Staff writer
Over the course of his career as one of Japan's premier private diplomats, Tadashi Yamamoto has seen the focus of his nation's relationship with the rest of the world shift from cultural exchange to international cooperation.
"Before, it was enough for us to try to develop better cultural understanding among foreigners about Japan," the president of the Japan Center for International Exchange said in a recent interview in Tokyo. "But then as Japan became larger and more influential, (it) had to articulate its own policy," Yamamoto said.