There are plenty of reasons to learn Japanese. For one, the Japanese are Kings of "Soft Power", or cultural influence. The internet, videogames and children's cartoons are heavily influenced by the cute, cuddly touch of Japanese heritage. While some of this reaches us, it is only the tip of the iceberg.

There is no question that the prize is a valuable initiative showcasing Taiwan’s soft power and desire to make the world a better place. In providing a platform where exceptional international minds can come together and participate in meaningful dialogue, the prize is addressing new challenges of the modern world by combining millennium-old wisdom of the East with the cutting-edge technology of the West.

In today's times, China has adopted soft power in a different sense. It is concerned to couch its rise to global power in non-threatening tones. Not wanting, like Germany and Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to threaten the existing world order and provoke a world war, it wishes to present its rise as harmonious.

Turkey's massive soft power has rapidly evaporated as Ankara attempted to impose its values on others.  Due to its soft power, every actor in the Middle East -- Sunnis and Shiites, autocratic regimes and pro-reform critics, Israel and Palestinians -- trusted Ankara's integrity.

Foreign education is both a vital 'export' service that earns sizable revenue, and a powerful connector between countries and peoples. Then why are education facilities for foreign students treated as a neglected orphan in India? 

Joseph W. Westphal, ambassador of the United States to Saudi Arabia, met Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari on Thursday to discuss strengthening of educational relations between the US and Saudi Arabia.

A far more compelling contest between Ghana and Germany will shortly demand your attention.  But just for an instant, you were a witness to someone else’s history. You wanted them to do well. That’s the most potent form of diplomacy.