The first release in a new electronic series published by the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas, James J. Halsema's "Diary of the 1940 Japan America Student Conference" (ed. Grant Goodman) offers an interesting account of the last JASC conference before the Second World War. A student delegate to the conference (which was held in Japan), Halsema made a number of astute...

In the early days of July 1853, the residents of Uraga on the outskirts of the feudal capital of Japan at Edo were privy to a rather unusual sight: Four hulking foreign warships had entered their harbor under the power of coal, and under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States. So began one of the pivotal cultural interactions between East and West. Commodore Perry came as an...

On Monday, the US Navy began an official inquiry into the collision on February 9 of the USS Greeneville, a nuclear submarine, with a 190-foot Japanese fishing trawler, the Ehime Maru, off the coast of Japan. The accident led to the death of nine Japanese crew members, including four high school students. Over the last three weeks, several issues have emerged that are sure to be taken up at the...

The Japan Society was founded in New York City in 1907 by a group of businesspeople who were intimately interested in promoting relations between the United States and Japan. While the Society experienced a downturn in activities during World War II, the postwar period saw the Society come under the direction of John D. Rockefeller III, who was able to vastly expand its programs. Currently, the...

Upon opening this website, visitors will be treated to an image from an anonymous Japanese scroll which depicts a steam locomotive and several Japanese onlookers. It's an excellent way to start a digital collection dedicated to Commodore Matthew Perry's visit to Japan in 1854. The collection is part of Brown University's Center for Digital Initiatives, and it was created as part of a project by...

The Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, housed at the Johns Hopkins University, is one of the most comprehensive think tanks concerning relations between Washington and East Asian governments. Named for the first Japanese-born and Japanese-speaking U.S. Ambassador to Japan, the center has been examining diplomatic relationships for almost 30 years. Readers can learn about the...