In the mid-1920s—around the time the era name was changed to “Shōwa”—Japan’s foreign policy was based on cooperative diplomacy within international frameworks, including the League of Nations. However, soon thereafter Japan entered an era of war, marked the outbreak of the Manchurian Incident in 1931, the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, and the Pacific War in 1941.
The Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) has made numerous historical materials from this era available online. One particularly notable resource among them is the illustrated magazine Shashin Shūhō [Weekly photographic journal], launched by the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau. At the JACAR website, you can view issues of this magazine held by the National Archives of Japan, ranging from the inaugural issue (February 16, 1938) to Issue No. 352 (December 20, 1944).
In this article, I will introduce you to some articles from Shashin Shūhō concerning Japan’s relations with Asia—particularly in the areas of diplomacy and warfare—from the Second Sino-Japanese War through the Pacific War, while also presenting official documents and other materials available through JACAR.
- This special exhibition presents Shashin Shūhō, official documents, and so forth as historical records; the expressions contained in these materials do not represent the views or stance of the current Japanese government or JACAR. Furthermore, this exhibition does not intend to present any specific interpretation or image of the materials or events through their display or commentary. It is intended to introduce a selection of the diverse materials available through JACAR.
- For ease of viewing, the margins of the images of materials posted on this special exhibition page have been cropped where appropriate. Additionally, for presentation purposes, images from multiple materials may have been combined.
