SATOSHI AMAKO, 58, is professor of contemporary Chinese affairs and Asian political history at Waseda University and a member of the Asahi Shimbun Asia Network. He is a former president of the Japan Association for Asian Studies.

Ten years ago, when Japan's relationship with China was, as is the case at present, strained, I asked a respected expert for advice on how to break the deadlock. His answer was crisp and explicit: "It's clear. You just make Japan an attractive country." I was taken aback by the words. Japan then was in the middle of the "Lost Decade," with its economy, after having shown a growth trend since the end of World War II, actually experiencing a setback. I wondered what was meant by an "attractive Japan" and, as I tried to get to the nub of the problem and pondered on a possible answer, I felt as if I were groping for something in the dark.

These days, furthermore, the political impasse with the neighboring countries with which Japan should maintain friendlier relations than with any other country is becoming worse. No supporting voice for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "resolute stand" over the Yasukuni issue can be heard from Asian countries or the United States.

In the circumstances, it may be a more important task to strive earnestly to make Japan a country which other countries will respect as being attractive than to take measures to find a way out of the present difficulties.

When one thinks of an "attractive Japan," three points come to mind. The first point involves reconfirming and making more credible the merits of Japan which the Japanese themselves have developed over a long period of time. We can probably characterize Japan as a society in harmony with an abundance of nature which is globally distinctive, a stable society where citizens abide by the law and systems and order is maintained, a society with a fully developed social security system and one which has few unjust disparities.

The second point concerns the building up of a "comfortable, safe and full-fledged" social system that can effectively cope with the waves of rapid globalization, as well as of a society which is becoming more information-based and market-driven. These surging waves have made society more convenient and rational than ever before. It is now possible through the use of information technology (IT) to obtain virtually any information, with the opportunity to locate what one wants without having to make draining efforts having become greater. On the other hand, however, we have seen the emergence of bald performance-based systems, the worship of money, a competitive society and a society with widening disparities. The issue to be addressed from now, I believe, is how to build up the kind of society outlined in the first point.

In order to realize the points mentioned above, as the third point, consideration has to be given to ways of nurturing "attractive Japanese" and creating "attractive local communities" in tandem with the foreign residents of Japan.

What I would like to place the foremost importance on in this connection is the development of "human qualities." We see today what is called the "Horiemon phenomenon" in reference to the tendency to regard money as almighty, the desire-driven spread of "e-mail friend networks" and a lack of compassion as seen in people's refusal to give up even priority seats to senior citizens on trains.

The significance of education has been talked about on various occasions. However, raising students' academic levels as indicated by standard deviation scores or inspiring people with what national leaders consider to be patriotism will not form a significant part of education. If education is to be thought about from a long-range point of view, it should be borne in mind that the nurturing of "enriched minds" should be at the core of education. "Net communication" is, of course, important but the key is the revival of "communication through face-to-face contact."

Fortunately, Japan still has its luster. That is apparent from the number of students who have come from abroad in recent years to study in Japan. The number surpassed 120,000 in 2005, which was double the level of the 1990s. About 80 percent of those students were from China and South Korea. Even in 2005, when a series of anti-Japan demonstrations took place, the number of students from those two countries exceeded the previous year's level. Since 2003, the total number of Chinese students living.