The international community of scholars with an interest in Japan is rife with whisperings of Japan's "invisibility."

These scholars note that international policy forums on security and global political issues often take place without any Japanese participants, and that even when Japanese do attend such gatherings, they are little more than passive bystanders, rarely making their presence felt.

Even among Japanese themselves, there is a widespread and growing chorus of voices lamenting the poverty of Japan's intellectual communication. Before rushing to debate possible solutions to this problem, first we need to focus on the underlying causes.