日本地区研究的论争与发展

Area Studies in Japan: Debate and Development

受到美国的重要影响,战后日本的地区研究的发展经历黄金时期,在学者们的积极努力和社会大力支持下,取得了令世界瞩目的成果,为日本更好认识世界、走向世界发挥了重要作用。在日本地区研究发展过程中,存在着关于地区研究与社会科学专业研究,尤其是国际关系研究之间关系、地区研究方法论及地区研究中的＂西方中心主义＂反思等三个方面的论争。这些学术论争推动了日本地区研究不断发展和自我完善。当前,日本的地区研究与现实政治特别是与国家政策走向关系日益密切,其地区研究理论建设尤其是方法论方面不断完善,与其他学科之间的整合也得到不断加强。

With influence from the United States,Japanese area studies went through a golden period of rapid development in the post-war era.Thanks to the active scholarly acivity and strong social support,Japanese area studies have made remarkable achievements and played an instrumental role in nurturing better understandings of the world and facilitating Japans’ participation in international affairs. Three major academic debates took place in this field. Topics include the relationship between area studies and social sciences research,especially International Relations studies,methodology in area studies,and the reflection of "Western centralism " in the practice of area studies. These debates and discussions in turn have promoted the continuous development and self-improvement in research. From the current point of view,Japanese area studies are increasingly tied to practical politics,especially the trend of national policies. It should be acknowledged that Japanese area studies theory and methodology have improved constantly and that dialogues and integration between area studies and other disciplines have also been strengthened.