This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Japanese Ethics — most prominently associated with Tetsuro Watsuji — to re-read the Global IGF 2017 Geneva conference. Target audience: researchers, doctoral students, policy analysts, and executives.
Introduction: The Problem
Watsuji's Fudo and Ethics presented a Japanese ethics that conceives humans as "relational beings" (aidagara) against Western individualism. Global IGF is a venue where each country's fudo and aidagara intersect.
This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of Global IGF becomes intelligible in its specificity only through the concept of Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), and that the concept itself undergoes transformation under the new material of digital space. Describing this mutual transformation is the task of this essay.
Fudo of digital space
The fudo of Geneva and the aidagara formed there constitute the quality of discussion. Switzerland's concept of relational responsibility relativizes a privacy discourse skewed to individual responsibility.
The conference theme "Shape Your Digital Future!" carries implications beyond a mere policy slogan. It can be positioned as a contemporary reformulation, in digital-era vocabulary, of the kinds of questions Tetsuro Watsuji problematized.
The form of the Global IGF stands between the principle of national sovereignty and the logic of a global public realm that transcends it.
Relational responsibility
Tetsuro Watsuji's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2017 conference. We examine that application below.
1. Application to "AI初議論"
Discussion of "AI初議論" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a central problematic. In Switzerland's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around AI初議論 are particularly at stake.
2. Application to "IoT"
Discussion of "IoT" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a derivative problematic. In Switzerland's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around IoT are particularly at stake.
3. Application to "ビッグデータ"
Discussion of "ビッグデータ" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Switzerland's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around ビッグデータ are particularly at stake.
4. Application to "ジェンダー"
Discussion of "ジェンダー" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Switzerland's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around ジェンダー are particularly at stake.
5. Application to "国連連携"
Discussion of "国連連携" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Switzerland's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 国連連携 are particularly at stake.
Implications for Executives and Practitioners
The philosophical reflection of this essay is not merely academic. The Tetsuro Watsuji perspective carries three practical implications for executives operating in Switzerland.
First, it raises the reflexive question of how the firm's business model connects to the logic of Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate). Second, in dialogue with regulators and civil society, it suggests dimensions of consensus formation that purely technical arguments cannot reach. Third, it indicates that the long-term ground of business legitimacy lies not so much in technical advantage or market share as in participation in such philosophical-normative debates.
Academic Positioning and Future Research
The argument of this essay attempts to graft a philosophical perspective onto the mainstream political-science and legal approaches to internet governance research. Three future research questions follow.
- Verification of the applicability of Tetsuro Watsuji's framework to other IGF conferences
- Comparative contrast between Japanese Ethics and other theoretical traditions
- Exploration of dialogue possibilities with the indigenous intellectual traditions of Switzerland
In particular, the third point has the potential to liberate IGF research from West-centric debate and open a more multi-layered discursive space.
Primary Sources
- IGF Secretariat. Annual Reports of Global IGF.
- Global IGF 2017 Geneva Conference Materials.
- Japan IGF Support Organization. https://japanigf.jp/
- Nakazawa Yuki Blog. https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Secondary Sources (Philosophy)
- Works of Tetsuro Watsuji (representative texts of Japanese Ethics)
*This piece belongs to the academic essays (philosophy series). The author's views do not necessarily represent those of any institutional affiliation. Feedback and critique are welcome.*
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第1稿投稿 2026年7月8日 11時22分（記事コンテンツアップ）
— 中澤祐樹
