The Age of Pursuing “Meta” Perspectives
Nurturing the Next Generation through “Global Education”
Interview with Ikuko Atsumi, President of Global Education Inc.
As we stand at a historic turning point, there is a growing need to cultivate individuals with a global—indeed, a “meta”—perspective. We spoke with Ms. Ikuko Atsumi, a leader in global education, about the core principles and practical application of “Global Education.”
(Interviewed by Koichi Tanaka)
“A Global Perspective”
— Could you please introduce your concept of “Global Education”?
What we advocate as “Global Education” can be defined as a “comprehensive character education for the 21st century, founded on a global perspective”—that is, the ability to see things from a planet-sized viewpoint.
Since the 1980s, I have been developing models for global business education in the United States, and researching world cultures with Dutch scholars. Through these experiences, I felt the urgent need for global education in Japan.
Currently, we are putting this education into practice at a high school in Fukuoka, where there is keen interest in the subject.
— It seems the importance of nurturing the next generation with a global outlook is growing, including in religious communities.
One thing I’d like to emphasize is that, regardless of differences in faith, there is a shared purpose for all humanity.
Looking at the world today, it is crucial to have a perspective that encompasses the whole globe. Over 3,000 years ago, through Moses’ Ten Commandments, humanity was given the basic imperatives “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not steal” as the voice of God. However, these commandments have never truly been fulfilled in human history.
Especially after the invention and proliferation of nuclear weapons in the 1940s, I believe humanity made a grave mistake.
Yet, we must not give up. We need to bring together human wisdom and make every effort to address problems from a global, ethical standpoint.
Japanese schools rarely teach the reality of the “terrible things” happening in the world. Before exploring what is needed to prevent conflicts, the topic is often substituted with simple statements like “We desire peace.”
Of course, desiring peace is natural. But in Global Education, rather than stopping there, we aim to concretely clarify why we cannot put an end to destruction and killing.
This is what we teach to high school students. Unless we solve this together, humanity may face extinction. We convey such realities to students who are otherwise enjoying their school life.
However, our lessons are not pessimistic. The students are bright and actively think about “why humanity cannot stop war” and “what they themselves can do.”
Currently, 450 students are enrolled in these classes. Our goal is to help them acquire the ability to view the world as a whole, grasp the worst-case scenarios, and solve problems from a shared, global human perspective.
Incidentally, “ethics” is also indispensable for nurturing global-minded individuals. Ethics is the external standard for what human beings must never do—and what they must do—as humans.
What Should We Do for the Future of Humanity?
— How do you view the current state of the world?
In the 20th century, humanity experienced two world wars. Even now, in the early 21st century, wars continue.
What has gone wrong? For example, President Trump has criticized the emergence of communism in the 19th century. The U.S. believed that by recognizing and supporting the Chinese Communist regime, China would become part of the international community. But he regards this as a grave mistake.
— Some say that the values of democracy are crumbling.
We have been taught that “democracy is right.” But now, globally, democracy is actually in decline.
It has become clear that democracy does not always guarantee the best outcomes for all or uphold justice. Some groups still desire a more socialist society—the U.S. Democratic Party is a typical example. In contrast, President Trump and the Republicans are trying to stop this trend, in my view.
Most of the media focus on criticizing President Trump, highlighting his character flaws. He may not be perfect, but there are points that deserve recognition.
What matters most is “what a leader actually accomplishes.” Looking at the world, we lack true leaders today.
The crucial question is what we must do for the future of humanity—just criticizing the problems is meaningless. I believe we should strive toward fulfilling our common purpose as human beings.
Toward Humanity’s Common Purpose
Why is it so difficult to move toward a common purpose? Since the emergence of the nation-state in the late 18th century, every country has fostered a love of country through its education.
Loving one’s country is good. But if we remain only at that level, conflicts between nations will never be fundamentally resolved. For example, China’s “patriotic education” has worsened its image of Japan.
Instead, I believe we should consider how to direct our national education toward humanity’s shared goals, by first viewing the situation as a whole.
For this reason, it is time to introduce global education from high school, nurturing people who can think about the future of both Japan and humanity from a worldwide perspective.
In 2022, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (Davos), suggested that humanity must “reset.”
However, Schwab and certain globalists advocate a reset in which individuals own no capital—supposedly, this would ensure world peace. This is essentially a communist idea, denying capitalism. Schwab recently announced his resignation amid corruption allegations.
Furthermore, the expansion of liberal globalists, including the United Nations, has become increasingly evident. Originally, globalization was supposed to be a 21st-century philosophy and set of skills, but “globalism” emerged, leading to the rise of socialism (communism) through negative aspects of globalists.
So, what should be the real purpose of humanity’s “reset”? Elon Musk speaks of this in terms of Japanese values. He argues that it is vital to avoid selfish greed and to adopt a Japanese philosophy of “knowing sufficiency” (contentment).
Although Musk has also been criticized for his forceful methods and is stepping down from political leadership, his view that all humanity should embrace Japanese values is something with which Japanese people can agree.
Musk is a free spirit, not bound by any particular “-ism,” and has had encounters with Christianity. While valuing Japanese culture, he also shares his personal spiritual experiences with God, and even practices things akin to Kukai’s esoteric Buddhism, such as the power of silence. He uses his own experiences as a gateway to appreciate Japanese values. While there may be excesses, he is accomplishing something significant.
Conversely, perhaps this means humanity has been driven to the point where our only hope lies here.
Every month, I hold Zoom seminars on global education and share these ideas. I believe sensible people in Japan should speak up for a positive “reset” for humanity.
The specific aims include controlling nuclear weapons, going beyond patriotic education, and fostering an ethical sense that can rein in the runaway advance of technology.
Three Perspectives for Understanding the World
In our global education program for junior and senior high school students, we present three perspectives for understanding the world:
- Domestic (national) perspective
- Global perspective
- Meta (transcendent) perspective
Everyone has the first—domestic perspective. The second is a global perspective at the planetary level. The third, “meta,” includes religion. I believe all three are essential. Without them, we cannot truly understand things or work toward solutions.
What Japanese people currently lack is the second (global) and third (meta) perspectives. The widespread aversion to religion, I believe, stems from not understanding the meta perspective—people think they’re being deceived.
For example, the ideological clash between the U.S. and China cannot be resolved by a global perspective alone. We must stand “above” (meta). To ascend means to aim for shared human values—meta values. In this sense, I believe ours is an “age of pursuing meta.”
That meta is found in Japanese values. Unless we are connected at the meta level, fundamental change for humanity will not happen.
In other words, the clash of “-isms,” the denial of others’ personalities, or refusing to recognize human relationships—these approaches are inadequate.
Students with a Positive Attitude— What are the students like who are participating in your classes?
The students do not become gloomy; instead, they are learning to think for themselves.
At the high school where we are currently implementing this program, the initial number of participants was 450, last year 400, and this year 450 students again.
Among them, the top 10–20% are truly appreciative, recognizing that the values of global education are essential for their lives and embracing them positively.
The middle group listens with a vaguely positive attitude, wanting to learn something from the program.
The remaining 10% were initially less interested, but have gradually become more engaged through the influence of their peers.
What’s important is that we have taken time to help the 10 or so first-year teachers understand the meaning of global education.
When we ask them for specific support, they do not intervene unnecessarily, but provide assistance when it’s really needed.
This practice was made possible because the school’s chairman understands the purpose of global education.
He has a vision to nurture leaders who will support Japan in the future, and is working on establishing new elementary schools nationwide over 16 years.
The Global Education program consists of eight chapters. After 9/11, I developed this program in the U.S. and brought it to Japan.
We use virtual case studies of leaders from different eras and regions, who, when faced with crisis, created or obtained “ground rules” to restore cohesion and work together with their people to rebuild society.
We call on students to create such ground rules themselves—so that all 8 billion people can understand the meta world—and the program concludes with the students actually producing them.
This gives students a sense of achievement, as they have created something by themselves.
What matters most is identity. Unfortunately, Japanese people often lack this.
Experiencing the Meta
— How do you prompt students to think?
For example, we ask: “If you were Moses, what would you do?”
You are leading tens of thousands of people to the Promised Land. You have heard the voice of God and must see the mission through. But in reality, you have only a few pieces of bread and little wine. How will the people endure hunger? This is truly a “meta” world.
The Israelites, who started as slaves—the lowest class—become God’s chosen people. Their identity is suddenly elevated from minus to plus.
This happens when Moses receives the stone tablets with God’s words and descends from Mount Sinai. It is a quintessential meta experience. If Japanese students could experience this kind of rise in identity, it would be wonderful.
Another important point is not to tell students, “You must do this.”
Instead, we present concrete examples, encourage students to think, and even if their answers are wrong, we accept them together and applaud.
We do not teach only the negative side of things, but communicate facts one by one.
We teach students that without all three perspectives, you cannot see the full picture.
With these three perspectives, students can move freely between them, and only by having a sense of ownership can they truly see things.
[Profile]
Ikuko Atsumi
Co-founder of Global Education. President and CEO of Global Education Inc.
In the 1980s, after serving as an associate professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, she moved to the high-tech region outside Boston, USA, and founded a 21st-century-style training company.
She was the one who launched a new global education program, and, coincidentally, at the same time, a similar initiative was being developed in the Netherlands—without either side being aware of the other. She was even featured in Time magazine.
Her clients include world-class companies such as DuPont Worldwide, IBM USA, UTC, and Honda North America.
The 9/11 attacks convinced her of the need to provide global education to children around the world.
After returning to Japan in 2007, she has worked to promote the independence of individuals and nations through Japanese corporations and secondary schools.
Author of “Conditions for Becoming a Globally Competitive Person” (PHP) and “The Cultural World Map” (Sekai Chizu-sha).
Creator of the program “10 Steps to the Global Village.”
