일본의 국제책임과 '국제공헌'

Abstract

This paper tries a historical and discursive analysis of the nature of Japan's international contribution, its understanding of international responsibility, and Japanese identity, focusing on three contexts of coping with the international systems which Japanese people have historically experienced: “nationalization” for building a nation-state and fostering a sense of national responsibility, “imperialization” for constructing an empire and generating a sense of regional responsibility, and lastly “internationalization” for creating an international state and international responsibility. Japanese “international contribution” or “international responsibility” depends on the nature of Japan’s international position, the international system and U.S. world strategy; on the other hand, it comes from Japan’s intention to acquire the systemic stability and a Japan’s higher position within the system. “International contribution” may represent Japan’s will to escape from its present non-political/non-subjective self, or from the past memories carried in the international system. It may also be a revelation of the conviction or the hope that Japan can/will play a considerable role as “an order-modifier” or “an order-constructor” in the future. 230 日本硏究論叢 第23號 Japan’s “international contribution,” a prospective responsibility for Japan’s ongoing or expected international “role,” however, has cast a shadow of doubt on the authenticity of Japan’s international responsibility, whether it is for “world peace” or for “national interest.” The authenticity ought to be fathomed by Japan’s “war responsibility,” a retrospective responsibility for its past international “action.” “War responsibility” will not remain a temporal level of responsibility for the past self; it will also affect Japan’s spatial level of responsibility vis-à-vis the present other.