ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Japanese response to globalization with a specific focus on its influence on society since the late 1980s. It is characterized by the emergence of a contradictory tendency of, on the one hand, the resurgence of nationalism and, on the other, the advent of transnationalism. While the literature on nationalism is vast, here it is defined simply as a political principle and its social manifestation which insists on the congruence of the state and nation (Gellner 1983:1). In contrast transnationalism, the legitimacy of which as an academic term is much less established, can be defined as a social principle and its practices supporting human activities beyond nations and across national borders. Inherent in transnationalism is universalism – namely, the principle that all human beings are born equal irrespective of nationality, race, creed, family origin or perhaps even sex. It is associated with cosmopolitanism in that anyone can live and enjoy safety anywhere in the world, and everybody has the right to choose freely their place of abode, whether in the country of birth or elsewhere.
