Contemporary Japan

Last updated
Contemporary Japan
Contemporary Japan.jpg
CategoriesJapanese politics, Foreign affairs
FrequencyQuarterly
Publisher Foreign Affairs Association of Japan
First issueJune 1932
Final issue
Number		March 1970
volume XXIX number 2
Country Japan
Based in Tokyo
LanguageEnglish

Contemporary Japan: A Review of Far Eastern Affairs was a quarterly [1] Japanese English-language magazine published between 1932 and 1970 by the Foreign Affairs Association of Japan.

Contents

Though independently published, throughout its existence the magazine had close ties with the Japanese government. It was described by John W. Dower as "a valuable semi-official Japanese publication". [2]

Origin and content

Contemporary Japan was the flagship publication of the Foreign Affairs Association of Japan, an organization founded in October 1931 by Japanese politicians and intellectuals seeking to promote awareness in foreign countries about Japanese affairs. [3] The editorial preface of the first issue explained the magazine's aim "to know and to make known what is going on in Japan and in the minds of the Japanese." [4]

The bulk of each issue consisted of translations into English of the articles and speeches of Japanese writers, scholars, and politicians. The first issue, for instance, included contributions from Hakucho Masamune, Taketora Ogata, Yamamoto Jōtarō, and Sakutaro Tachi who was also one of its editors. [5] The launch of the periodical was praised by the Financial Times "for the good work it will do in the propagation of a better knowledge of the nation" at a time when Japan's relations with the outside world were "increasingly complicated". [6]

In June 1932 the magazine could be purchased for 1 yen and 50 sen per issue, [6] but by 1970 the price per issue had risen to 1,500 yen. [7]

The Foreign Affairs Association of Japan which published Contemporary Japan had links with the Japanese government. In 1932 its administrative council included such figures as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Nobuaki Makino, former prime minister Kosai Uchida, future prime minister Fumimaro Konoe, and former foreign ministers Kijūrō Shidehara and Kikujiro Ishii. [5] Though the magazine's first issue stressed that it had "no party affiliations, political or otherwise" and sought "to obtain as many representative opinions as possible", [8] it also opened with a special message from Foreign Minister Kenkichi Yoshizawa, which was stridently defensive of Japan's conduct in Manchuria and Shanghai. [9] The periodical later explained that "on controversial subjects, where national viewpoints are in conflict, it can be taken for granted that our contributors will defend, expound, and do their utmost to propagate, the Japanese view". [10]

During the 1930s and 1940s Contemporary Japan was strongly supportive of Japanese imperialism and expansionism in China [11] and after its formation the Cabinet Information Bureau, the official propaganda arm of the Imperial Japanese government, supported the magazine. [12] Because of this its parent body, the Foreign Affairs Association of Japan, officially registered itself in the United States on November 29, 1938 as being an agent of the Japanese government. [13]

End of the magazine

Though Contemporary Japan continued to be produced during World War II and for decades after, publication abruptly ceased with volume 29 number 2 which was released in March 1970. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of Japan</span> Supreme law of Japan

The Constitution of Japan is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. It was written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II. The current Japanese constitution was promulgated as an amendment of the Meiji Constitution of 1890 on 3 November 1946 when it came into effect on 3 May 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanaka Giichi</span> Japanese general (1864–1929)

Baron Tanaka Giichi was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, politician, cabinet minister, and the Prime Minister of Japan from 1927 to 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamaguchi Osachi</span> Japanese politician

Hamaguchi Osachi was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister and Prime Minister of Japan from 1929 to 1931. Nicknamed the "Lion Prime Minister" due to his dignified demeanor and mane-like hair, Hamaguchi served as leading member of the liberal Rikken Minseitō during the "Taishō democracy" of interwar Japan. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1915 until his death. He initially survived an assassination attempt by a right-wing extremist in 1930, but died about nine months later from a bacterial infection in his unhealed wounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kijūrō Shidehara</span> Japanese politician

Baron Kijūrō Shidehara was a pre–World War II Japanese diplomat and politician. He was prime minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946 and a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II. He was the last Japanese Prime Minister who was a member of the peerage (kazoku). His wife, Masako, was the fourth daughter of Iwasaki Yatarō, founder of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitoshi Ashida</span> Prime Minister of Japan in 1948

Hitoshi Ashida was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal targeting two of his cabinet ministers.

The Humanity Declaration is an imperial rescript issued by Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, as part of a New Year's statement on 1 January 1946 at the request of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. In the rescript, which started with his citation of the Five Charter Oath of 1868, the Emperor denied the concept of his divinity, which would eventually lead to the promulgation of the new Constitution, under which the Emperor is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tōyō Bunko</span> Art museum, Library in Tokyo, Japan

The Tōyō Bunko (東洋文庫), or Oriental Library, is Japan's largest Asian studies library and one of the world's five largest, located in Tokyo. It also functions as a research institute dedicated to the study of Asian history and culture. It has greatly contributed to the development of Asian Studies through the acquisition of books and other source materials as well as the publication of research by Japanese scholars. Presently, the library contains approximately 950,000 volumes which are cataloged linguistically according to Asian, Western and Japanese language materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese militarism</span> Militaristic ideology espoused by Imperial Japan (1873–1945)

Japanese militarism was the ideology in the Empire of Japan which advocated the belief that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and the belief that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation. It was most prominent from the start of conscription after the Meiji Restoration until the Japanese defeat in World War II, roughly 1873 to 1945. Since then, pacifism has been enshrined in the postwar Constitution of Japan as one of its key tenets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokumin Dōmei</span> Political party in Japan

Kokumin Dōmei was a Japanese fascist political party in Japan active in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tientsin Incident (1931)</span>

The Tientsin incident of 1931 was the operation planned by the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan to place Puyi on the throne of the Japanese-controlled Manchuria. The plan, orchestrated by Colonel Kenji Doihara and Colonel Itagaki Seishiro was successful, and Puyi became the Chief Executive of Manchukuo the following year. Puyi was subsequently enthroned as the Kangde Emperor in 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ichizō Kobayashi</span> Japanese industrialist (1873–1957)

Ichizō Kobayashi, occasionally referred to by his pseudonym Itsuō (逸翁), was a Japanese industrialist and politician. He is best known as the founder of Hankyu Railway, the Takarazuka Revue, and Toho. He served as Minister of Commerce and Industry between 1940-1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenkichi Yoshizawa</span> Japanese diplomat

Kenkichi Yoshizawa was a Japanese diplomat in the Empire of Japan, serving as 46th Foreign Minister of Japan in 1932. He was the maternal grandfather of Sadako Ogata, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1991–2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takeru Inukai</span> Japanese politician and novelist

Takeru Inukai was a Japanese politician and novelist active in Shōwa period Japan. Also known as "Inukai Ken", he was the third son of Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State General Mobilization Law</span> 1938 Japanese law during World War II

The State General Mobilization Law, also known as the National Mobilization Law, was legislated in the Diet of Japan by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 24 March 1938 to put the national economy of the Empire of Japan on war-time footing after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Richards Castle Jr.</span> American diplomat (1878–1963)

William Richards Castle Jr. was an American educator and diplomat. He rose rapidly to the highest levels of the United States Department of State and took a strong interest in Pacific issues, in part because of his family's background in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Japanese general election</span> General election in Japan held in 1946

General elections were held in Japan on 10 April 1946, the first after World War II, during the Allied occupation. Voters had one, two or three votes, depending on how many MPs were elected from their constituency. The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 141 of the 468 seats. Voter turnout was 72.1 percent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keizo Shibusawa</span>

Viscount Keizō Shibusawa was a Japanese businessman, central banker, philanthropist and folklorist. He was the 16th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ).

<i>Japan Echo</i> English language Japanese periodical

Japan Echo was an English-language periodical on Japanese issues which was initially published in print form by Japan Echo Inc. between 1974 and 2010. Consisting mainly of translations into English of magazine and news articles originally published in Japanese, Japan Echo was launched with the support of Japan's Foreign Affairs Ministry "to enable people abroad to learn what the Japanese themselves are thinking and writing about the issues of the day." Though independently published, the Japanese government provided most of Japan Echo's funding for the duration of its existence.

Events in the year 1951 in Japan.

References

  1. ↑ US Bureau of the Census, Bibliography of Social Science Periodicals and Monograph Series: Japan 1950-1963 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1965), 6.
  2. ↑ John W. Dower, Japanese History & Culture From Ancient to Modern Times: Seven Basic Bibliographies (New York: M. Wiener Pub., 1986), 182.
  3. ↑ Klaus Schlichtmann, Japan in the World: Shidehara Kijuro, Pacifism, and the Abolition of War (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2009), 99.
  4. ↑ "Editorial Note", Contemporary Japan, June 1932, 1.
  5. 1 2 Contemporary Japan, June 1932, front matter.
  6. 1 2 "Japanese Affairs: A Valuable Quarterly Review", The Financial Times, June 23, 1932, 5.
  7. ↑ Modern Language Association of America, MLA Directory of Periodicals: A Guide to Journals and Series in Languages and Literatures (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1978), 103.
  8. ↑ "Editorial Note", Contemporary Japan, June 1932, 3.
  9. ↑ Kenkichi Yoshizawa, "The Foreign Minister's Message", Contemporary Japan, June 1932, 4-6.
  10. ↑ Cabot Coville, "Some Japanese Economic Writings of 1937", Monumenta Nipponica , January 1939, 306.
  11. ↑ Takashi Yoshida, The Making of the "Rape of Nanking" (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 39.
  12. ↑ Peter O'Connor, "General Introduction", in Japanese Propaganda: Selected Readings, Series 2, Volume 1, ed. Peter O'Connor (Tokyo: Edition Synapse, 2005), 29.
  13. ↑ "20 Sign As Agents Of Foreign Groups", New York Times, November 30, 1938, 12.
  14. ↑ Contemporary Japan, March 1970, front matter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.