2024 Volume 33 Issue 2 Pages 125-135
This paper explores the ethical issues and potentialities of EDU-Port Japan, a public-private platform launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) to export “Japanese-style of education” to emerging and developing countries.
We evaluate the ethical dimensions of this initiative through the lens of Noriyuki Hashimoto's concept of ethics in international educational development (Hashimoto 2019). Drawing on post-colonial scholarship, Hashimoto (2019) contends that ethicality of the EDU-Port can only be realized when the full scope of “Japanese-style of education” —both its positive and negative aspects—is transparently disclosed. Furthermore, he argues that the act of transferring Japanese education abroad must reject the cultural imperialism that perpetuates notions of superiority and the false universalization of self, allowing instead a space for self-doubt (toinaoshi).
Our analysis revealed that, in addition to the official objectives of contributing Japanese economic growth and enhancing soft-power, EDU-Port policymakers intended to use EDU-Port as a means of renewing self-understanding and practicing self-doubt. While these intentions align with what Hashimoto (2019) describes as practices of ethicality, our investigation suggests that the label of “Japanese-style education” is often used arbitrary and superficially within EDU-Port pilot projects, functioning as a “floating signifier.” This selective presentation serves to highlight the “goodness” of Japanese education while downplaying its negative aspects, thereby bolstering brand-nationalism. Many pilot project implementers experienced false universalization of self during education transfer, with only a few experiencing self-doubt and learning from the “Other,” during the first phase (2016-2020) .
Finally, we argue that EDU-Port should be transformed to be truly horizontal and mutual learning initiative, embracing an alternative approach to educational development, that builds on Japan's traditional of field-based assistance while overcoming brand nationalism.
