Culture, Civilization and Globalization: A Theoretical Approach to Japanese Studies in Indonesia

Abstarct Academically, the study of Japan in Indonesia has developed through a number of relatively distinct periods Japanese language education (1950s and 60s), Japanology (1960s and 70s) and Japanese studies (1970s to the present). As an academic field, Japanese studies can be seen as a kind of area studies. Theoretical approaches in Indonesia start from a mono-disciplinary perspective, and have evolved towards inter-disciplinary perspectives. These individual disciplines cover the study of culture, literature, linguistics, history, economics, politics, sociology, as applied to Japan on its own and also to comparative studies of Japan alongside other places, in particular in comparison with Indonesia. In Indonesia, the approach taken in Japanese studies, especially in Japanese studies programs, originates from the theory of nihonjinron, which is an approach originating in Japan itself, from cultural anthropology or ethnography and intercultural studies.