ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to use the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program as a window on the process by which the state wields soft power and thus to answer a broad set of questions about the role of perception and context in the state's promotion of soft power. It also examines a high-profile effort to achieve that goal: the Japanese government's flagship program to 'open up' Japanese society and to change its image abroad. The chapter analyzes the JET Program as a vehicle for cultural diplomacy. CLAIR hired a number of JET alumni to work as 'program coordinators' in the national office; they improved program policy to encourage Japanese-language study. From the viewpoint of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is significant as a part of Japan's national security policy that these youths go back to their respective countries in the future and become sympathizers for Japan.
