Britain Japan

After the horrors of World War II in Asia - not least the systematic appalling mistreatment of Allied prisoners-of-war by the Japanese military - few would have predicted that Britain's relationship with Japan would flourish into a booming partnership of economic interdependence by the start of the twenty-first century. This ambitious examination of Anglo-Japanese relations over the course of the 20th century charts the fascinating history of how both nations overcame many years of prejudice and bitter conflict to form a bond fused by financial, political and military cooperation. In the 1930s, many Japanese became convinced that their exports were being kept out of India by British tariffs and it was not until the 1980s that the British government fully accepted the futility of any protectionist impulse and encouraged Japanese companies to invest in Britain. Today, each country not only assists the other economically but also no longer blames the other for its own domestic problems. "Britain and Japan in the Twentieth Century" elucidates how both nations have struggled to achieve stability and harmony in their relations with each other in the face of contrasting cultural identities.

An authoritative account of British efforts to avert a conflict with Japan. Using recently released material the author shows how the need to appease American opinion hamstrung Britain's ability to achieve an understanding with Japan.

This book by a leading authority on Anglo-Japanese relations reconsiders the circumstances which led to the unlikely alliance of 1902 to 1922 between Britain, the leading world power of the day and Japan, an Asian, non-European nation which had only recently emerged from self-imposed isolation. Based on extensive original research the book goes beyond existing accounts which concentrate on high politics, strategy and simple assertions about the two countries’ similarities as island empires. It brings into the picture cultural factors, particularly the ways in which Japan was portrayed in Britain, and ambivalent British attitudes to race and supposed European superiority which were overcome but remained difficulties. It charts how the relationship developed as events unfolded, including Japan’s wars against China and Russia, and in addition looks at royal diplomacy, where the Japanese Court came eventually to be treated as a respected equal. Overall, the book provides a major reassessment of this important subject.

During the Meiji Era, of 1868-1912, British influence in Japan was stronger than that of any other foreign power. Although role models were sought from Englishmen and Scotsmen, whether diplomats, engineers, educators or philosophers, the first priority for the Japanese was to achieve a transfer of industrial and technical skills. As important customers, who brought good profits to British industry, the Japanese were accommodated when they stipulated on awarding a contract that their own people should work in office, shipyard or factory. Much new research material discovered in Japan, England and Scotland has enabled the detailed examination of a relationship - with Britain as Senior and Japan as Junior partner - which lasted until 1914. It was on these foundations that Japan was able subsequently to build a great industrial nation.

The continuing success of this series, highly regarded by scholars and the general reader alike, has prompted The Japan Society to commission this fourth volume, devoted as before to the lives of key people, both British and Japanese, who have made significant contributions to the development of Anglo-Japanese relations. The appearance of this volume brings the number of portraits published to over one hundred. The portraits cover diplomats (from Mori Arinori to Sir Francis Lindley), businessmen (from William Keswick to Lasenby Liberty), engineers and teachers (from W. E. Ayrton to Henry Spencer Palmer), scholars and writers (from Sir Edwin Arnold to Ivan Morris), as well as journalists, judo masters and the aviator Lord Semphill. In all, there are a total of 34 contributions.

This work examines the two-way bridge-building cultural exchange which took place between Britain and Japan in the years after 1859 and into the early years of the 20th century. Topics covered include: architecture; industrial design; prints; painting; and photographs.

Reissue in paperback (with new Introduction) of the 1951 classic analysis of the crucial years leading up to the Meiji restoration in which Britain provided Japan with its wealth and power model.