午夜剧场

It was about half a century ago, when I was a master's student at the Graduate School of Law, that I took the liberty of asking Professor Tadao Ishikawa about the types of people who become researchers. I still vividly remember what Professor Ishikawa told me then.

The content was as follows: There can be three types of researchers from now on. The first is the sharp-witted type. The second is the type who enlightens public opinion through the mass media. The third is the type who steadily researches a single theme for three years or more. Therefore, you too can become a researcher.

Professor Ishikawa did not say which type I belonged to, but I unhesitatingly took myself to be the third type. Since then, under the guidance of the late Professor Fuji Kamiya and Professor Masaru Ikei, I have led a steady research life, keeping the motto "continuity is power" in mind.

My doctoral thesis "A Study of the Institute of Pacific Relations" (午夜剧场 Press, 2003, Shigeru Yoshida Award), "Pioneer of Private-Sector Exchange: Eiichi Shibusawa's National Diplomacy" (Fujiwara Shoten, 2013), and "Kisaburo Yokota 1896–1993: The Trajectory of Realistic Peace Theory," published last year, constitute my trilogy on private-sector exchange.

The Institute of Pacific Relations was an international private-sector exchange organization in the Asia-Pacific region established in 1925, positioned alongside the League of Nations and the Pan-American Conference as one of the world's three major conferences. Shibusawa was the chairman of its Japanese branch, and Yokota, a member, was a rare figure who maintained his criticism of the military from the standpoint of a liberal pacifist following the Manchurian Incident in 1931.

Strangely, however, in the postwar period, Yokota has been subjected to harsh criticism for allegedly changing his stance.

Is it possible for someone who risked their life to challenge the military during the war to change their principles after the war, when freedom was restored? I want to examine Yokota's values. That was the motivation for writing "Kisaburo Yokota."

As a result, this book has become suggestive for considering Japan today. The reason is that, for example, now that we are transitioning to a new era name, we reconsider the Emperor. Now that the government is aiming for constitutional amendment, we reconsider Article 9 and Japan's security. We reconsider the issues of thought and speech in a Japan that is shifting to the right. In doing so, Yokota's way of thinking and assertions are rich in suggestion.

In that sense, I would be grateful if you would take the time to read this book.

Nobuo Katagiri (Author)

Fujiwara Shoten

272 pages, 3,200 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time this magazine was published.