2007 Volume 37 Issue 1 Pages 59-78
This paper reexamines Martin Heidegger's ontological or existential theory and applies it to regional science, referring to the ideas of Watsuji Tetsuro, a Japanese philosopher in his book “Fudo (Climate and Culture)”. Therefore, we consider a social ontological vision of human beings that is essential for sustainable development in the region. Next we examine the relations between region of the special times and human beings in modern Japan based on the writings of Fukuzawa Yukichi, a representative intellectual and pressman during the early Meiji period, and Ishibashi Tanzan, an economic pressman during the prewar times and a leading statesman after World War II. Subsequently, we investigate the recent economic position of Japan in the world (especially in East Asia) in the contemporary times. We point out some essential problems in Japan for regional sustainable development in the future.
JEL Classification: B31, F02, O19, R11, R12, R58
