This book provides a comprehensive country overview of Southeast Asia's newest nation, Timor Leste (East Timor). This book focuses on its cultural and ethno-linguistic diversity, and its political history from the pre-Portuguese period up to 2009. The book pays particular attention to the historical roots of the current challenges to nation-building by reviewing the Indonesian occupation; guerrilla warfare by the Timorese against the occupiers; the politics leading up to the United Nations' popular consultation and the vote for independence in 2002. Explaining the structure of the government and its parliamentary system, this book highlights the problems and historical and cultural underpinnings of the challenges Timor Leste faces in building a stable viable nation. The author presents a synopsis of selected issues including: language, truth and reconciliation, the Catholic Church's political activism, internal security problems, the 'politics of oil', and the fact that violent conflicts, from 2005 to date, have made it necessary for the United Nation's peacekeeping forces to return. Thus far, the book argues, Timor Leste's nation-building efforts have been hampered by the dynamic interaction of number of national and international factors. The first comprehensive political and cultural history of East Timor to date, this book fills a gap and will be an important single reference resource for students and researchers in the field of Southeast Asian Studies, Anthropology and Political Science.

Statecraft and Spectacle in East Asia is a multidisciplinary collection of essays that explores the intertwined histories of Taiwan and Japan across the long sweep of the early modern and modern periods. Drawing on new research by scholars from Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, it moves beyond the conventional focus on the mechanics of the Japanese colonial state to provide new perspectives on a highly significant relationship that shaped the nature of the modern East Asian political landscape. Ranging from the seventeenth century to the chaotic aftermath of empire, the papers collected here consider Tokugawa Japan's halting engagement with Taiwan as a key world historical moment that illuminates changing attitudes towards maritime expansion; the ways in which the colonial project was packaged and sold in print as well as image; and the complex legal discourses surrounding the making and unmaking of empire. Together they show how influence flowed both ways between Taiwan and Japan and the importance of inter-Asian interactions. This book was published as a special issue of Japanese Studies.

Among the revolutionary movements which shook the nineteenth-century world, the change of government in Japan in 1868 occupies a special place. A new, dynamic ruling class provoked the overthrow of the old rule of the shogun and in a few years the visible structure of feudal society disappeared. The founders of the new Meiji rule had themselves been warriors and thought they were able to resist foreign pressure, but very quickly they adopted western dress gave their country a modern army, built railways and contributed to establishing a great empire. The nature of this transformation has been regarded by western historians as "revolution" and "restoration" - two quite contradictory ideas. But in this book Paul Akamatsu clarifies the picture of the forces at work in this conversion of a backward feudal state into a modern power in a few decades.

Written after the outbreak of war between Japan and China but putting aside British sentiments of suspicion, dislike and a sense of competition, G C Allen bases his observations of Japanese social, political and economic life on his first-hand experience of living and working in the country for a number of years. He argues that the economic expansion of Japan was regarded as a greater threat to Britain because of Japan's political aims and aggressive territorial expansion, but he is at pains to explain the Japanese domestic circumstances which gave rise to this situation. He also argues that the expansion of the British Empire has some parallels with Japanese expansion, without condoning Japanese methods. Overall the author emphasizes the extent to which judgments about the qualities of the Japanese people have been influenced by the political views of writers in Western countries.

The author, who was for several years a lecturer in a Japanese Government College, has tried to interpret the civilization and national character of Japan in the light of his experience and of his studies in that country. He describes the novel problems and phenomena which have been created by the attempt of the Japanese to graft the political, economic and educational institutions of the West on to their Oriental social organization. He deals with the influence of the West on the different phases of the national life, and with the attitude of the Japanese to Europe and America. Particular attention is given to industrial and financial development and to contemporary economic problems. There are chapters on the political system, on the social organization, and on the educational system; and there is a special study of the population problem.

Written by someone who spent twenty-three years as a journalist in Japan, this book describes the political and military aspirations of Japan at a tumultuous period of twentieth century history. The book examines the workings of the Japanese government and discusses the role of the military in shaping political ideals: ideals which were a compound of Marxism and National Socialism, transformed for Japanese uses and combined with fanatical racial, national and semi-religious obsessions.

This volume presents an account of the author's travels during 1912-13 making particular note of the characteristics of Indian, Chinese and Japanese societies and the effect upon them of contact with the West. Although inevitably dated in some of its views, the volume nonetheless provides an excellent starting point for comparisons between East and West and the strengths and weaknesses of the individual cultures, be it in politics, literature or the arts.

Japan's image has experienced numerous transmutations. The book covers the metamorphosis from Japan's image of a feudal, exotic and romantic land inhabited by Madam Butterflies, to its sudden emergence as a geopolitical power following its defeat of Russia in 1905. More was to come. In the 1930s and 40s the image of the kamikaze vividly illustrated the fanaticism and barbarity associated with Japan in World War II. With the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Japan rejoined the international community as a friend and ally of the US. The next transmutation came in the 1980s when the Japanese economy appeared to be functioning on anabolic steroids and its continued ascent to take over the US was predicted. "Japanese management" became more than a science, almost a religion, among business schools and consultancies. Today there are two images: one is conveyed through manga, karaoke and the global fashion for sushi; the other is of an economically and demographically declining nation. Will this image correspond to Japan's swan song or are there more transmutations on the way? One constant in Japanese history and the image it has projected has been the country's constant ability to surprise.

This volume collects together essays and lectures given by the author from 1922-1927 to a variety of international audiences. Together they illuminate essential aspects of the Japanese mentality and way of life, particularly in social, religious and linguistic aspects.

"...The Japanese are not so black as they are painted or so immaculate as they occasionally paint themselves." As the author's own words suggest, this book attempts to give a balanced account of Japan during the "crisis" years of 1931-1935 which were some of the most significant in modern Japanese history. They saw an act of political expansion unique in the years following World War One, as well as an expansion of Japanese foreign trade in markets hitherto dominated by the exports of other countries. The letters re-issued here were written for both the Western and Japanese reader and as such represent an unrivalled impartial resource.

In this volume the author considers what the purpose and method of advanced Japanese studies should be. He believes that the study of Japanese history should be, not an end in itself but an integral part of world history. He discusses areas of controversy in interpretation which arise when a comparative method is used and Japanese history is examined in correlation with world history.

This volume examines how and why Japan annexed Korea in the early twentieth century and discusses the role of foreign powers (particularly the USA) in trying to bring about freedom and independence for Korea. Written by a Korean living in the USA the book is at times a harrowing account of atrocities committed by Japan against Koreans. Entirely impartial it is obviously not, but it nonetheless covers an important if tragic part of history in East Asia.

The Japanese are the only people in the world who have experienced the horror of nuclear weapons with their own flesh. Atomic holocaust was followed by American occupation and the American-inspired, postwar Japanese 'Peace Constitution' which explicitly outlawed Japanese military forces and the use of war as an instrument of state policy. At the time of original publication the author argued that contemporary forces within Japan were combining to create a strong movement for revision of the constitution and for the acquisition of nuclear weapons by renewed and powerful military establishment. The American government, which had encouraged rearmament, was beginning to wonder about the world effect of an economically powerful rearmed Japan and was weighing the consequences of considering Japan its only major ally in East Asia. Albert Axelbank suggests that shifting international politics and the conservative momentum in Japan make revision of the constitution and the development of Japanese militarism and nuclear weapons almost inevitable.

Japanese cultural life had reached a low ebb at the beginning of the Tokugawa period. The Japanese society which emerged when Tokugawa Ieyasu had completed the process of pacifying warring baronies was neither literary, nor hardly literate. The rulers were warriors and the people they ruled were largely illiterate. The Japan of 1868 was a very different society: practically every samurai was literate and it was a world in which books abounded. The transformation which had occurred in these two and a half centuries was an essential precondition for the success of the policy which the leaders of the Meiji Restoration were to adopt. An in-depth survey of the development and education during the period, this book remains one of the key analyses of the effects of Tokugawa educators and education on modern day Japan.

This volume chronicles the facts concerning the relations between the Netherlands in Asia and Japan during the last two years before the outbreak of war in the Pacific and concentrates on political and economic affairs.

This volume is based upon personal observations and recollections of the author extending over six different periods of residence in Japan between 1859 and 1877. It examines how the focus of the West towards Japan changed, as Japan became a dominant force in the political arena of the Far East when it freed itself of Chinese rule and, through the Meiji restoration adopted a democratic system of government based on the West. This rapid development in the history & governance of a nation had never been seen before on such a scale and this volume therefore covers a momentous period in the history of the Japan and its role in international politics.

Shunsuke Tsurumi, one of Japan's most distinguished contemporary philosophers, continues his study of the intellectual and social history of modern Japan with this penetrating analysis of popular culture in the post-war years. Japanese manga (comics), manzai (dialogues), television, advertising and popular songs are the medium for a revealing examination of the many contradictory forces at work beneath the surface of an apparently uniform and universal culture. The author argues that the iconography of these popular forms has deep and significant implication for the development of Japanese national life in the post-growth years that lie ahead.

This book contains eighteen studies on various important phases of Japan's invasion of China. The appendix contains the historical declaration by Chiang-Kai-shek setting forth clearly the reasons why China took up arms against Japanese aggression, and a lucid chapter by the veteran sinologist Owen Lattimore on what Korea pays for Japan's rule. Ever since the invasion of Manchuria by Japan in September 1931 the writer called attention to the fact that, in view of the League commitments, aggression in the East, if not properly stopped according to the League Covenant, would encourage aggression to spread beyond the limits of Asia.

The author had access to many Japanese texts and private documents dealing with undercurrents of diplomacy and with constitutional history; he also had the advantage of knowing the Japanese attitude towards life and politics, the terrific force of Japan's traditions as they are brought to bear on international relations, while at the same time possessing the necessary perspective provided by occidental training in analysis and criticism. The result is a revealing and careful exposition of the structure and psychology of the Japanese government, from the Emperor down, and the only history of Japanese diplomacy as a cause of war that has ever been written.

A journalist on the Japan Chronicle for eleven years this volume examines the history, economy, politics and society of Japan from just before the First World War until 1926. Japan's relations with the West, as well as with Russia and China are also discussed.

A journalist on the Japan Chronicle for eleven years, the author collected in this volume the most significant current events for discussion. They include the financial crisis of 1927, hostilities with China and in particular Manchuria, Japan's booming manufacturing industry, Japanese nationalism, Japan's new empire and its place within the Far East and East Asia. Written from a Western perspective, the volume nonetheless presents a balanced view of Japan and its behaviour which only close observation and dealings with the Japanese people could make possible.

When this book was published in Japanese in 1982 it was awarded the prestigious Jiro Osaragi Prize. It is an important contribution to the understanding of the mental and spiritual world of Japan just over two generations ago. The author argues that just as the period of isolation up to the middle of the 19th century was crucial for Japan's development, so the Second World War represented another crucial period for the country. These years were a period of intellectual isolation during which significant development took place.

Japan's economic success since the 1950s created a range of serious domestic and international problems which threaten the stability of the country. Within Japan at the start of the 1980s there was a strong mood on the right for remilitarization to give the nation the super-power status her economic performance justified. Outside Japan, there was increasing pressure from the West to make her conform to Western strategic interests. Against the background of these crucial issues the book analyzes the economic, political and military options open to Japan. Focussing on the interconnecting themes of foreign harassment and domestic economic disorder, the author points out many areas of similarity between Japan of the 1930s and Japan of the 1980s.

Japan adopted the practice of using year names of "Nengoh" during 645 A D (the first year of Taikwa). Since then the accession of a new emperor, with the exception of a few, has been marked with a new year title, exactly as has been the custom in China. During the reign of some of the emperors, as many as six new titles have been adopted. Ambiguities have often occurred in computation of time, due to frequent changes of year titles. Changes may take place at any time of the year, and from the time of the change on till the end of that year, no matter how short, it is called the first year under the new title. Thus that same calendar year has two different titles. This volume provides a comparison of historical dates of two Oriental nations but is also of use to specialists in Oriental arts and scholars of ancient documents, scripts, pictures and prints.

Saionji Kinmochi was an aristocrat, a scholar and a progressive liberal politician who twice occupied the highest political office in the nation and who, during three decades, as adviser to three Emperors, coordinated and directed Japanese politics. His long life encompassed the emergence of the modern Japanese state, the establishment of the constitution, the integration of Japan into the inter-war, international community and the creation, and subsequent erosion of the democratic process. The story of his twilight years chronicles the conflicts between the goals of liberalism and internationalism which dominated Japanese politics in the 1920s and the right-wing militarism which held sway in the years leading to the Pacific War. He was a central figure in the turbulent, formative period of Japan's political ideology.