Nostalgia, Soft Power and the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme

Cultural exchange programmes such as JET have become part of a growing diplomatic agenda within politics and international relations. This study investigates how the participants process their experience on the programme to demonstrate the link between soft power, memory and nostalgia. The participants promote Japan abroad by portraying images and ideas of Japanese culture and society to others. Applying everyday life theory will reveal intimate connections that attach these individuals to Japan, which contributes to soft power.
This study contributes to the scholarly discussion by using the experience of 24 participants (alumni and present) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET) and former BET and MEF schemes from the 1980s to 2010s. Through their narratives we can uncover how the participants contribute to the development of soft power from the bottom-up.
By using a theoretical framework consisting of everyday life theory, (everyday life and phenomenology), this research will explore how memory and nostalgia are a valuable process for soft power. JETs are able to compare their own routines and values with another that leads to tolerance and appreciation for their own identities and that of others. The participants share traits that follow a similar progression through their experience on the programme. This has led to thematic similarities tied to the experience:
• Seeking opportunity, youth and the backdrop of uncertainty
• Imagining Japan and its stereotypes
• Experiencing adversity and acculturating to Japan
• The reflection of nostalgia after leaving the programme.
These patterns are associated with the JET experience and lead to nostalgic memories that attach the participants to Japan.