On Thursday, June 16th, CEJE had the pleasure of receiving Ms. Carmen González, principal investigator of the Elcano Royal Institute, to develop a presentation within a lunch with the partners of CEJE, in the Equestrian Circle of Barcelona.
The theme was ‘The reciprocal images between Spain and Japan’, in which Ms. González offered data from the surveys carried out by the Elcano Royal Institute on the perceptions of the citizens of the two countries about the other. The conclusions of the various studies provided interesting conclusions about the similarities and differences of two apparently opposing cultures.
Ms. González began by establishing that, although Japan and Spain demonstrate so many social, cultural and economic differences, they are countries perceived in a similar way in the international community in general aspects – both are democratic, egalitarian, economically stable, peaceful and cooperative with other nations. Despite these similarities, Ms. González reflected in her presentation the great discrepancies in how the two countries visualize each other in an abstract way. The overview from the Japanese point of view of Spain focuses on a cultural and gastronomic appreciation above any other subject.
The perception of Spain in Japan is that of a conservative country, with a different work ethic and with an underdeveloped technological evolution. The perspective that the surveys of the Elcano Royal Institute project, can be a clear explanation of a possible loss in potential investment by Japan towards Spain, since the image of the country is not only far from the current reality of Spain, but also positions the country at a disadvantage when compared to other European powers when it comes to attracting business from Japan.
At the end of the presentation, the guests enjoyed a meal in which a Q&A session to Ms. González began. The result was a fruitful discussion in an international environment and a wide variety of sectors, in which CEJE partners contributed their visions of the information presented and the possible evolution of the perception of Spain in Japan was raised.
