FACTORS FORMING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN IN THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA

Temirgaly S.B.

Student of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan, Almaty, e-mail: temirgali_symbat@mail.ru

FACTORS FORMING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN IN THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA

At the present stage, we see that the relations of Japan and the countries of Central Asia are dynamically developing. Japan has a high reputation among the countries of Central Asia in comparison with other countries. It has a positive image as a peace-loving and friendly country that is trying to provide genuine assistance to developing countries. Today Japan is one of the key donors in the Central Asian region. This article examines the image of Japan in the countries of Central Asia and the key factors that influence the formation of the image of the state in this region. Among them, Assistance in ODA and using of soft power are the main prerequisites.

Key words: Central Asia,  Japan,  politics,  image,  soft power

Intoduction

The modern world is determined by a number of trends, including globalization, regional integration. Over the past two decades, interest in technology to create a positive image of the state in the international arena has significantly grown. There are several reasons for this trend. First, the "reputational capital" of the state becomes the main feature on the international arena. The international community's confidence in the state determines the amount of foreign investments, the attractiveness of the territory for tourists, the consideration of the interests of the state in solving world problems. Secondly, there are more and more researchers in this field. Consequently, the study degree of the issue is growing, and with it the number of technologies for the formation and correction of the image of the state that are being used is too growing. Thirdly, image-makers and political technologists are trying to find the most effective and easily implemented ways of forming the image.

Until recently, Japan had a completely unpresentable image and the economic growth of this country went hand in hand with improving the image in the eyes of the world community. In other words, the economy and image are two sides of the same coin, mutually complementary. So we can say that without a positive image of Japan, there would not be a successfully developing economy, just as the opposite is true too.

For the countries of Central Asia, in particular for Kazakhstan, which has set itself the ambitious task of becoming one of the 30 most competitive states and successfully working on the economic component of this project, the task still remains to create a positive image conducive to the country's advancement. This task is constantly posed to the social scientists of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but the solution of this problem can not be considered satisfactory, and therefore it remains relevant to study the experience of the most advanced countries, such as Japan.

In addition, it is necessary to know how the inhabitants of Central Asia represent the image of this country, since the further development of relations between us largely depends on it.

The policy of Japan in Central Asia has attracted the interest of some researchers in recent years. In Japan, you can always find information about Japan's Central Asia policy, its goals, strategic plans, and motivations in the press, foreign policy collections.

The following are some of the following initiatives, which was officially published as political principles that open the essence of Japan's policy in the Central Asian region. During the period from 1991 to 2007, Japan has taken the following initiatives:

1993 - The initiative to include Central Asian states to the Organization of International Development and Cooperation - the regional states can get financial and etc. assistance, in particular, by the "Official Development Assistance" program (ODA);

1997 - Eurasian diplomacy aims to intensify economic and political cooperation between Japan, Russia and Central Asia. The three main principles: mutual benefit, confidence and long-term prospects;

1998 - The Silk Road Diplomacy Program is aimed at supporting democratic transformation, economic reform, transformation of transport infrastructure and natural resources exploration;

2004 - The "Central Asia Plus Japan" initiative is a regular meeting at the level of heads of ministries and agencies aimed at cooperation and regional cooperation;

2006 - "Transformation of Central Asia into a Corridor of Peace and Stability" - Looking at the long-term vision of the CA region, looking for partnerships based on common universal values (Маsаһіkо, Komura. 2007:88)

           Indeed, these initiatives have great importance to the region's countries and now it is about $ 2 billion. Taking into account the assistance provided by the US dollar in the ODA, it has substantially helped for Central Asia's development (Вага куни-но сэйфу кайхацу эндзё. 2008).

In general, the vision of Japan's Central Asia policy consists of the following aspects: Japan's interest in exploring and possibly developing natural resources in the region, ensuring their safe access to the international markets and assisting democratization and economic development of the region's suburbs. For a long time, officials in Japan have stated these goals as the basis of the policy in the region.

From the moment the Soviet Union collapsed, new independent states in Central Asia have pursued an independent policy on the world stage. After gaining independence, the former Soviet republics were the main focus of the world community. The geopolitical space of the Central Asian region has become a competitive arena for the leading global powers. Today, we can say with certainty that this process is shaped by real players who have identified their interests, goals and objectives. Japan also did not want to abstain from this tendency. It should be noted that in the early years of independence, Japan's policy towards Central Asia was not active. However, in recent years, Japan's interest in the Central Asian region has increased in terms of political and economic reasons.

After the end of the Cold War, the policy in the Central Asian region was a completely new direction in Japan's foreign policy. Nevertheless, Japan's policy in Central Asia can be seen as the most important component of global vision. The reason is that, in addition to the economic and strategic interest in the region, it is directly related to the qualitative change of its role and degree in international relations.

The ways of political and economic development of Japan are reflected as an alternative way of development for Kazakhstan. The present state of the proposed  country is the occurrence of its historical stages. The Japanese government implements effective foreign policy, that is one of the main manifestations of the state's development. A significant part of the state's foreign policy is cultural politics, its image in the outside world. The image of the country in the world over the various periods of time plays an important role in shaping mass minds, as well as in determining the internal and external state of the country.