This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Japanese Ethics — most prominently associated with Tetsuro Watsuji — to re-read the PACIGF 2018 Port Vila 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. PACIGF is a venue where each country's fudo and aidagara intersect.
This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of PACIGF 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 Port Vila and the aidagara formed there constitute the quality of discussion. Vanuatu's concept of relational responsibility relativizes a privacy discourse skewed to individual responsibility.
Each session's agenda-setting can be read as a contemporary restaging of the Tetsuro Watsuji-type problematic.
The regional IGF (PACIGF) holds a philosophically distinct position as the intermediate category mediating global universality and national particularity.
Relational responsibility
Tetsuro Watsuji's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2018 conference. We examine that application below.
1. Application to "接続性"
Discussion of "接続性" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a central problematic. In Vanuatu's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 接続性 are particularly at stake.
2. Application to "若者"
Discussion of "若者" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a derivative problematic. In Vanuatu's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 若者 are particularly at stake.
3. Application to "災害"
Discussion of "災害" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Vanuatu's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 災害 are particularly at stake.
4. Application to "地域協調"
Discussion of "地域協調" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Vanuatu's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 地域協調 are particularly at stake.
5. Application to "越境データ"
Discussion of "越境データ" can be positioned, from the perspective of Tetsuro Watsuji's Aidagara (relational being) and fudo (climate), as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Vanuatu's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 越境データ 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 Vanuatu.
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 Vanuatu
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 PACIGF.
- PACIGF 2018 Port Vila 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6月10日 15時56分（記事コンテンツアップ）
— 中澤祐樹
