Japanese-German Relations, 1895-1945: War, Diplomacy and Public Opinion(Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)

Written by a team of Japanese and German scholars, this book presents an interpretation of Japanese/German history and international diplomacy. It provides a greater understanding of key aspects of the countries' bilateral relations from the end of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 to the parallel defeat of Germany and Japan in 1945. New research is explored on the military as well as ideological interconnections between Japan and Germany in the closing years of the nineteenth century, the First World and the development of bacteriological warfare during the Second World War. In addition, the book's focus on the Second World War significantly re-interprets two familiar axis of Japanese-German relations: the impact of Nazi ideology on Japanese "fascism", and the Axis Alliance. Drawing on German as well as Japanese archival sources, the book presents a revealing examination of a crucial period in the modern history of Western Europe and East Asia. As such it will be of huge interest to those studying the modern history of Japan/Germany, comparative and world history, international relations and political science alike.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: From ‘German Measles’ to ‘Honorary Aryans’: An overview of German-Japanese relations until 1945 Part 1: Military Background 1. The Imperial Japanese Army and Germany 2. Naval Relations between Japan and Germany from the Late Nineteenth Century until the End of World War II Part 2: Mutual Perceptions 3. Japan-Enthusiasm in Wilhelmine Germany: The case of the Sino--Japanese War, 1894-5 4. The ‘Yellow Peril’ and Its Influence on German-Japanese Relations 5. Exoticism in Early Twentieth Century German Literature on Japan Part 3: Culture and Science 6. Personal Contacts in German-Japanese Cultural Relations during the 1920s and Early 1930s 7. Karl Haushofer Re-examined: Geopolitics as a factor of German-Japanese rapprochement in the inter-war years? Part 4: Rapprochement and War 8. The Berlin-Tokyo Axis Reconsidered: From the anti-comintern pact to the plot to assassinate Stalin 9. The German Nazi Party: A model for Japan’s ‘New Order’ 1940-1? 10. German-Japanese Collaboration in the Development of Bacteriological and Chemical Weapons and the War in China

About the Author :
Sophia and Dokkyo University, Japan. Sophia University, Japan.