History of Japan

This week: Japan's empire in Micronesia comes apart under the face of both the miscalculations of military leadership and the contradictions that had haunted it from the jump. Show notes here.

So far, we've talked about how Micronesia came under Japanese rule, but what was Japan's rule over the region like? Show notes here.

When World War I began, many among the Japanese leadership were hesistant to take advantage of the opportunity to move into Micronesia. What changed their minds, and how were they able to square a colonial government with the idealistic language of the postwar League of Nations? Show notes here.

Japan would seize control of German Micronesia in the fall of 1914, but Japanese interest in the region goes back centuries further. This week: how did Japan get from disinterest in the nebulously defined 'Southern Seas' to active military operations to take control of them? Show notes here.

This week: the bizarre story of an attempted coup in Korea that, along the way, touches on everything from Japanese liberalism to the birth of overseas empire. Show notes here.

If the first translation of a text on smallpox vaccination in Japan was finished in 1820, how did it take another 29 years for the first mass vaccination campaigns to begin? The answers involve everything from a German doctor accused of being a spy to networks of physicians trying to navigate obscure bureaucracy. And they might remind you more of the last few years than you'd think. Show notes here.

This week: the elimination of smallpox is probably one of the greatest medical accomplishments in human history. The vaccine that made it possible, however, was invented during a time of isolation for Japan. So how did the vaccine make it to Japanese shores, and what does that story tell us about public health, the sharing of information, and the nature of society in late feudal Japan? Show notes here.

This week, we're looking at the implosion of the Japanese New Left with a focus on the factional conflicts of the Zengakuren. How did a student youth movement end up divided into 20+ factions, the two largest of which engaged in a multi-decade war of assasination and street violence against each other? And how might that be connected to the general decline of Japan's left-wing opposition more broadly? Show notes here.

Explore Japan's complex involvement in the Vietnam War and the simultaneous rise of a unique anti-war movement. Discover how media shaped public perceptions and how the Bahedian organization faced early struggles. Delve into the pivotal student protests of 1968, highlighted by a tragic death that galvanized national sentiment. Reflect on the lasting legacy of the Beheren movement and the importance of grassroots activism in a politically apathetic society.

This week, for the final episode of 2022: the Zenkyoto movement arrives at Japan's largest private school. Plus: how did a movement that grew so big so quickly fall apart just as fast? Show notes here.