Thinking About the Concept of Pax Japonica 1

Accomplishing our institute’s vision ‘Pax Japonica’. How can this word be defined?

The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, described the concept of the iPhone’s first generation as ‘smart’ and ‘easy to use’ in 2007 (reference). The product of which the concept is simple, and meta and positive laying on two different axes, has taken the world by storm and now 44% of Japanese people possess it (reference).

On the other hand, on IISIA NEST, which is the platform for membership of sisterhood organisation, IISIA, we have questioned ‘What do you think of Pax Japonica?’, but it was difficult to answer ‘This is Pax Japonica’ for even our membership.

We believe that if we presented a concept like Apple, the impact not only domestically but also globally could be enhanced.

Therefore, it will be discussed the concept of ‘Pax Japonica’ while also discussing the meaning of the conception of ‘Pax such as ‘Pax Romana’, ‘Pax Britannica’ and ‘Pax Americana’.

(The Roman Empire under Augustus)

Pax Romana started from B.C. 27 and was a relatively peaceful and stable era in the whole Roman Empire which had continued for more than 200 years (reference). While the founder of the Roman Empire, Augustus, and his successor expanded its territory, they focused on securing the Empire’s law, discipline and safety. The Roman Empire acquired 1/3 of the world’s population at one moment, however, Pax Romana came to an end due to plague and invasion after late A.D. 3.

(The British Empire in 1886)

The next period, Pax Britannica, was from the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 until the start of World War 1 in 1914, when the British Empire became a global hegemon and there was relative peace among the Great Powers (reference). British Empire not only achieved the Industrial Revolution ahead of the world but also expanded its colonies through trades with their solid sea power. However, with progressing industrialisation in emerging states such as Germany and the U.S. in the 19th century and intensifying colonisation in the world, Pax Britannica was dissolved.

(Regions with free trade agreements)

The relatively peaceful and stable period beginning from the end of World War 2 and the U.S. expansion to world politics such as multicultural companies and non-governmental organisations is called Pax Americana (reference). The U.S. led globalism; however, this led to the decline of domestic industry and the economic development of emerging states. Thereafter, Pax American weakened.

It can be said that Pax Romana, Pax Britannica and Pax Americana were in peace baked up by ‘political power’, ‘technical power’ and ‘economic power’ in the military background. These kinds of power balances change in each period to create the world. On reflection, if Japan demonstrated the new power including these three powers, it can be argued that Pax Japonica could create ‘peace’, which is completely different from the concept now.

We will discuss the concept of Pax Japonica which is similar but different from hegemony until now.

RIJAG

In Charge of Contribution Project

Momoko Mizutani