In this paper, the author explores the main trends in the implementation of the educational track of British public diplomacy in Japan. The problems that hinder the quality work of British public diplomacy in the framework of the third dimension are considered separately. Emphasis is placed on the activities of the British Council, which is aimed at attracting students and school audiences. Separately, statistics of students coming to Britain from Japan were given. The main areas of cooperation between British and Japanese universities were also highlighted. It was revealed that, despite the low intensity of the work of British organizations in Japan, the educational track of public diplomacy is represented by the British Council, several language centers of the IELTS organization and the RENKEI interuniversity partnership. At the same time, there is a low intensity of student exchanges and the low attractiveness of British universities for Japanese applicants, which acts as a negative indicator of the success of public diplomacy. In the political discourse of Britain and in official documents, Japan, despite the declared “Indo-Pacific tilt”, is represented extremely limited. This illustrates the discrepancy between the new priorities of London’s foreign policy in the context of increasing military and economic ties with Tokyo as a key Asian partner for Western countries. British public diplomacy in Japan has not been fully implemented due to the fact that the British Council and the IELTS organization face a number of “counterweights” natural for Japanese society: a small demand for foreign education for applicants from Japan and a low level of English proficiency at the national level, etc. At the same time, London’s interests are also represented at the level of inter-university partnerships.
Key words: public diplomacy, British Council, UK, Japan, international students.
DOI: 10.56429/2414‑4894‑2023‑46‑4‑55‑66
Sevriuk V.S.
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