Japan’s rise to modernity: British government documents published

EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF JAPAN’S ASCENT TO THE RANK OF A GLOBAL SUPERPOWER

(Marlborough, UK – Wednesday 16th August 2017) Providing significant insight into the events between First World War victory and Second World War defeat, Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952 offers access to formally restricted government documents presenting a unique vantage point into a globally unstable political climate.

Sourced from The National Archives, UK, thousands of digitised pages of diplomatic dispatches, correspondence, maps, summaries of events and memoranda capture Anglo-Japanese diplomatic relations during an era of rapid progression and expansion.

 PROFESSOR NAOKO SHIMAZU, YALE-NUS COLLEGE SINGAPORE

From triumph at Versailles in 1919, to the devastation of two atomic bombs and American occupation, these documents remain crucial for understanding Japan’s changing political state as it expanded its Empire across East Asia. The files reveal a comprehensive view on the role Japan was carving itself on a global stage, and how it was viewed by other superpowers.

Covering British concerns over colonial-held territory in the Far East, as well as Japanese relations with China, Russia, Germany and the United States, students and scholars of global political history can utilise this resource to research over three and a half tumultuous decades of international history.

Published over three sections with full text search functionality, Section I: Japanese Imperialism and the War in the Pacific, 1931-1945 is available now within Archives Direct, a suite of collections sourced from the National Archives, UK. Titles within Archives Direct are cross searchable enabling in-depth multidisciplinary research, including the complementary Foreign Office Files for China, 1919-1980.

For more information, watch the short overview video with Dr Rustin Gates, Bradley University, or contact info@amdigital.co.uk for a free 30-day trial.