Bridging between Myanmar and international society – Japan's self-identity and<i>kakehashi</i>policy

Black, Lindsay

doi:10.1080/09512748.2013.788064

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Being a non-Western member of the OECD, Japan identifies itself as a bridge between the West and the Rest. This underlines Japan's self-identity as a bridge-building nation, which is represented by its "kakehashi" policy (Black 2013). Because Japan has been recognised as an integral part of the OECD or the Global North, its unique positionality and potential as a hybrid peacebuilding facilitator have been overlooked.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After this dream was shattered, Japan sought to present its representational selfimage as a peacebuilder in the post-WWII world (Iwami 2016). Along the same line, Japan has promoted its own capacity as a bridge-builder (Black 2013), this time, bridging between developed countries in the West and developing countries in general but especially in Southeast Asia. The Japanese government justifies this role not only through its geographical location but also through its own experience as a former developing country trying to catch up to the West in the nineteenth century, and in the aftermath of the fierce defeat of WWII.…”

Section: Historical Traits As a Bridge-buildermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Japan’s Peacebuilding and Mid-Space Actors: A Bridge Between the West and the Rest

Uesugi

Deekeling

2021

Operationalisation of Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia

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This chapter focuses on Japan’s approach to peacebuilding, and examines its ability to emerge as a hybrid peacebuilding facilitator. To test this potential, three cases of Japan’s engagement with mid-space actors are studied. By reviewing Japan’s flagship projects in Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Mindanao, the chapter shows that Japan holds the ability to establish trust-relationships with top/national leaders of the aid-recipient countries through its apolitical, request-based, non-intrusive and long-term commitment approaches that Japanese actors display. At the same time, Japanese actors operating at the local/bottom are able to develop relationships with mid-space actors through providing them with important know-how and resources. This practice has allowed Japan to engage with conflict-affected societies where and when access of other donors was denied, which gave Japan an advantage in supporting local bridge-building initiatives. In short, this chapter demonstrated how Japan could bridge between Western donors and aid-recipient countries in Southeast Asia. While several shortcomings of the Japanese approach such as the limited inclusion of stakeholders and unequal distribution of peace dividend are identified in this chapter, it concluded that Japan could emerge as a hybrid peacebuilding facilitator if these shortcomings were addressed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historical Traits As a Bridge-buildermentioning

confidence: 99%