Through the Eyes of a Japanese Newspaper Reader

Abstract

E VEN to the foreigner who has lived in Japan for some time, has talked to many Japanese and experienced foreign residents in search of information, has read most of the good books dealing with Japan and has made all kinds of systematic investigations on the spot, a full translation of a daily Japanese newspaper comes as a revelation. For, with all its restrictions and shortcomings, the daily picture of the country's life and mind given by the Japanese press is fuller and more fascinating than anything that could be written for the express purpose of describing the present conditions and opinions of Japan. I have picked out at random a morning and an evening copy each, of the Asahi (October 26, 1935) and the Yomiuri (March 25, I935)1 and had them fully and reliably translated into English. The former prides itself on being the most liberal Japanese newspaper, mostly read by intellectuals, members of the liberal professions and business men; the latter is a somewhat more nationalistic, sensational and popular paper. Between them, these two double copies have been bought by more than one million Japanese, and read by probably four or five million. Of the very few foreigners who are able to read Japanese four or five may have glanced at them, but apart from an occasional leading article, some foreign news item or some local sensation, almost nothing of the contents of Japanese newspapers comes to the knowledge of the outside world. Unfortunately space does not permit of giving the full translations, or even a complete extract, but I have tried to bring into this article at least one example of every essential topic, leaving out mere news from abroad (a comparison of which with news about the same events in Western newspapers would make an interesting investigation). Foreign politics, which in both papers fill a great part of the main pages, can be considered first. The following Yomiuri article, Agony in the Countries of the Setting Sun, was written as a comment on Germany's announcement of rearmament: