Introduction

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ‘internationalize’ as ‘make international, esp. bring (territory etc.) under combined protection etc. of different nations’. The term, however, is seldom encountered, except in legal treatises. In contrast, the Japanese expression kokusaika suru (internationalize) or kokusaika (internationalization) frequently appears in journalistic, academic and political commentaries. The saliency of the kokusai theme in the 1980s can be seen from former Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro’s pledge to transform Japan into a kokusai kokka (international state) – a commitment hardly met by similar exhortations among the leaders of other industrialized states. Indeed, to many, the term is a contradiction: it is precisely as a result of the existence of individual nation states that international society exists. Or, again, the very notion of ‘internationalization’ may contradict the existence of the nation state as now constituted. Nevertheless, increasing interdependence, which has led to a greater reliance on international or even supranational organizations and laws in the resolution of conflicts arising between nation states, makes it essential that kokusaika is not simply regarded as a ‘buzz word’.