. Capitalism’s middle class successors aregoing to try and maintain their vested rights, so politics is going to revolve around vested rights.

7

Inose: In Germany, the Nazis
emerged. Meanwhile in Japan, statesocialism emerged centering around
Prime Minister Abe’s grandfather
Nobusuke Kishi. Until recently, statesocialism prevailed in Japan in whichgovernment officials of Kasumigaseki
managed private companies and nurtured them. That structure has cometo an end, but now we’re lacking animage as to what kind of nation we’regoing to aim for.
Miura: For example, in America,
people in the steel and automotive
industries are losing their dreams,
but meanwhile, over at Silicon Valley,various industries are blossoming. If
innovation happens somewhere in acountry, that profit will go aroundand enrich the country as a whole. In
addition, it would be good if the nation can support those who belong todeteriorating industries by providingthem with new job training skills andby reexamining their pension
schemes. New industries don’t
emerge in Japan because the nationis continuing to be under govern-

8

ment control. I think we need to findanother way to run this country. For
example, what would happen if all
automobiles disappear from theworld? It wouldn’t do if Japan collapses because they can’t survive other than with automobiles. We needto take the finance business and human resources more seriously. It’s too
painful to watch the younger generation support this dying country.
This is why we need to allow more
freedom in this country, but Japanese
government officials hate freedom.
Inose: That’s because freedom comeswith responsibility. We have theOlympics coming up in 2020, andthere’s a mood for people to cometogether. I question this; is Japanlooking at the future after the Olympics? I now serve as advisor for Osaka, and we have a plan of holding an
Osaka Expo in 2025 under thetheme, “Aging Society and Innovation.” I have hopes for setting a goal
for this country after 2020 startingfrom Osaka. There are still loads of
topics to be talked about but since

we’ve run out of time, we’ll have tostop around here.
(reprinted from “Shukan Dokushojin,”
7th October, 2016, No. 3159)

The panelists
Kent Gilbert
U.S. California lawyer, TV personality. Born in 1952 in Idaho and raised in Utah. He came to Japan
in 1971, when he was still a university student. In 1980, he finished Graduate School, attained license
to practice law and started working as an attorney in an International law firm in Japan. In 1983,
as soon as he started appearing regularly on television, he became a popular TV foreign celebrity(gaijin tarento). In recent years, he runs a company, holds lectures and writes books. His recent
books include “Nihon Kakusei” (Japan Awakening ), “Yatto jigyakushikan-no Ahorashisa-ni Kizuita
Nihonjin” (Japanese people finally realizing the absurdity of self-tormenting historical point of view),“Mada GHQ no Senno-ni Shibarareteiru Nihonjin” (Japanese people who are still brainwashed by
GHQ ).

Lully Miura
A scholar of international politics. Born in 1980 in Kangawa Prefecture. She graduated from the
University of Tokyo and the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP), and earned her PhD fromthe Graduate School for Law and Politics of the University of Tokyo. She is now a Lecturer at the
Policy Alternatives Research Institute (PARI) of the University of Tokyo. In 2014, she launched her
personal blog, “Yamaneko,” in which she writes her own views on politics. Not only does she shareher critical view on international politics, but also about Japanese politics and society. Miura is anauthor of “Civilian-no Senso” (Civilian’s War: On the Origins of Aggressive Democracies) and “Nihonni Zetsubou-shiteiru hito-no-tameno Seiji Nyumon” (Understanding Contemporary Japanese Politics and Diplomacy).

Ken Kotani
Professor at College of Risk Management, Nihon University. Born in 1973, in Kyoto. After acquiringa B.A. in International Relations at Ritsumeikan, he obtained his MA from King’s College London
and Ph.D. from Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies at Kyoto University. He is
Senior Fellow, International Conflict Division, Center for Military History, at the National Institutefor Defense Studies and lecturer at the National Defense Academy. He was also a visiting fellow of
the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), U.K. His books include, “Igirisu no Joho Gaiko” (British
Intelligence and Far Eastern Policy, 1940-1941), “Nihongun no Interigensu” (Intelligence of theImperial Japanese Army and Navy), “Mosado” (The Mossad), and “Interigensu—Kokka・Soshiki-wa
Joho-wo Ikani Atsukaubekika” (Intelligence—how nations and organizations should deal with information).

Naoki Inose
Author. Born in 1946. In 1986, he received Souichi Ooya Nonfiction Award for his book “Mikado-no
Shozo (Portrait of Emperor).” In 1996, he received Bungeishunju Readers’ Award for his book “Nipponkoku
no Kenkyu (A Report on Japan).” From then on, he actively worked toward abolishing and privatizing
government-affiliated corporations. In June 2002, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appoints Inose
as member of Promotion Committee for the Privatization of the Four Highway-Related Public Corporations. He included the story of the battle in his books, “Doro no Kenryoku (Authority of the Road,
Bunshunbunko)” and “Doro no Ketchaku (Settlement of the Road, Bunshunbunko).” In October,
2006, Inose served as Research Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology and in June, 2007, heserved as Vice Governor of Tokyo. He served as Tokyo governor from December 2012 to December
2013.

Translation: Ayako Karino
9Japanese Civilization Institute 2016 6th Symposium
The video message of Emperor Akihito expressing his desire to abdicate, created a huge impact on the Japanesepeople. Foreign media also gave high attention to the news, providing flash reports with comments on theEmperor’s feelings as well as issues on the Imperial Household Law. At the basis of Japanese consciousness, liesa respect toward the Emperor and the Imperial Family—which has continued throughout history—as a central
figure of its nation and race. Our symposium validates this unbroken line of Emperors from various angles, andlooks at how it might continue in the future, taking into consideration the issues regarding Imperial succession
and the relationship between Japanese citizens and the Imperial Family.
▶ Panel discussion:“What is the Imperial Family
to the Japanese people?”—revolving around the issue of Emperor Akihito expressing his desire to abdicate
Ikuhiko Hata

Japanese historian and
Doctor of Law

Shinji Yamashita

Journalist specializing in Imperial
Household, a former member of theImperial Household Agency

Date: N ovember 28th 2016, 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (doors
scheduled to open at 6:30 p.m.)
Venue: J apan University of Economics, Tokyo
Shibuya Campus Hall (the hall seats 100
people)Address: 2
 5-17, Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Traditional Crafts
Online Site

Tsuneyasu Takeda
Author and adjunct lecturer at
Kogakkan University

MC：

Naoki Inose

Writer and director ofJapanese Civilization InstituteHow to attend: a pply through the site below:
http://www.japancivilization.org/
Contact: J apan Civilization Institute03-5456-8082
Address: 2
 4-5 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo 150-0031

Worldwide：https://shops.japancivilization.org
Japanese：http://japancivil.shop9.makeshop.jp

Messages from Director
Japanese Civilization Institute has been introducing and selling traditional crafts of Japan.
Although it is said that there is approximately 1,200 types of traditional crafts in Japan, its
production is declining. As part of our activities, we hope to discover valuable traditional crafts
spread across the nation, enjoy Japanese craftsmanship and its beauty inherited over the
centuries, and develop it with you.

Tsumami Kanzashi(Crepe)Folding Screen(half size)

Folding Screen(full size)

KYO-YAKI
Earthenware

Japanese Bamboo
Basket Tokyotrad

Odoshi Samurai Armor

Contact：Japanese Civilization Institute24-5 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031 Phone : 03-5456-8082 Mail : info@japancivilization.org