Is Nationalism on the Rise in Japan?

Observers argue that in recent years, particularly under the Shinzo Abe government, Japan has grown more nationalistic. At a precarious time in East Asian international relations, such a trend would have significant implications for Japan’s relations with China, South Korea, and the United States. But is Japanese nationalism actually behaving as many commentators assert? This paper defines and measures Japanese nationalism across time and across space. It finds that Japanese nationalism is not “on the rise”: that it is actually moving in a more cosmopolitan (rather than nationalistic) direction.