8
million in 1980 to $758,324 million to $1,124,378 million in 2000.
17
Japan's ODA
disbursement grew from $3,353 million in 1980 to $9,222 million in 1990 and to $13,419
million in 2000.
18
Another area in which a nation can exercise its soft power is
international peacekeeping. Here, too, Japan has come a long way since its first direct
participation—as opposed to financial contribution—in Cambodia in 1992-93. As of
June 2004, Japan was participating in 16 UN peacekeeping operations around the world.
However, there are limits to Japan’s soft power. Nye notes, for example, that the
nation has not fully come to terms with its record of foreign aggression in the 1930s, and
this limits Japan’s attraction to the international community, particularly to the Asian
neighbors.
19
Japan also faces serious demographic challenges, with its population
reaching its peak in 2005 and beginning an anticipated long decline.
20
The nation’s
restrictive immigration policy and cultural insularity further limit its ability to attract
productive foreign labor. Moreover, the Japanese language is used by a small segment of
the world’s population, constraining the Japanese people’s ability to communicate with
the rest of the world. The weakness of the political process is an additional constraint on
Japan’s soft power that Nye notes.
21
The “World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2004,” compiled by the Swiss-based
International Institute of Management Development, placed Japan in 23
rd
place, just one
spot ahead of China. Although Japan had moved up one notch from the previous year,
China’s standing had improved even more, from the 29
th
. The United States led the
ranking in 2004, followed by Singapore, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong, and
Denmark. This annual rating measures the “ability of national economies to attract and
retain investment through the creation of a globally competitive business environment.”
22
Convention