E-Journal of Philosophy of Education:
International Yearbook of the Philosophy of Education Society of Japan, Vol. 5, 2020

The Preface to the Thematic Research:
The Globalization, Internationalization, and Universality of thePhilosophy of Education
Mika OKABE
Osaka University
Fumio ONO
Doshisha University

The Board of Directors of the Philosophy of Education Society of Japan (PESJ) has
been especially promoting ‘the internationalization of philosophy of education’ since2016. The International Exchange Committee, officially established in March 2016,
launched the English website of the Society, and since then has been editing anotherannual journal on the website: the English E-Journal of the Philosophy of Education. Inaddition, English-only international symposiums with philosophers of education fromoverseas were held at the annual conferences in 2017 and 2018. These were the first trials
for our society, where all participants spoke English in the discussion without adesignated translator. This time in Hiroshima, we have two more similar international
symposiums including this Thematic Research. Therefore, it could be said that theinternationalization of our society (PESJ) is certainly being promoted. Besides this,following the recent trend of the globalization of Japanese society and the promotion ofinternationalization of higher education by MEXT, a lot of members of our Society are
joining and playing active parts in international academic conferences and collaborative
researches. This also shows the internationalization of ‘our members’ is being advanced.
At the moment, however, we should take into consideration the question of what
the internationalization means for the ‘study of philosophy of education’ itself. It is truethat the philosophy of education in Japan has relatively been open to foreign thought,
theory and practice, and therefore we might say we have already been internationalized
in that sense. As it is often critically mentioned, however, the modern Japanese academic
system has unduly been learning and importing Western systems, cultures and sense of

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M. OKABE & F. ONO

values and attempting to reproduce them. The state of the internationalization of thephilosophy of education in Japan is therefore never well-balanced. However, the mere
correction of balance and the simple expansion of research fields into non-Westerncountries such as Asia, Latin America, Africa as well as Eastern Europe would notnecessarily solve the problems. Without questioning the structure and customs of ourintellectual system, it might result merely in a further promotion of the academiccolonization. The study of philosophy of education also cannot have nothing to do withthe so-called post-colonial problems.
We then might have many questions as follows: Is there no difference between
internationalization and globalization today? Can the medium of English by itself
guarantee the internationality of study? How does the internationality of our studies
correspond exactly to the universality they could show? Is a paper written in Japanese,
for instance, ‘international’ or universal’? If there is a great variety of cultural and social
contexts in each country, even in the English-speaking world, what kind of change dothey undergo in the age of globalization? If the national is a precondition for being international, doesn’t the internationalization ironically result in the reinforcement of thenational and in a new standardization, segmentation or classification? If so, in what kindof ways can we think for the sake of avoiding such standardization, segmentation andclassification; namely, for the sake of maintaining the diversity and plurality of each
culture and society? How can we then, on the contrary, achieve the universality of ourstudies and avoid mere relativism? How have the scholars of other countries and othercultural spheres accumulated their experience in confronting with these problems? Whatkind of response can we Japanese philosophers of education make to them?
Based on the aforementioned issues, we would like to consider in this Thematic
Research the current and future situation of the internationalization and/or globalizationof philosophy of education in the globalized world, while comparing that of our society
to those of societies abroad. As the first presenter, we invite Prof. Liz Jackson from Hong
Kong University, who is the president of the Philosophy of Education Society ofAustralasia (PESA), one of the overseas academic societies aiming to collaborate withphilosophy of education societies in East Asian countries. Prof. Jackson talked about thetrend of the internationalization in PESA, the current academic situation in Hong Kongin relation to China, and her own vision for the aforementioned problems. The second
presenter, Prof. Naoko Saito from Kyoto University, talked about the current and future
situation in the International Network of Philosophers of Education (INPE) and otheracademic societies in the UK and the United States. Prof. Saito also presented her own
philosophical experience among several languages and ideas of the "philosophy ofThematic Research: Globalization, Internationalization, and Universality of Philosophy of Education

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translation."
After the presentations from Prof. Jackson and Prof. Saito, Prof. Lothar Wigger
from Technische Universität Dortmund made a comment on the theme of this Thematic
Research, from the viewpoint of non-English-speaking countries, where, as well as Japan,
the academic achievements written in English are demanded more and more by theadministrations of universities and ministries. The story in Germany brings meaningful
suggestions for us. Following this, Prof. Shigeo Kodama from the University of Tokyo,
as the second discussant, talked about his standpoint toward the globalization of the studyof philosophy of education, especially about the significance of educational study both inforeign languages and Japanese. Finally, the then president of our society, Prof. Yasuo
Imai, who has promoted the internationalization of the study of philosophy of education
itself and of our society, gave us his comprehensive comments regarding with this
Thematic Research.

E-Journal of Philosophy of Education: International Yearbook of the Philosophy of Education Society of Japan, Vol. 5, 2020