Soft power based on human interaction
![Kei Koga](img/ph01.jpg)
Kei Koga
Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University
Wihardja, Kitti, and Tan’s exchange took place concurrently as an installment of the Asia Undercurrent webinar series (see column, below) sponsored by the Japanese government and Nikkei and as a Future of Asia session. Their discussion of ASEAN-Japanese exchange was under the overall theme of “Asian Prosperity Fostered by Human Exchange.” All three of the participants studied for extended periods in Japan and drew on that experience in their remarks.
Koga invited the participants to recount their personal experience in Japan and to share their views on people-to-people relations between Southeast Asia and Japan. Wihardja kicked things off with a strategic perspective on human exchange.
“Japan’s soft power and influence in Southeast Asia is underpinned by people-to-people connections. That includes exchange programs, human capital development, technology transfers, popular culture, and tourism. Last year, I was given the opportunity to study in Japan for three months at the Japan Center for Economic Research as the Nikkei Asia Scholar. At the center, I studied the impacts of sociocultural factors, labor market reforms, and ASEAN-Japanese cooperation on Japan’s digital transformation.
![Maria Monica Wihardja](img/ph02.jpg)
Maria Monica Wihardja
Visiting Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
“ASEAN and Japan, in my view, are taking the right steps in redefining their relationship. Nearly 50 years ago, Japan’s then prime minister Takeo Fukuda posited ‘heart-to-heart’ ties as the foundation of ASEAN-Japanese relations. And the foundation of heart-to-heart ties is people-to-people connections. I perceive three main reasons for redefining ASEAN-Japanese relations.
“First, how Japan shapes its grand strategy amid mounting geopolitical tensions could affect its relationship with ASEAN. Japan has made a series of incremental security reforms, including the decision to double military spending as a percentage of GDP by 2027. Meanwhile, US and Japanese strategic interests may not always align in regard to managing the rise of China, and that could complicate Japan’s relations with ASEAN.
“Second, the differential in economic power between ASEAN and Japan has changed as ASEAN has gained economic heft. Japan’s per capita GDP was 20 times that of Indonesia and 40 times that of Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s. But the multiple now is only about 10 times for both countries. Singapore’s per capita GDP has surpassed that of Japan, where the per capita GDP is now less than half that of Singapore. Goldman Sachs predicts that Indonesia will surpass Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2050. Our relationship therefore needs to shift from its patron-client, donor-recipient mindset to one of symbiosis and equality.
“Third, ASEAN and Japan have mutually beneficial complementarities and common challenges. But we are also distinctively different in several areas. Japan has an aging population, whereas ASEAN features a youthful demographic. Japan has a highly homogeneous population, whereas ASEAN has an extremely diverse society.”
Wihardja opined that increased labor mobility would help capitalize on ASEAN-Japanese complementarity. But she acknowledged that the weak yen diminishes Japan’s appeal as a workplace for individuals from ASEAN members.”