WASHINGTON – Despite the horrific scenes of destruction, Japan may emerge from its quake-tsunami disaster with a stronger international brand-name as the nation’s resilience wins wide praise.
Television stations around the world have broadcast the footage of the seismic waves as they razed homes and carried away cars as if they were toys, stranding dazed survivors on the brutalized landscape. But coverage has also shown another side — Japanese showing calm as they search for loved ones or wait for basic necessities. There is not a hint of looting or violence, even as residents line up at half-empty stores.Entries on the English-language blogosphere speak of the Japanese as “stoic” and wonder the reaction in Western countries would be to a disaster of similar magnitude.
Harvard University professor Joseph Nye said that the disaster may turn out to benefit Japan’s “soft power” — a term he coined to describe how nations achieve their goals by appearing more attractive to others.
“Though the tragedy is immense, this sad event shows some of the very attractive features of Japan, and thus may help their soft power,” Nye told AFP in an email exchange.”
In addition to the sympathy it will engender, it shows a stable, well-mannered society that was as prepared for such a disaster as any modern country could be, and which is responding in a calm and orderly way,” he said.Officially pacifist Japan has historically relied on aid as a key tool of foreign policy, but it is expected to reconsider at least some of the spending as it contends with a hefty reconstruction bill.
