In Memoriam: Seki Yoshihiko

At the beginning of the 1970s, the Japanese economy was still in its high-growth phase. Each year the nation was posting remarkable advances, buoyed by brisk capital investment and expanding public works projects. In line with foreign demand, Japanese exports increased enormously. Critics in Europe and the United States were complaining about the "torrential" inflows of goods from Japan into their country.

But what was the real story? Japan had joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (predecessor of the World Trade Organization) in the 1950s, became a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (comprising the nations of the industrialized world) in the 1960s, and had managed its imports and exports in accordance with the guidelines of these international institutions. Of course, there may have been some elements of market disturbance involved, but the trade itself was being conducted fairly. Much of the criticism and blame that foreign nations were directing at Japanese economic practices during this time was based on a lack of knowledge or on misunderstanding.

When these events were taking place, I was working as the director of the Overseas Public Relations Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The division’s task until then had been to conduct public relations for Japan, but I realized that in order to go a step further we would have to inform people in other countries about the Japanese government’s policies. One result of this realization was the founding of Japan Echo.

Much of the criticism directed at Japan from other countries, particularly those in the West, was founded upon misunderstanding. Within Japan, meanwhile, the press was publishing essays and editorials that discussed economics and politics from the perspective of coexistence with the rest of the world. The problem was that these ideas were not being introduced abroad. Japan’s fundamental policies of approaching the future positively with a view toward cooperation as a member of the international community were not being understood in other countries. In order to improve this situation, I organized a series of seminars and symposiums in Europe and North America with the main goal of establishing dialogue between people in these countries and Japanese intellectuals.

After thinking about how to inform a wider range of economists, politicians, and other educated people in the West about Japanese government policies and the general state of affairs in Japan, I came up with the idea for Japan Echo. As a quarterly magazine, it would inform readers about developments in Japanese economics, politics, and society by featuring English translations of articles on these topics that were recently covered by the Japanese press.

Once the decision to produce this type of magazine was made, the most pressing matter was the selection of editors, because the editorial content would decide the fate of the publication. When I began to consider who would make a good editor, my thoughts immediately turned to Seki Yoshihiko, professor emeritus at Tokyo Metropolitan University. Professor Seki was a social scientist well versed in economics, social thought, and political science, but most importantly he was a liberal thinker; he had firm convictions and kept to the middle of the road, never veering to the left or right. I believed he was the only one for the job, so I visited his home in Setagaya Ward, where I talked about the current international situation and its relation to Japan and explained the concept of the magazine. I earnestly sought his services as editor in chief, but I could not get him to consent. Twice after that I begged him to serve as editor in chief, and on the third time, in the spring of 1974, he finally accepted. However, he made three points very clear.

First, he would assume all editorial responsibility. Second, as long as the opinions expressed in a given essay were valid, he would publish that essay even it expressed antigovernment sentiments. Third, while the magazine would receive financial support from the government, he did not want the government at all involved with the editorial process. I believed these were all sound opinions, and I agreed to the terms immediately. Although it was already decided that the government would cover the magazine’s publishing costs, Professor Seki expressed his hope that the new publishing company would be able to develop as a business and secure revenue sources outside of the government.

As members of the Japan Echo editorial board, Professor Seki chose University of Tokyo Professors Kumon Shumpei and Satô Seizaburô and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Professor Shimizu Hayao. All three of these individuals were up-and-coming social scientists and well respected by the press. And with the addition of novelist and cultural critic Miura Shumon, an editorial board well equipped to handle a broad range of issues was established.

For each quarterly issue, Professor Seki would select a topic, such as Japan’s economy, labor, finance, or women’s issues, to serve as a focus. The editorial board would then select pertinent articles and essays related to the topic, which were translated into English and published. This editorial policy produced a successful magazine that presented contemporary Japan to an international audience and was well received by foreign universities and research institutes. In the late 1970s I was conducting research as a guest fellow at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington affiliated with the Democratic Party. When I ventured into the institute’s library I was surprised and delighted to discover issues of Japan Echo arranged according to topic, sharing shelf space with the library’s other books and journals. It was also well known at the time that Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had remarked favorably about the magazine, saying that its contents were of high quality and that it was written in excellent English.

Securing highly skilled translators is a difficult task, but Mochida Takeshi, the founding president of Japan Echo Inc., worked unstintingly to secure consistently good translators. As Japan Echo’s translators received high praise, translation requests from other clients, including businesses, began coming in one after another. And thanks to Mr. Mochida’s own international experience, he was able to undertake the planning and implementation of a number of international events under the Japan Echo banner. All of this contributed to the strengthening and enlargement of the operational foundation for the magazine.

In the beginning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been distributing the publication to research institutes and other organizations abroad. Mr. Mochida decided to solicit subscriptions from companies and organizations that were not receiving free copies from the ministry as a way of further promoting understanding of Japan. (One of the fruits of this effort was to make Japan Echo available for in-flight reading on some international flights to and from Japan.) He may not have been very visible, but Mr. Mochida was quite active behind the scenes. Under the troika of Professor Seki, the editorial board, and Mochida, Japan Echo grew and developed. Sadly, Seki, Mochida, and board members Satô and Shimizu have all passed away, but I wish to take this occasion to salute the great contributions of all four to this publication.

With the exception of Seki and Miura, the members of the editorial board had experience either studying or teaching at foreign universities, and all of them knew English deeply enough to read and check the contents of translated articles. Professor Seki, in particular, would study all the translations, poring over each sentence to verify that its meaning reflected that of the original Japanese. When examining a text, he not only made sure that words were translated correctly but also that their essential meaning was conveyed. His study of economics, politics, and the history of social thought, combined with his experience of translating works in these fields from foreign languages into Japanese and publishing them, had equipped him with the skills necessary for such an undertaking. I remember that he would frequently call me up and ask me to meet with him to discuss the accuracy of a translation. The way he conducted his work was truly impressive.

In the period between his retirement from active service in academia and the beginning of his political career as a member of the House of Councillors (1983–89), Professor Seki gave his all to the cause of this publication. Together with President Mochida and the editorial board, he worked to enrich and develop the contents of Japan Echo. When I asked Professor Seki to serve as editor in chief, the magazine did not have a name yet, and I really struggled to come up with one. As I tried to think of a fitting title for a publication dedicated to disseminating information about Japan, the policies of its government, and the thinking of its people to foreign countries, the name "Japan Echo" came to me in a dream in the spring of 1974. As soon as I awoke from this dream I immediately called Professor Seki to inform him. "Sounds good," he said, and thus the name was decided. (Hasegawa Kazutoshi, former Japanese Ambassador to Australia)

© 2006 Japan Echo Inc.