Japan's soft power in the researching of Russian and foreign scholars

The professional interest in this analysis is due, firstly, to the fact that any national strategy for the accumulation and use of "soft power" in the sphere of foreign affairs relies, as a rule, on scientific doctrine, so, those characteristics of the "soft power" that the national scientific community and authorities assess as the most important, most likely, will be reflected in practical political concepts and actions on the accumulation and use of "soft power". The second reason is related to the fact that even during the first steps in studying of "soft power" phenomenon, J. Nye referred Japan to the leading countries, which were able to attract world community and build up this foreign policy resource. Studying and evaluating the Japanese experience of using soft power resources by Russian scholars is one of the most effective ways of adopting the most successful ways of forming «soft power» platform on national level in Russia. The author came to the conclusion that despite the ongoing discussion around the structure of "soft power" phenomenon and the effectiveness of its application, a number of scientific approaches to research this foreign policy resource have been formulated both in Japan and in Russia, as well as a list of the main criteria for "soft power" index.