This is a multi-generational political history of the Hatoyamas, a family that has participated at the highest levels of Japan's parliamentary government from its inception in the late 1800s. The Hatoyama family is one of the most prominent political families in modern Japanese government. It has produced six members of the Diet, Japan's parliament, many of whom have served as cabinet members and party leaders. Due to the family's political legacy, they have often been likened to the Kennedy family in American politics (though they have been spared the tragedy and scandal visited upon the...

The Japanese government disposed of "dangerous animals" (not only carnivores but also herbivores, such as elephants) in zoos and circuses during World War II, including those in Japan's three "colonies" - Korea, Taiwan, and Manchukuo, Japan's puppet state in current Northeast China. Strangely, the "disposal order" was issued in August 1943, more than 15 months before U.S. B-29 air raids on Japan began. While some European zoos also destroyed their animals, none of the authorities in Europe enforced the disposal of zoo animals as systematically as the Japanese Home Ministry. No country...

Why and how did Japan Table Tennis Association President Goto Koji invite China to participate in the World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, in 1971 (the Nagoya World's)? Against strong opposition at home and abroad, Goto Koji created a stage for Premier Zhou Enlai to launch Ping-Pong Diplomacy, which changed world history forever

In this book, Mayumi Itoh presents a comprehensive and in-depth examination of China's first Premier Zhou Enlai's childhood in Japan, where he received his formation in Marxism from the Japanese scholar Kawakami Hajime. Itoh analyzes primary sources including letters and diaries to reveal the innermost thoughts of young Zhou about how to save China from total destruction by imperial powers and demonstrate how Zhou's time in Japan gave him a profound understanding of the Japanese people and society. These formative experiences would become the foundation for post-World War II Chinese foreign...

This cutting edge study examines the career of Chinese politician and diplomat Zhou Enlai (1898 1976) and assesses his leadership role in the Communist Party of China s (CPC) strategy against the Japanese invasion of China which established the foundation for post-World War II Sino-Japanese relations. It considers how Zhou dealt with Japanese imperialism during his midcareer, from the May Fourth Movement to the formation of the second United Front between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the CPC against Japan, which paved the way for the Chinese victory in the second Sino-Japanese War....

This book examines Japanese wartime zoo policy during World War II, analyzing the reasons why the Home Ministry destroyed more than 300 showpiece animals throughout Japan well before U.S. air strikes were anticipated, with international comparisons of the effects of the war on zoos in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.

This book examines the careers of Liao Chengzhi and Takasaki Tatsunosuke, who were not only the architects of Sino-Japanese economic relations, but also pioneers of contemporary Sino-Japanese relations. Their visions and initiatives offer many insights into the current contentious relations among China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

Why and how did Japan Table Tennis Association President Goto Koji invite China to participate in the World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan, in 1971 (the Nagoya World's)? Against strong opposition at home and abroad, Goto Koji created a stage for Premier Zhou Enlai to launch Ping-Pong Diplomacy, which changed world history forever

In tracing the rising political fortunes of this family, it is also possible to study the role of hereditary politicians in Japan, the growth and evolution of Japanese political parties, and, perhaps most importantly, the way political leadership functions in Japan, a society known more for consensus-building than strong leaders.