London -- Churchill said "Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Some might argue that the same could be said about Japan if it weren't for a dedicated band of scholars, journalists, diplomats, businessmen, anime and manga enthusiasts, and assorted Japanophiles who interpret this fascinating country for the rest of the world.

A case in point -- a new wave of scholars of different nationalities who specialize in Japanese studies have recently been appointed to 13 newly created university posts in the United Kingdom. They will teach the new generation of Japanese student-scholars coming through the UK education system. This new wave of professors and teachers will teach the fruit of their fresh research about contemporary Japan. The subjects they will be teaching deal with redefining Japanese power, politics, economics, and culture in the age of globalization. These key posts will be jointly funded over the next five years by the Nippon Foundation and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.

Several of these new scholar-lecturer appointees briefly discussed the essence of their expertise at an international conference held at Birkbeck College in London on 23rd January to celebration the announcement of their appointments to 13 university posts and the support of the Sasakawa Leadership Programme.

The themes of their talks included: Japan's Security Policy: From a Peace State to an International State; Globalization and Japanese Brands; Globalization of Manga and Manga Scanlation; Globalizing Intimacy in Japan: From Omiai (arranged marriage) to Gokon (speed dating), and other topics.

Dr Bhubhindar Singh, University of Sheffield, spoke on the "peace state/international state" topic, in which he describes Japan shifting to a more active role in military-strategic affairs in the post-Cold War period due to the change within Japan in relation to the practices and roles in the regional and the international security environment.

Dr Ulrich Heinze, University of East Anglia, discussed the globalization of intimacy in Japan which involves both the option of a partner from another country or culture, and the adjustment of the semantics of love. He mentioned the growing number of international marriages in Japan, the fading omiai tradition, and how some young Japanese are enjoying the option of gokon (speed dating).

Dr. Shinji Oyama, Birkbeck College, University of London, raised an interesting issue: "Globalization of a particular national brand is closely associated with the appeal of national culture. If you love the country, you love the brand -- but is it as simple as that"? He asked. Oyama then explained that obvious Japanese name brands have been renamed to distribute globally in other cultures using a target country's own language -- for example, a French name for France. The result is that combined with marketing and careful advertising, the original Japanese name brand undergoes a successful launch in the country of its new incarnation.

Oyama concludes: "It has become increasingly difficult to discuss the globalization of Japanese brands following an Americanization model and that a new approach is needed to understand the complex and contradictory relationship in such a dynamic process."

A renowned guest speaker, Dr Yoshihide Soeya of Keio University, gave the keynote talk to the conference dealing with the subject: "The Rise of Nationalism? Understanding Changes in Japanese Diplomacy and Political Discourse." Soeya said: "The rise of internationalism, rather than nationalism, characterizes major changes in Japanese diplomacy since the 1990s. The political discourse and some political moves, however, have assumed a nationalistic tone in recent years, but how should we understand this apparent gap?" He then gave a tour de force explanation of all these issues that preoccupy contemporary domestic and international politics in Japan.

It is safe to say that a new era of Japanese studies has arrived in the lecture halls of UK universities.