Goodbye Japan
Encyclopedia
Goodbye Japan is a non-fiction book on Japan
written by an American
journalist Joseph Newman
published in 1942. It was intended to reveal the position and intentions of that country just before the attack on Pearl Harbor
.
Press Agency.
Newman obtained permission from the General Director of "New York Herald Tribune" George Cornish to use material he had gathered while working in Japan before 1941. The book was printed in New York
in 1942.
After a preface explaining the intention of the book and giving some comments on Japanese thinking, in the first chapter the author explains in detail the real nature of the Japanese establishment, its history and the real location of political and military power in then nation. The second chapter exposes the Japanese conquest plan. The third chapter talks of the indoctrination of Asian leaders using material from visits Newman made, accompanied by other journalists and with some restrictions, to Chinese occupied lands and Manchukuo.
The next two chapters cover the Japanese control of mass media, strict press censorship and the difficulty faced by foreign correspondents and journalists. The next chapter covers difficulties Japanese faced during Sino-Japanese War
and pre-war 1941 period before Pearl Harbor
strike. In the next two chapters Newman discusses the complicated political infighting and factionalism.
The next chapter tells of the growth of local xenophobic action against foreigners, and local political movements and Japanese aggression against Western powers in East Asia. The final chapters refer to the latest political-military local actions, diplomatic movements, the hostility between Japan and United States, the last working days of foreign journalists (including Newman himself) and the evacuation of the last Americans
and other foreign residents, just a short time before the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the return to San Francisco via Hawaii
.
The book is an interesting historical source about political environment and everyday life in the Japanese Empire in the 1940s.
"Japanese actions in Chinese-Japanese conflict (1937-45)"
"Japanese actions in Pacific conflict (1941-45)"
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
written by an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist Joseph Newman
Joseph Newman (journalist)
Joseph Newman was an American journalist and writer from New York.He worked for the New York Herald Tribune under George Cornish as a Japan correspondent, living in Japan with his wife Mary....
published in 1942. It was intended to reveal the position and intentions of that country just before the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Overview
At the time, many Americans sincerely believed that Japan was unjustly marked as an aggressor, a nation with friendly intentions to make peace and to help with the progress of Asian neighbors. They also thought that it was a good business partner and a force for the maintenance of order in its sphere of influence. The purpose of the book was to alert the American public to the real Japanese intentions.Synopsis
From his experience in Japan, Joseph Newman exposed to the Americans the hidden Japanese plans of conquest and the extremes of Japanese militarism. He presented the actual state of life in Japan during the war, totally different from the beautiful image presented in Japanese propaganda, and through Radio Tokyo or the Domei TsushinDomei Tsushin
was the official news agency of the Empire of Japan.-History and development:Dōmei was the end result of years of efforts by Japanese journalists and business leaders to create a national news agency in Japan that could compete with Reuters and other internationally-recognized news agencies on a...
Press Agency.
Newman obtained permission from the General Director of "New York Herald Tribune" George Cornish to use material he had gathered while working in Japan before 1941. The book was printed in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1942.
Detailed synopsis
The original edition has 246 pages and is divided into ten chapters.After a preface explaining the intention of the book and giving some comments on Japanese thinking, in the first chapter the author explains in detail the real nature of the Japanese establishment, its history and the real location of political and military power in then nation. The second chapter exposes the Japanese conquest plan. The third chapter talks of the indoctrination of Asian leaders using material from visits Newman made, accompanied by other journalists and with some restrictions, to Chinese occupied lands and Manchukuo.
The next two chapters cover the Japanese control of mass media, strict press censorship and the difficulty faced by foreign correspondents and journalists. The next chapter covers difficulties Japanese faced during Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
and pre-war 1941 period before Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
strike. In the next two chapters Newman discusses the complicated political infighting and factionalism.
The next chapter tells of the growth of local xenophobic action against foreigners, and local political movements and Japanese aggression against Western powers in East Asia. The final chapters refer to the latest political-military local actions, diplomatic movements, the hostility between Japan and United States, the last working days of foreign journalists (including Newman himself) and the evacuation of the last Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other foreign residents, just a short time before the Pearl Harbor Attack, and the return to San Francisco via Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
The book is an interesting historical source about political environment and everyday life in the Japanese Empire in the 1940s.
Additional bibliography
"Japanese inner politics and pre-war and wartime lifestyle (1930s-41)"- John Whitney Hall,"The Japanese Empire",published in 1967
- Frederick Moore,"With Japan's Leaders" ,New York, 1942
- Joseph Newman,"GoodBye Japan",published in New York, March 1942
- Edward Behr,"The Last Emperor",published by Recorded Picture Co(Productions) Ltd and Screenframe Ltd,1987
"Japanese actions in Chinese-Japanese conflict (1937-45)"
- Agnes Smedley,"Battle Hymn of China"
- Chiang Kai Shek,"The Soviet Russia in China"
- Wego W.K. Chiang,"How the Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek gained the Chinese- Japanese eight years war,1937-1945"
- Alphonse Max,"Southeast Asia Destiny and Realities",published by Institute of International Studies,1985.
"Japanese actions in Pacific conflict (1941-45)"
- Robert Laffont,"Le Deferlement Japonaise"(Vol I and II), published in France,1968
- Robert Leckie,"Challenge for the Pacific"
- Donald Macintyre,"The Battle for the Pacific"
- Andrieu D'Albas,"Marine Imperiale"
- Frank Bernard,"L'Epopee du Pacifique"
- Friedrich Ruge,"Deer Seekrieg 1939-1945"
- R.Inoguchi and T.Nakajima,"Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kogeki Kai"
- Germain Roland,"Kamikaze"