Denisa Čiderová – University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of Commerce, Dolnozemská cesta 1, 852 35 Bratislava,
Slovak Republic
Chihana Imai – University of Economics in Bratislava, Dolnozemská cesta 1, 852 35 Bratislava,
Slovak Republic
*This paper results from scientific research conducted at the University of Economics in Bratislava in the
framework of the VEGA research project No. 1/0654/16 (2016-2018, Institute of Economics and Management,
University of Economics in Bratislava) and the VEGA research project No. 1/0812/19 (2019-2022,
Institute of Economics and Management, University of Economics in Bratislava).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ERAZ.2019.267
5th International Conference – ERAZ 2019 – KNOWLEDGE BASED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Budapest – Hungary, May 23, 2019, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans – Belgrade, Serbia
Conference partners: Faculty of Economics and Business, Mediterranean University, Montenegro; University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria; Faculty of Commercial and Business Studies – Celje, Slovenia; Faculty of Applied Management, Economics and Finance – Belgrade, Serbia;
ISBN 978-86-80194-20-2, ISSN 2683-5568, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ERAZ.2019
Abstract
With reference to the statement of the former US Secretary of State James Baker talking
about the new post-Cold-War community of democracies that would “stretch from Vancouver to Vladivostok”
Mahbubani [1: 42-43] points out the position of Japan as the first and until then the exclusive
Asian member of the “Western club” represented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and the G7. Throughout most of recorded history Asia (embodying the biggest
share of the world’s population) has enjoyed the biggest share of the world’s economy, with three of the
four largest economies in the world by 2050 (in the respective order: China; USA; India; Japan) envisaged
by a Goldman Sachs BRICs study to be Asian, he continues, when claiming that: “Japan surged
ahead of the rest of Asia because it understood the message of Western success [brought about by the
Industrial Revolution] almost a hundred and fifty years earlier”; the Japanese (Meiji reformers) “were
willing to consider Western best practices from any country and were prepared to mix and match policies
in an eclectic fashion”; and adding that “the Chinese had learned from Singapore, and Singapore
from Japan” [1: 51-52, 77-78].
The so-called “new Asian Great Game” (Mahbubani, 2011 cited in [2: 291]) refers to the “geoeconomics
(“traditionally” alias soft power) versus geopolitics (“traditionally” alias hard power)” challenge:
“The most severe challenge facing rising powers in Asia in particular is the growing severity of natural
resource constraints, especially land and water, which are not easily amenable to technological solutions
and which (unlike energy) cannot be augmented by trade” [2: 309]. As formulated by Staněk [3]
the current Fourth Industrial Revolution mirrors the society, revealing the (il)logic of today’s architecture
of the society; the question, therefore, is if we are willing to accept this fact and if we are aware of
the necessity of changes, and as individual civilisation models react differently to the same conditions
(namely, differences in languages, history and society affect the implementation as well as impact of
technological changes), it is essential to comprehend the mutual impact of the speed of technological
changes and the speed of adaptation both of society and individuals. Thus, a “smart power” dimension
arises – in the case of Japan represented by its Society 5.0 concept [4: 119-122].
The more inclusive format of G20 (designated since the latest global financial crisis as “the world’s
“premier forum” for economic cooperation”) “is playing a mid-field game: facilitating discussion while
standing by for (rare) emergencies. This operational model more closely mirrors Asian than Western
approaches to governance, and may be a harbinger of change in the global system” as Dobson & Petri
[5: 261, 273-274] perceive it. Hence, along with illustration in a comparative case study (Japan and
the Slovak Republic) addressing the United Nations SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), we
focus on the 28-29 June 2019 G20 Osaka Summit in terms of the prospect of a know-how transfer in the
OECD context.
Key words
Japan, Slovak Republic, UN SDGs, G20, OECD, hard power, soft power, smart power,
Society 5.0, education
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