3. Japan’s ‘Fifteen Minutes Of Glory’: Managing World Opinion During The War With Russia, 1904–1905

Abstract

The war was indeed a unique moment in Japan's struggle to enhance its international image. The positive images Japan won in its war against tsarist Russia were fairly true to reality. Japanese forces were victorious in every single campaign of the war, and their conduct was by and large proper and humane. This chapter explores foreign images of the Japanese military during the Russo-Japanese War, examines the circumstances surrounding those images and the way Japan manipulated them, and seeks to explain the Japanese success in creating positive images of its military and of nation as a whole in the world opinion. Image management by the Japanese authorities during the war with Russia was highly successful. During the war with Russia, however, Japan won not only its 'fifteen minutes of glory', but also a singular opportunity to enhance its standing among the nations of the world. Keywords: fifteen minutes of glory; international image; Japan; Russo-Japanese War; tsarist Russia