After the Great Earthquake, Japan Transforms The 9/11 terror in 2001 had driven the United States into the Neocon Era until the end of Bush adminis-tration. Just like that, the Great Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accident that took place on March 11th, 2011 have been driving the Japanese society in a new direction. Nationalism has been strengthened. Evidences are the elevated status of the Comfort Women and the raising of Dokdo issues. The Great Earthquake shook not only the Earth’s crust but also the foundation of Japanese society. Further, it will have a great impact on the relationships between Japan and its neighboring countries as well as on the future of Asia as a whole. A Motive to Re-examine the Existing Civil Society. In his lecture, Terashima Jitsuro, Japan’s representative critic, addresses this question directly. He claims that Fukushima accident has triggered the Japanese to recognize the need to re-examine the existing civil society. The Japanese had rarely staged demonstrations. However, after experiencing the horror of nuc-lear power, hundreds and thousands of Japanese people came out to the streets to stage a demonstration to show their demand for more renewable energy sources. Their action depicts the change in social atmosphere, calling for a new energy policy. After the nuclear accident, Tokyo Electricity was harshly criticized for having made a corporate decision that prioritized revenue generation over safety and sticking to the old nuclear power plant model. The critics claimed that their corporate decision worsened the consequences of the accident. In response, the Japanese Government announced that it would strengthen their control over energy policies. Terashima predicts that this would also heighten the Government’s intervention on corporate activities. He forecasts, “It is hard to imagine the strengthening of Neo-liberalism under this circumstance. If not realizing a planned economy, the society is becoming quasi-public and state regulations will only be strengthened”. He also predicts that the strengthening of state regulations on top of the destruction of Tohoku region by the Earthquake will lead the Japanese corporations to go overseas and may trigger de-industrialization. However, he proposes that this could also be a motive for the Japanese corporations to establish new business models and new collaborative relationships as they would set their feet in other Asian countries. Japan Benefits from China’s and Korea’s Prosperity He suggests the citizens of the East Asian countries to establish a community by celebrating other’s suc-cess, like how Japan benefits from China’s and Korea’s prosperity. After being defeated, Germany apologized for having triggered the World War II and collaborated with France to become one of the leading members of European Union. He says that Japan also needs to endeavor to make allies with Korea and China. He says, “It is unfortunate that Japan has not done so before entering the 21st century. They need to open up the old wounds and inconvenient truths and talk about them. If that’s too difficult, they at least need to be making small efforts to establish true friendships”. Who is Terashima Jitsuro? Terashima Jitsuro is a representative critique of Japan. He started writing in 1970. He maintains close relationships with Democratic politicians such as Ichiro Ojawa, the former Secretary General, and Yukio Hatoyama, the former Prime Minister. He drew the blueprint for ‘East Asia Community Theory’ that the former Prime Minister, Hatoyama, advocated. He graduated from Waseda University and has worked as the director of the original branch and the executive director of the Washington office at Mitsui Inc. Lee Bong Hyun, Research Fellow, Hankyoreh Economic Research Institute bhlee@hani.co.kr