By Philip Iglauer
Although East Asian region-wide democracy and integration may not be fully realized for decades, when it eventually occurs it will be a “Francis Fukuyama moment and an ‘end of history’ for East Asians,” in which “everybody has democracy, free markets, and enjoys a regional strategic balance and peace.”
Looking beyond the current hiccups in the Korean-Japanese bilateral relationship, outgoing Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Korea Kanehara Nobukatsu outlined this bold and optimistic picture for the future regional relations in East Asia.
In American political scientist’s 1992 book “The End of History and the Last Man,” Francis Fukuyama argues that the worldwide spread of liberal democracy may signal the end point of humanity's political evolution and become the final form of government.
That's what Kanehara also believes, but he cautioned it may take decades for East Asia to realize that historical goalpost. He used a cinematic analogy to explain the long process toward democracy and regional integration.
“Asians are a bit like a theater audience watching a Hollywood blockbuster; they are not looking at each other, he said in an interview with The Korea Times.
“But now the lights are on, and people are starting to look at each other. This is starting now, and in the end, this new awareness of each other will produce a sense of community,” he said.
Kanehara said that the countries in East Asia have been focused on building up the power and authority of “the nation-state” and writing a “glorious national history,” and “competing with each other to get ahead of each other.”
“This is inevitable in the process of modernization and industrialization,” he said, “but at some point, they look beyond all this and out to the horizon. What is there? The integration of the region,” he said.
Global integration is the ultimate goal, through economic and trade institutions like the World Trade Organization that are informed by the principles and goals enshrined in United Nations Charter and affiliated groupings.
This global framework can be complemented with regional bodies. For Kanehara, there are essentially three ? North America, Europe and Asia.
“Will Asia constitute only East Asia or will it be defined more broadly as the Asia-Pacific?” Kanehara asked rhetorically.
How to define the parameters of integration is a open question, and hotly debated among experts on East Asian regionalism.
“It is simply a matter of how to cut the cake,” he said. “Keep in mind that this cake is global, so the bigger the better.”
Kanehara described himself as “a real Yamaguchi man,” born and raised in the prefecture at the southwestern tip of Japan’s main Honshu Island, what he said was “historically the very gateway into Japan for Western European explorers, missionaries and traders.”
His father was a chief engineer at a large Japanese corporation, traveling around the world, which may have piqued Kanehara’s interest in other cultures, peoples and languages.
Kanehara said he has an abiding interest in martial arts and photography and pursues both as hobbies. He majored law in university and studied in France. Kanehara developed a European expertise in the Japanese Foreign Service. He worked as a diplomat in Brussels where he said he picked up somewhat of an Irish accent from his colleague there.
He also spent six years as a diplomat in the United States, three years at the U.N, in New York City and three years at Japan’s Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 2003-2006.
Kanehara said that in his youth during high school and university the subject of Asian nations struggling to abandon their dictators through the 1960s and 70s was very much on the minds of him and his friends.
“My hometown is close to Korea, just across the water from Busan,” he said. “When I saw the Kwangju uprising I was surprised. ‘What’s happening here,’ I thought. We were all talking about that,” he said.
Kwangju occurred just four years after the last dictatorship in Europe was abandoned for democracy, he said, adding Korea has always been a leader for democracy in East Asia.
“Korea has been a democratic leader; they led the world in terms of democratization,” he said. “So they can be the leader of East Asia. Korea is fully qualified to sustain peace, prosperity and democracy in the region. Japan and the U.S. together have formed a pillar for the region, but we need Korea’s help.”
While the population of Korea is relatively small at roughly 50 million, it’s economy ranks 12th largest in the world.
“That is huge,” kaenhara said. “It’s economy is only slightly smaller than the economies of Russia, Brazil or India.” In terms of security, Korea’s army stands 700,000-strong. Compared to the United States it might not seem large, but it is comparable in the size to the armed forces of India and Russia.
Japan values its relationship with Korea highly, as a vital partner in East Asia, and Tokyo prioritizes friendly relations with Seoul at the top of its international affairs, he said. Despite recent hiccups in the relationship, increasing human-to-human contact between the two East Asian neighbors opens up the potential for better understanding.
“In 2000, we saw bit moreless than a million Japanese visiting Korea. Now we have more than 3 million visiting Korea and two-and-half million Koreans visiting Japan yearly. This is massive human contact. You know, ‘To see is the best way to know.’”
The career diplomat said that he believes there are three crucial points to consider in regards to East Asia regionalism: One, what kind of economic system is viable. For Kanehara, a global system overlapped by various regional groupings is hopeful. Two, what kind of strategic framework can maintain the strategic balance needed in East Asia.
“We have to soothe any possible disputes that take place here. I would not say a ‘Track II’ forum, per se, but some kind of dialogue forum is very important. For example, even when Europe was divided during the Cold War it had, at the same time, the dialogue forum of the OSCE,” he said.
“ASEAN nations are doing a good job here. They developed a good sense of multilateralism. It is very unique,” he said. “They are very inclusive, inviting many nations to participate ― India, Australia, Japan, Korea, China and even Russia.”
Third, one must consider what the core values of our community are.
The true East Asia, he said, should be based upon a free market, the principles enshrined within the U.N. Charter, balance among the major power, continuous dialogue for dispute settlement, and the core values of human rights and democracy.