ABSTRACT
This chapter examines nationalism in contemporary Japan and its implications for theories of nationalism. Nationalism works differently for different groups and diverse processes are at work in forming the phenomenon of nationalism. Japan from the 1970s onward has experienced 'secondary nationalism', which has developed in close association with the vast amount of publications by 'thinking elites' on Japanese distinctiveness. The 'productivist' and 'statist' orientations in theories of nationalism derive from preoccupation with 'primary' nationalism where national identity tends to be imposed 'from above' and inculcated through formal processes via the state educational system and official ceremonies. The Ministry of Education instructed elementary school authorities that familism and State Shinto, expounded in The Imperial Rescript, should be the basis of moral education. The nihonjinron attracted their readers by providing them with ideas on cultural differences considered useful for cross-cultural contacts. The 'good intentions' are declared in the editorial comments of many cross-cultural manuals.
