Gastrodiplomacy - representing the country through its gastronomic (culinary) traditions and products - has become one of the most popular and promising areas of public diplomacy aimed at creating a favorable image of the country. Gastrodiplomacy in Japan is a «multifunctional» tool that solves a variety of problems. Along with performing diplomatic functions as one of the elements of cultural diplomacy and a tool of «soft power», the spread of Japanese culinary traditions abroad contributes to the export of food products and the promotion of Japanese restaurants abroad, which is especially important in the context of the relative decline in the competitiveness of Japan's manufacturing export industries. Increasing the popularity and awareness of Japanese food and culinary traditions abroad can also contribute to solving other social and economic problems of the country - supporting the agricultural sector and tourism, revitalizing rural areas, and attracting investment to Japan. Gastrodiplomacy in Japan is a policy not only of the state, but also of the business sector, and it is carried out on the basis of public-private partnership. In Japan, there are a number of non-governmental non-profit business organizations related to the topic of food. In cooperation with government organizations (such as JETRO), they conduct seminars on foreign expansion practices for Japanese entrepreneurs, organize various international events, conduct training sessions on Japanese cuisine in cooperation with culinary organizations and schools in different countries, and play a major role in communication between the restaurant business and the government. Currently, in Japan, a kind of a model («ecosystem») of mutually supporting growth of industries and activities associated with gastrodiplomacy: gastrodiplomacy - the growing acceptance of Japanese cuisine abroad - increasing numbers of foreign tourists coming to Japan, including to the regions - the growing popularity of Japanese cuisine and products abroad - the growth of food exports.

Rai San’yō (Rai Noboru) (1780-1832) was born in 1780. His main works were written in kanbun, a language very difficult to read and understand, so the numerous translations that were made by historians and writers always leave room for controversy and interpretation. The main work of Rai San’yō is Nihon Gaishi . It became most popular during the revolutionary and turbulent times of the Bakumatsu-Meiji Restoration, when power passed from the Shoguns into the hands of the Imperial House. Subsequently, this particular work gained an important place in the ideological system of the Meiji state. In modern (post-war) Japan, this author and his work are in the category of those writers from the past whose historiography of Japan has little weight. Rai San’yō’s Nihon Gaishi was conceived as a book about the power of samurai houses in Japan. In his introductory article reigen , Rai San’yō, wrote that "from the very beginning, the goal of this work was to show how the rise and fall of the shogun houses took place." Therefore, the key term of the history of Rai San’yō was taiken , a term which is used to denote the supreme power. From the point of view of the morals of the samurai class, Sanyo especially demonstrates appreciation for Minamoto Yoritomo, who did not go beyond his status and claim the position of the Imperial House, and thus created a system in the country that was significantly different from the Chinese one. In this system, the Emperor was left with the function of granting ranks, which did not give him real political power. Finally, Nihon Gaishi deserves the attention of researchers at least in the three ways. First, it is valuable as the work of a historian who carried out historical research at a time when the main parameters of this profession were not yet formed. Second, it gives us a view of the struggles for power during the Shogunate period, the way it was perceived by a person who lived during this period. Third, it stands as a work which was influential during the Meiji Ishin period and the fall of the Shogunate.

The article is an analysis of the answers received during a survey of students of Japanese universities on the impact of information and communication technologies (social networks, instant messengers, etc.) on communication within the family. The respondents were asked to answer whether the active use of ICT affects communication with relatives, what kind of impact it has, whether communication on social networks aggravates misunderstandings between the older and younger generations, etc. Most of the respondents noted that they were regular users of various social networks (the answer “I don’t use social networks” at the corresponding question was chosen by 0 % of respondents) and often communicate with their family members using ICT. At the same time, there were twice as many respondents who noted that they communicated with their parents more often than with other relatives in comparison with those who noted communication with brothers or sisters; it shows the peculiarities of the intra-family relations of the Japanese. The positive influence of this method of communication on contacts within the family was also noted, since "one can quickly exchange the necessary information", "ties with relatives who live far away are strengthened", and "there are things which are easier to write in a message than to say in person". There were significantly fewer people who considered the impact of ICT on intra-family communication to be negative. At the same time, many respondents did not see the connection between the use of social networks and the lack of mutual understanding between generations, answering that social networks do not affect in any way, although it was noted that the network slang inherent in youth communication could be incomprehensible to older generations. It is worth noting that the results of the same survey among representatives of another generation or among young people who are not representatives of university students may differ significantly.

This paper reviews the principles of traditional fairy-tale presentation in Japan. The subject has not been previously covered in specialised research in our country, even though the rules for orally presenting fairy-tales and works of other genres of folklore have had a profound impact on Japanese culture, specifically the structure of Mediaeval Japanese literary works, and even the behavioural model of the Japanese people. This paper studies the customary rules for telling fairy-tales and the relationship between the narration’s time frame and traditional rituals. We particularly emphasise that, rather than being chaotic or random, the process of story-telling was always timed to fall on specific dates and specific times, as well as calendar days, and was in accordance with the traditional perception of “good” and “bad” days. Fairy-tales were considered the most effective way of safeguarding the individual and one’s household and family from misfortune and illness. We focus particularly on the importance of various structural elements of Japanese fairy-tales. Each of the elements played a specific role in the process of engaging with the audience. We consider the unique features of the beginning and ending of Japanese fairy-tales and typical formulas for the middle. We also analyse the relationship between the story-teller and the audience and the techniques for getting the audience engaged in the narrative and prompting them to enter a special communicative state. In Japanese tradition, the act of story-telling was reciprocal; the audience was not passive. On the contrary, members of the audience could even rate the narrator’s performance. Notably, the process of getting the audience to enter and then be drawn out of a special communicative state was a form of art. Each story-teller had their own ways of ensuring that the audience was fully immersed in the narrative, of “shutting off” the outside world, making the listeners hang on their voice, and eventually, making them “snap out” of the story and come away transformed by its life-affirming symbolism. Finally, we examine the traditional folkloric techniques of communal story-telling, known as dandan-katari and hyaku-monogatari . This particular form of communal leisure and, often, communal ceremony shaped the structure of several literary genres, shedding light on yet another aspect of how the tightly intertwined folkloric and literary traditions of Mediaeval Japanese literature have been preserved.

International relations in Northeast Asia are particularly attuned to fluctuations of collective memory and the parties’ evolving perception of their common past. In the past 70 years Tokyo and Pyongyang have failed to establish official ties, and historical differences became a major point of contention. After Korea was liberated and later divided, Japan and the DPRK found themselves in different political ‘camps’, which exacerbated Pyongyang’s distrust of its former oppressor. Normalization talks of the 1990s had a rough start since the parties found it difficult to settle the issues of apologies and compensations for decades of colonial rule. The long-awaited summits in the early 2000s failed to bring a diplomatic breakthrough. Japanese society was enraged at North Korea’s admission that Pyongyang was responsible for abductions of Japanese citizens in the 1970-1980s. This confirmation and the media’s efforts to politicize the issue solidified support for the nationalists, who later came to power and cut all of Japan’s loose ties with the North. In the realms of public consciousness and politics, this relatively new issue has taken the place usually reserved for matters of troubled history. The discourse on abductions helps nationalists garner support. It also contributes to forming collective political identity vis-à-vis an external enemy, and provides the public a respite from constant accusations from former colonies by letting them try on the victim’s shoes for once. The methods used to promote Japan’s view (a peculiar union between NGOs and the government) and their political results bring this issue closer to historical problems. The enraged public clamors for punishment for foreign perpetrators and rejects any diplomatic compromise (which would have actually helped to resolve the issue), and so the bilateral ties fall apart. North Korea’s symmetrical response is also quite symptomatic: Pyongyang now constantly criticizes Japan, bringing up all its ‘wrongdoings’ from modern times back to the Middle Ages. Northeast Asia is troubled enough even without historical differences, with the threat of military conflict always looming on the horizon. That is why it is very concerning to see how both allies and opponents are eager to exploit nationalistic sentiments for short-term political gain.

The article examines some aspects of the evolution of Japanese theoretical approaches to international relations (IR). A brief description of intellectual currents and concepts characteristic of the IR studies in the pre-war period is given, and their development after 1945 is considered as well. Japanese theoretical approaches to international relations mainly originate from Western schools of philosophy, political science, and law, but national peculiarities are traced in them. Western theories selectively lay on Japanese soil, and while some of them were further developed in the works of Japanese scholars, others, on the contrary, did not arouse much interest. In general, we can say that, under the influence of Western thought and Japanese traditions, distinctive concepts emerged in Japan. Japanese approaches to IR have evolved simultaneously with the conceptual rethinking of the surrounding world and Japan’s place in it, as well as its national identity. A feature of Japanese approaches to IR is the emphasis on their economic and cultural aspects, as well as the promotion of concepts that could ensure the global leadership of Japan as a non-military power. One can note the interest in the applied aspects of the IR theories, which make it possible to substantiate certain foreign policy goals. In general, theoretical approaches to IR tend more towards finding answers to specific questions than to abstract constructions. This reflects the peculiarities of the Japanese mentality and the characteristic features of Japanese political culture.

The article addresses the Russian vector of Japan's Arctic policy. The main areas of Japan’s interest in cooperation with Russia in the Arctic region are energy, transport, and security. The article focuses on the developments that took place in 2019-2020 in these areas, which have not yet received proper coverage in Russian bibliography. Pursuing the policy of diversification of energy supply sources, Japan turns its attention to the Russian Arctic as one of the promising areas of cooperation in the gas sector. In 2019, Japanese companies signed a contract for the purchase of a 10 % stake in the Arctic LNG-2 project, which provides for almost $ 3 bln of Japanese investment. As one of the primary areas of cooperation with Russia, Japan also considers participation in the transport and logistics development of the Northern Sea Route, which is indispensable for the implementation of gas production projects on the Yamal Peninsula. In addition, Japan is interested in establishing clear and stable "game rules" in the Arctic, and, in this sense, the security sphere in the Arctic region is becoming one of the most important areas of cooperation with Russia. The Russian vector of Japan's Arctic policy received an additional impetus in connection with the policy of rapprochement with Moscow conducted by the Abe cabinets in 2012-2020. Arctic projects have become an integral part of the Eight-Point Plan, contributing to Japan's energy and economic security. Cooperation in the Arctic is directly linked not only to the projects of the development of the Northern Sea Route and Arctic projects for the extraction and liquefaction of natural gas, but also to bilateral projects in the fields of "green energy", development of port infrastructure, urban construction, fish processing, ecology, improving people's living conditions, medicine, tourism, etc.

This article examines the history of the formation of the Ōbaku Zen sect and the role that the so-called “Ōbaku monks” played in this process. The Ōbaku sect is the third school of Japanese Zen Buddhism, which appeared in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868) due to Chinese immigrants. The Edo period of the history of Japan is often characterized by the isolationist foreign policy enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate, thus the emergence of the Ōbaku sect, which was actually borrowed from China during the isolation, had an impact not only on the Japanese Buddhist community, but also on the formation of the cultural image of the period. The successful establishment of the Ōbaku school, representing the spiritual heritage of Ming China, resulted from many aspects, and one of the most noteworthy points was the efforts of the founder of the school, Yinyuan Longqi (1592-1673), his students and Japanese followers, who formed a group of “Ōbaku monks”. In addition, the “Ōbaku monks” also included Chinese Buddhist priests who settled in Nagasaki since the beginning of the 17^th century. Largely due to them, a powerful Chinese diaspora appeared in Nagasaki, which had a sufficient material base and influence to invite an eminent Buddhist monk (later it was decided to choose Yinyuan) from China. It is clear that the role of the individual in the story of success of the Ōbaku in Japan is especially important. Ōbaku masters had to productively interact with the Japanese authorities, get material support and convert new members of the sect relying mainly on their authority and charisma, because they had a difficult task to spread «the word of the Teacher» across the new land. The biographies of prominent Ōbaku monks fully reflect the history of the formation of the doctrine with its ups and downs. Not only did they engage in religious and creative activities, but they also devoted a lot of time to communicating and helping the lay people, forming a positive image of the school in the eyes of the Japanese. The various activities of the followers of the school - both Chinese and Japanese - contributed significantly to the surge in popularity of Ōbaku in Japan during the Edo period.