World War I, International Participation and Reorganisation of the Japanese Chemical Community

Abstract

What kind of "war" did Japanese chemists fight during World War I, and what impact did their experiences have on Japanese chemistry in its aftermath? By focusing on the role of Jo ¯ji Sakurai (1858–1939), this paper attempts to answer these questions by looking at the drastic changes in the international relationships of the Japanese chemical community caused by the war. It examines how the Japanese National Research Council was established in 1920 as part of the International Research Council, a product of the reconfiguration of international scientific powers triggered by World War I. This paper argues that Sakurai advocated the establishment of the National Research Council after the American model of wartime mobilisation of science, coordinated fractured Japanese chemical communities for international functions, and facilitated Japan's participation and increased influence in international scientific associations such as the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, established in 1919.