Is it justified to take Descartes as a paradigmatic example of modern subjectivity? To what extent is it? In this paper I will inquire into this issue in the case of the interpretation articulated by the contemporary Japanese philosopher Keiji Nishitani (1900-1990). This approach will make it possible to clarify what is particularly modern in the Cartesian subject, even after conceding that the traditional way of interpreting Descartes must be reconsidered.

This article examines the deontological features of Japanese moral philosophy as the foundations of educational progress in Japan. It explores how the concept of moral duty has evolved into a system of educational norms that shape both the content and value orientation of education. The study also highlights the contributions of leading Japanese philosophers to the formation of a national deontological worldview. It has been revealed that Japanese deontological ethics has a deeply spiritual nature. Deontological worldview is shaped by the enduring influence of Buddhism and Confucianism. These traditions frame moral duty as adherence to rational rules and as a path toward spiritual self-cultivation and social responsibility. In the educational sphere, this perspective supports the training of morally grounded individuals who fulfill their academic and professional responsibilities with discipline, integrity, and a commitment to social harmony as well as familial, societal, and civic duty. Japanese education is substantiated as a framework of unique moral and ethical principles characteristic of deontological thinking, that integrate social responsibility and harmony, integrity and respect for human dignity, care for others, reverence for elders, focused and disciplined labor, respect for different professions, environmental awareness and protection, and continuous self-improvement through lifelong learning. The article emphasizes the central role of resilience as a moral obligation of Japanese society, which is understood as the capacity to recover, adapt, and grow after traumatic events or experience. The study concludes that educational progress in Japan is deeply rooted in a philosophical and deontological approach to personal development that upholds a number of specific moral duties and a strong sense of social responsibility.

Abstract Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, is widely applied in manufacturing to enhance productivity, quality, and operational efficiency. This study evaluates the impact of Kaizen implementation in an agriculture implement manufacturing plant in India. A case study methodology was adopted, comparing pre- and post-Kaizen performance over six months. Key performance indicators, including production output, cycle time, defect rate, machine downtime, delivery performance, and employee participation, were analyzed. The results indicate significant improvements in all parameters, demonstrating that Kaizen is an effective strategy for operational excellence and cultural transformation. The study provides practical insights for manufacturing firms seeking sustainable process improvements. Keywords: Kaizen, Continuous Improvement, Agriculture Implement Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing, Operational Efficiency, Employee Engagement

Beyond Nihonjinron: Integrating Japanese Philosophy into the Global Knowledge Production of Japanese Studies

The problems of space and time are among that of meaning-making. They carry paradigmatic approaches that determine the understanding of the world, human being, history, and therefore never lose their significance. The involvement of the East Asian philosophical heritage expands the horizons of research into these problems, opening up opportunities for the search for original solutions and new perspectives of vision. The object of this study is Nishida Kitaro's works from the 1930s, which have so far been only fragmentarily studied and insufficiently addressed in both Russian and Western historical and philosophical scholarship. It was during this period that a number of problems of space, time, and history were specifically articulated and developed by the Japanese philosopher. The study relied on historical-philosophical reconstruction, hermeneutic-textual analysis, as well as contextual and conceptual analysis. General linguistic methods of text translation were also employed, namely, lexical-semantic substitution, grammatical substitution, and interpretation. This article author’s contribution to the field consists in the fact that the peculiarities of the interpretation of such problems as the problem of the correlation of space and time, historical time, eternal present, discontinuity and continuity were considered in the context of the key concepts of Nishida Kitaro of the late period – active intuition, the place of absolute nothingness, self-determination of absolute nothingness, the historical world. The article shows the vectors of transformation in the understanding of spatio-temporal issues by the Japanese philosopher in a comparison of his ideas presented in his early works with the works of the 1930s, relating to the middle and late periods of his activity, consisting in the transition from a “view of the world from the position of consciousness and self-awareness” to a view from the position of an organic part of a self-moving and self-determining world. As a result of the study, the author identifies such features of Nishida's philosophy as absolute presentism, the identification of space and time, the creation of an epistemology of history based on the conception of active intuition and the theory of time as “self-determination of the eternal present.”

This paper analyzes the conceptual framework of love as theorized by Fakhr al-Dīn al-ʿIrāqī (1211–1289), a prominent Sufi scholar belonging to the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī, from the perspective of comparing it with the philosophical discourses on love by the Japanese philosopher Kitarō Nishida. The present article will focus on ʿIrāqī’s masterpiece, Lamaʿāt, and analyse his process of reconstructing the metaphysical concept of existence (wujūd) into a recursive structure where the lover, the beloved, and love itself are ontologically unified. The phenomenon of love is most often depicted as an emotion directed from one entity toward another. Consequently, the concept of love necessitates the presence of an object. However, within the framework of ʿIrāqī’s concept of love, the object of love is posited as God Himself, and love is characterized as cyclical. While Sufism often typically discusses love from the ascetic toward God, or love from God toward humanity, ʿIrāqī’s structure of love differs from such typical examples. Consequently, the cyclical nature of ʿIrāqī’s concept of love serves to negate the phenomenon of union with God occurring between two entities. The doctrine places greater emphasis on the concept of separation from God (firāq) than on union with God as the primary mode of God’s self-manifestation. The present paper puts forward the argument that ʿIrāqī’s conception of love as a self-reflective, non-dualistic movement finds a close parallel in Nishida’s proposed metaphysics of the self and his understanding of “God as the dynamic foundation of existence.” By contrasting ʿIrāqī’s circular structure of love with Nishida’s discussions of God and love, this paper reveals a shared commitment to a non-objectifying, reflexive ontology in which God manifests through the mirror of the self. This comparative study sheds light on the originality in ʿIrāqī’s thought, whilst also establishing a framework for discourse between Sufism and Oriental philosophy.

Omotenashi, the Japanese philosophy of selfless and wholehearted hospitality, has become a central element of Japan’s national tourism identity. However, its intangible and culturally nuanced nature makes it difficult to translate into clear and appealing messages for global audiences. This study explores how the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) navigates this challenge through strategic visual and textual communication. Using a semiotic analysis, the research examines signs, symbols, and meanings embedded in JNTO’s promotional videos and official website content. The analysis identifies a consistent visual vocabulary that represents Omotenashi: respectful bowing, meticulous food presentation, orderly interior spaces, and serene natural settings. These images act as symbolic cues that communicate humility, harmony, and attentiveness—core values of Omotenashi—without requiring explicit explanation. JNTO pairs these visuals with carefully selected textual expressions such as “heartfelt,” “authentic,” and “crafted with care,” which help emotionalize the viewer’s perception and frame Omotenashi as a warm, spiritual, and culturally grounded experience. The findings indicate that JNTO deliberately simplifies and aestheticizes Omotenashi to make it more accessible to international audiences. Rather than attempting to convey the full cultural complexity of this practice, JNTO constructs a romanticized narrative that positions Omotenashi as both a distinctive and desirable tourism offering. This strategy allows the organization to effectively “sell the spirit” of Japan by transforming a deeply embedded cultural value into a consumable tourism product. The study demonstrates how intangible cultural concepts can be reinterpreted through semiotic design to strengthen national tourism branding.

In the context of Sub-Saharan Africa's (SSA) ambitious industrialization agenda and its quest for global competitiveness, this systematic literature review critically examines the increasingly vital role of Kaizen—a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement—within the region's diverse industrial sectors. Synthesizing evidence from 78 peer-reviewed articles and case studies published between 2010 and 2024, and adhering to the PRISMA framework. The review firmly positions Kaizen not merely as an operational tool, but as a strategic imperative for fostering enhanced competitiveness and sustainable growth within these emerging economies. The findings clearly demonstrate measurable and substantial improvements across critical operational dimensions. Operational efficiency has seen reported productivity increases ranging from 15% to 30%, largely achieved through waste reduction, optimized process flows, and enhanced resource utilization. Concurrently, quality management shows remarkable enhancements, with up to a 40% reduction in defects and rework, attributed to process standardization, root cause analysis, and proactive quality control. Beyond tangible metrics, Kaizen fosters greater workforce engagement, empowering employees through suggestion systems and problem-solving teams, leading to boosted morale and improved safety across diverse manufacturing subsectors like automotive, textiles, and food processing. Despite these encouraging outcomes, pervasive implementation barriers limit Kaizen's full potential and scalability in SSA. Foremost is entrenched cultural resistance to change, stemming from hierarchical management structures, a prevailing fear of failure, and an organizational short-term focus. Widespread infrastructural deficiencies, including unreliable power supply, inadequate logistics, and limited access to advanced manufacturing technologies, pose significant practical challenges. Addressing these systemic obstacles is paramount for improving Kaizen's transformative power and contributing to SSA's sustainable industrial development.

The article examines the problem of using the ideas of set theory and general topology in philosophy on the example of book by Japanese philosopher Tanabe Hajime (1885–1962) The Development of Historicism in Mathematics. It is known that topological models have been successfully applied in physics in quantum field theory. Tanabe Hajime, along with Pavel Florensky and Vladimir Ern, was one of the first to raise the question of the applicability of topology in the social and humanitarian sciences, generating with its help a model of history. Tanabe uses the tools of topology, such as the concepts of a set, its density, neighborhood, con­tinuum, section, etc., to describe and explain the mechanisms underlying social reality not as a spatial phenomenon, but as a historical time continuum. The article focuses on such components of Tanabe’s philosophy as the concept of the conti­nuity of time and history, the features of understanding the present and the relation­ship between time modes, criticism of the unification of time and space, and the con­cept of historicism. The result that the author of the article came to is the clarification of the role and place of mathematical terms and theories in the philosophical system of Tanabe Hajime, who was not limited to the use of mathematical analogies, but also actually raised the question of mathematical modeling of history.

This article explores two childhood-centred short films from Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (1990), ‘Sunshine through the Rain’ and ‘The Peach Orchard’, through the lens of Japanese philosophy and morality. Drawing on Shinto and Zen Buddhist thought, the article examines how Kurosawa frames guilt, transgression and spiritual awakening as intertwined with nature and childhood experience. These shorts reflect a moral cosmology rooted in ecological and ancestral consciousness, offering an autobiographical vision of ethical growth from darkness to illumination.

The article examines the contents of the book “Worlds of Japanese Culture” by E.L. Skvortsova and A.L. Lutsky (Moscow, St. Petersburg: Center for Humanitarian Initiatives, 2025. 582 p. Series “Tree of Meanings.” ISBN 978-5-98712-499-4). The review outlines the main topics addressed by the authors of the book: the development of Japanese philosophy and sociology in the modern period, the problems faced by Japanese society in the 21st century, the essence and characteristic features of Japanese civilization. According to the author of the review, the book is a valuable contribution to the study of modern philosophy and culture of Japan as a whole.

21st-century modern Japanese philosophy is a subject broadly studied in Thailand. However, many Thai students and scholars are still confused about what modern Japanese philosophy is. Objectives: 1) To provide arguments from modern Japanese philosophers to clarify the scope of understanding, leading to a distinction between what modern Japanese philosophy is and its general context in Japan. 2) To motivate engagement with modern Japanese philosophy in today's digitalized and globalized environment. The analysis includes philosophical analysis, content analysis, and description. Modern Japanese philosophy has been constructed based on ideas rooted in Western thought, harmonized with Japanese culture, and expressed in a more "universal" manner within a digitalized and globalized environment. This article aims to inspire and serve as a valuable addition for students, researchers, and teachers in the fields of philosophy, religious studies, and peace studies, promoting effective learning outcomes, philosophizing, and research on modern Japanese philosophy and culture in the digital era and globalization.

Abstract This paper explores the relationship between Aristotle’s Metaphysics and the Kyoto School of Japanese philosophy. Specifically, it focuses on the central role of the concept of nothingness in the work of Kitaro Nishida, the founding figure of the Kyoto School and its link to the notion of ousia prôtè . As I will demonstrate, the notion of nothingness in contrast to its more traditional nihilistic formulations plays an active and productive role, particularly regarding the nature of existence. Nishida’s dynamic nothingness in fact bears a remarkable affinity with the notion of ousia prôtè as developed in Aristotle’s Metaphysics as a perpetual act of determination. Through an extension of Annick Stevens and Annick Jaulin’s work and moving in concert with scholars such as Jacynthe Tremblay and Robert J.J Wargo, I will pursue a close reading of the decomposition of the negative spatiality of nothingness throughout the “determination without a determinant”, that is, the act of the ousia prôtè . I argue that it is only through a reconsideration of both being and nothingness that the central tenants of both thinkers can be fully understood and appreciated. Placing these two major thinkers of existence side by side thus offers a unique perspective from which to address their individual contributions to the idea of being and nothingness.

In 2024, a two-volume edition of N.N. Trubnikova’s translation and study of Shasekishū was republished. Shasekishū is a 13th-century Buddhist collection of setsuwa didactic tales. The compiler of the anthology, monk Mujū Ichien (1226–1312), presents diverse narratives borrowed from numerous sources, providing them with religious-philosophical commentary, vivid and often very detailed. The second volume includes the researcher’s essays on Mujū Ichien himself, the historical and cultural context of the compilation’s creation, the setsuwa genre as a whole, and various aspects that were addressed in the monk’s discourses, alongside other supplementary materials.

Japanese philosopher Tanabe Hajime (1885-1962) not only discussed religion in ways that were rooted in the fundamental claims of his writings, such as Shinran in Philosophy as Metanoetics (1946), but he also made proposals on religion, as in Demonstration of Christianity (1948), where he advocated for the need for a "second religious reformation." For Tanabe, philosophy and religion (along with science) are fused in a specific way, and it is possible to find a vision of religion to be aimed for that is worth considering as a theory of religion among Japanese philosophers. To examine the theory of religion of Tanabe, this study focuses on the work, Demonstration of Christianity, and other works from the perspective of religious studies. In Demonstration of Christianity, the concept of absolute religion toward the second religious reformation is envisioned based on Tanabe's dialectics of the absolute mediation, and a discussion on his world religion can be found, although it is limited to Christianity and some Buddhist sects. Reflecting his absolute dialectic, Tanabe says that this world religion was established through the absolute mediation of Christianity with " Nembutsu-Zen " (the unification of Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism). One cannot deny the impression of Christocentrism in these discussions, but they are in the result of Tanabe's thoroughness in philosophy. What can be drawn from these discussions is that Tanabe's theory of religion is strongly connected to Platonism, which he considered the root of his dialectics. For example, the third article in Existence, Love, and Practice(1947), "Self-Transcendence in Platonism and Faith in Gospel." Tanabe's argument reveals the characteristics of conceiving a new religion that combines Buddhism and Christianity, philosophy, and religion through a creative interpretation of Platonism, the source of Western thought where philosophy and religion are inseparably linked.

This paper emphasizes the value of śūnyatā, through the lens of Japanese philosopher Nishitani Keiji, in fostering global philosophical dialogue. First, we highlight how Nishitani interprets śūnyatā, or ‘emptiness’, as a fundamental relationality, distinct from substantiality. The second section situates Nishitani’s thought within the rising paradigm of relational thinking, now influential in philosophy, feminism, social sciences, and interdisciplinary studies. We note that these discourses have been largely shaped by Anglo-European thinkers, overlooking contributions from philosophers like Nishitani. In the final section of this paper, we illustrate how Nishitani’s concept of ‘emptiness’ could form the foundation for an intercultural philosophical method that allows for a global dialogue moving beyond the critique of existing discourses. This ultimately implies an understanding of philosophy as pedagogical practice.

Abstract The publication of Inoue Tetsujirō’s (1855–1944) The Philosophy of the Japanese Yangming School (1900) marked the birth of ‘Japanese philosophy’. In the early exploration of Japanese philosophy, the existence of a ‘twofold other’ – the ‘others’ of ‘philosophy’ and of kanji and kango components of Chinese origin in the Japanese script and language – became an unavoidable problem. In modernizing traditional scholarship to adapt it to the Western paradigm of ‘philosophy’, the first problem was the ‘other’ of ‘philosophy’. Discussions of the kokugo reform and the nationalization of the Japanese language originated precisely from kanji and kango representing the ‘other’. Inoue actively advocated abolishing kanji and creating a ‘new national script’ (shin kokuji). Nevertheless, he took the kanbun texts of early modern Confucianism as his object, and wrote his three ‘Japanese philosophy’ books, the so-called Trilogy of Tokugawa Confucianism. We argue that Inoue overcame the inconsistency in his positions on language politics and philosophy and paved the way to construct ‘Japanese philosophy’ through his ‘pan-philosophical’ outlook while advocating the creation of a new national script only for linguistic convenience. Thus, he was able to avoid the problem of twofold ‘otherness’ and cohere his theoretical position. However, Inoue’s path was soon abandoned.

The review examines the monographic studies of E. L. Skvortsova and A. L. Lutsky “Worlds of Japanese Culture”, which reveal the features of the ideal of knowledge and cognitive attitude to reality in Japanese culture. The ideal of knowledge underlies the worldview, world perception and worldview of an inhabitant of the Land of the Rising Sun throughout his life. The originality and universal features of the historical picture of the world of Japanese culture are considered not just as a reflection of the logic of the development of Japanese spirituality itself, but also because of cross-cultural interaction. The "multilayered complexity" of this culture is revealed. This book is a study that opens new pages in understanding another culture, its traditions formed and developed at the crossroads of various civilizations. It is no coincidence that the work, within the framework of comparative philosophy and culture, examines the meeting of the worlds of Japanese, Russian and European cultures, traces the development of Japanese scientific thought, philosophy and sociology. The authors pay special attention to the current problems of preserving national identity, as well as issues of social processes reflected in Japanese fiction. The pages devoted to the cultural meanings of “Nothing as an expression of true reality in Japanese philosophy” and the connection of the category of Nothing with the tea ceremony are very informative and interesting.

Thomas P. Kasulis, Engaging Japanese Philosophy: A Short History

This paper investigates the contemporary meaning of umwelt theory by comparing it with fūdo theory. The Japanese term ‘fūdo’ is similar to ‘umwelt’ as it carefully revises how subject and object relate to each other. Fūdo theory was developed by Tetsuro Watsuji (1889–1960), a Japanese philosopher; Kinji Imanishi (1902–1992), a Japanese biologist; and Augustin Berque (b. 1942), a French geographer and philosopher. First, this paper investigates Watsuji’s view of the place of ‘self ’ in the environment and Imanishi’s view of the place of species in the environment. Second, it compares how umwelt and fūdo theories address problems related to the subject and environment, harmony, the concept of nature, and disciplinarity, pointing out the parallelism between the two theories. Third, this paper examines the relevance and interpretation of umwelt and fūdo theories in contemporary academic discourse, with a focus on the concepts of harmony and totality.