Organizer: William D. Hoover, University of Toledo and Aoyama Gakuin Daigaku
Chair: Frederick G. Notehelfer, University of California, Los Angeles
Discussant: Sharon A. Minichiello, University of Hawai'i, Manoa
This panel will examine the interplay of internationalism and nationalism, two of the major intellectual forces that gave shape to Japan's early twentieth century, focusing on institutions and individuals who articulated both ideologies. James L. Huffman will study the context in which the internationalists were forced to operate, through an examination of the nationalist and internationalist positions of one of the era's most popular newspapers, Yorozu Choho. Following this, William D. Hoover will look at the voluminous publications of the journalist Kawakami Kiyoshi and his interpretation of Japan's relations with the U.S. over a forty year period. Finally, George M. Oshiro and Yamaoka Michio will jointly examine the Institute of Pacific Relations, an organization which searched for international cooperation and mutual goodwill in the Pacific during the 1920s and 30s. The panelists will re-examine the issue of Japan's international relations, especially with the U.S., in the increasingly nationalistic half century before World War II. By looking at specific individuals and organizations, not thoroughly examined thus far, the panelists hope to generate a new dialogue which will enhance our understanding of this crucial period in Japanese history.
Nationalism, Internationalism and the Yorozu Choho, 1900-1920
James L. Huffman, Wittenburg University
This paper will examine the impact of nationalism on the editorials and news reports of one of the early twentieth century's most influential, mass-oriented newspapers. It will look first at the early internationalism of editor Kuroiwa Shuroku and his staff, and how they held out against other newspapers in opposition to war with Russia. Then it will examine the populist, commercial reasons that prompted Kuroiwa's shift to the pro-war side in the fall of 1903, as well as his agonizing break with pacifist and/or leftwing members of his staff: Uchimura Kanzo, Kotoku Shusui Sakai Toshihiko, and Kawakami Kiyoshi. A third section will look at his continuing espousal of nationalist, sometimes chauvinist, positions during the 1910s. Using both the Yorozu Choho's columns (which the highly opinionated, articulate Kuroiwa frequently wrote himself) and Kuroiwa's other personal writings, the paper will discuss the increasingly close tie between populism and nationalism: how the need for readers among the expanding urban minshu classes (i.e., the need for revenues) combined with Kuroiwa's own patriotic proclivities to undermine whatever internationalist tendencies he once had had. There also will be a consideration of Yorozu's growing impatience with those who espoused more moderate internationalist policies, and of the difficulty editors such as Kuroiwa and Murayama Ryohei at Asahi Shimbun created for the writers and groups discussed in the other papers on this panel.
The Journalist Kawakami Kiyoshi Interprets Japan's Relations with the United
States: International Tones in a Nationalistic Era
William D. Hoover, University of Toledo and Aoyama Gakuin Daigaku
This paper will examine over eight hundred publications of Kawakami Kiyoshi, a prolific but largely forgotten prewar Japanese journalist. Focusing on Kawakami's interpretation of Japan's relations with the U.S. from 1905 through 1941, one finds a mixture of internationalist pronouncements and nationalistic sentiments set in an increasingly nationalistic era. Kawakami's writings on Japanese-American relations focused on the issues of Japanese immigration, the naturalization of Japanese, anti-Japanese sentiment and actions, and the "Japanese question." From the Japanese perspective, Kawakami frequently wrote about Japan's relations with China, Manchuria, and Korea. He concentrated on such topics as the Monroe Doctrine, the Open Door, and the Washington, Geneva, and London Disarmament Conferences. Kawakami presented himself as an objective interpreter of U.S.-Japanese relations. While defending Japan's supposed interests, Kawakami nonetheless offered important criticisms of Japan's policies. Likewise, Kawakami praised many U.S. activities but also condemned some U.S. policies. Sometimes portrayed as an apologist or a propagandist, this paper argues for a broader interpretation of Kawakami in his role explaining Japan to a Western public. It provides a new perspective on Japanese-American relations over an extended period and shows the thinking of an individual who sometimes acted in a pseudo-official capacity during the decades before Pearl Harbor.
The Japan National Council of the Institute of Pacific Relations and the Search
for International Cooperation in the Pacific, 1925-1939
George M. Oshiro, Obirin University
Yamaoka Michio, Waseda University
This paper will focus upon the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), the first non-governmental international organization in the Asia-Pacific region in the pre-World War II years. It will be divided into two main parts: the first will give a description of the IPR in its formative, idealistic years in the 1920s, with particular emphasis put on the Japan branch and its key members. Their internationalist thought and activities to cooperate with other national groups to further academic research and promote mutual understanding in the region will be examined. Part II will then turn to a specific issue: the IPR Inquiry Series and its proposed management. This analysis reveals the fault lines in the organization which would later rupture into an irreparable break that would not heal until the postwar years. The wedge that was driven between the Japan branch and its New York-based secretariat in the late 1930s will be highlighted against a wider backdrop of a deteriorating political situation in China, growing militarism within Japan, and the latter's increasing estrangement from its international partners.