|
The more Japans global relevance in economic, political and military terms seems to decline, the more it cares about projecting soft power. The governments Cool Japan project subsidizes attractive products or services that, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, make full use of the unique characteristics of Japanese culture and lifestyle. These include decorative washi paper, a cosplay-inspired clothing brand and a bonsai plant grown with renewable energy.日本在全球经济、政治和军事领域的重要性看似下滑得越厉害，它就越关心如何展示自己的软实力。政府推出了“酷日本”(Cool Japan)计划。经济产业省表示，该计划资助那些“充分利用了日本文化和生活方式独特性的诱人产品或服务”。其中包括装饰和纸、角色扮演风格的服装品牌，以及使用可再生能源的盆栽。Despite this concern, both the Japanese government and the Japanese people seem unaware of the global impact of Japans most successful cultural export to date: the so-called Suzuki Method of music instruction.尽管存在这种担忧，但日本政府和公众似乎都不知道，迄今为止，日本最成功的文化输出——名为“铃木教学法”(Suzuki Method)的一种音乐教学方式——具有怎样的全球影响力。Originally conceived in the 1930s by the violinist Shinichi Suzuki, the Suzuki Method proposes that all children can learn to play an instrument as naturally as they learn to speak their native language. According to the Talent Education Research Institute, an educational organization founded by Mr. Suzuki, about 400,000 children in 46 countries are now learning to play musical instruments the Suzuki way. But just 20,000 of them are Japanese. As the institute puts it, the method has earned high acclaim overseas, more so than at home.这个方法最初由小提琴家铃木镇一(Shinichi Suzuki)在20世纪30年代提出。它主张，所有小孩都能学会演奏乐器，就像他们学会讲自己的母语一样。铃木镇一创办了才能教育研究会(Talent Education Research Institute)。该教育机构的资料显示，目前在46个国家有40万儿童正在铃木教学法的帮助下学习演奏乐器，其中仅有2万儿童是日本人。研究会指出，和在日本国内相比，该方法“在海外赢得了很高的评价”。 | 
