Artykuły w czasopismach na temat „Japanse Military assistance”

IntroductionSino-Japanese relations appear to have a dual structure which is built into the long history of exchanges and interaction between the two countries. Some phrases such as ichii taisui (“neighbours across the strip of water”) and dobun doshu (“same Chinese characters, same race”) have long been regarded as a symbol of the friendly relationship between the two countries. Such a symbol, however, implies dual and conflicting sentiments of the Japanese and the Chinese, namely the feelings of inferiority and superiority with each other in a hierarchical order of foreign relations in Asia.To be more specific, the Chinese have a superiority complex deriving from their cultural influence in pre-modern history and hatred stemming from Japanese military aggression against China in the modern period, while having an inferiority complex based upon Japan's co-operation in their modernization, and admiration for Japan's advanced economy. On the other hand, the Japanese have an inferiority complex due to their cultural debt to China and the sense of original sin stemming from their past aggression against China, while having a superiority complex based upon their assistance to China's modernization and contempt for China's backwardness.

For over four years from the Marco Polo Bridge incident to Pearl Harbour China fought alone against Japanese military expansionism in the Far East. Both Britain and the United States recognized China's strategic importance but gave relatively little in the way of material help. On the one hand sufficient aid had to be given to ensure that China continued to act as a bulwark against Japanese imperialism and to keep China from gravitating to the Soviet Union (whose aid programme was more immediate, more generous and took the form of military supplies). On the other hand assistance was limited by British resource constraints, by American isolationist public opinion and by the fear, on both sides of the Atlantic, that overt military aid would provoke Japan into widening the conflict into their own respective spheres of interest.

This article shows the heroic work of Soviet military specialists (advisers) providing international assistance to the Chinese people in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945. Many Soviet volunteers gave their lives and remained forever on the land of China, honourably fulfilling their military duty. The authors assess the losses, reveal the issues of the social policy of the Soviet Union in the 1930s in relation to the combatants and the families of those killed in China.

Burma and Japan had long held the strongest ties among Asian countries. Such “historically friendly relationship” were based also on the sentiments and experiences of the leaders of both countries. Young Burmese patriots were trained by the Japanese army officers leading to the birth of the Burma Independence Army. Huge official development assistance provided by the Japanese government also cemented this “special relations”. However the military coup (1988) and Japanese ODA Charter (1992) drastically changed this favorable ties. Japan’s government and business have shown a keen interest in Myanmar since the establishment of a formally civilian government (2011) and beginning the rapid political reforms.

The article is devoted to the problem of the existence of a secret Polish-Japanese military agreement, which was allegedly concluded in 1931 and directed against the Soviet Union, which has long been debated in Russian historical science. The first message that Warsaw and Tokyo had concluded a secret military alliance was received by the Soviet military-political leadership through the foreign intelligence of state security agencies, citing a reliable source in March 1932. Information about this was received in Moscow for several more years, so the probability of a simultaneous attack against our country by Japan and Poland was laid by the Soviet General Staff in the plans for the strategic deployment of the Armed Forces up to 1939. However, an analysis of the surviving documents of the Polish and Japanese military authorities indicates that there were no agreements between Warsaw and Tokyo on conducting joint military operations against the Soviet Union. Poland, in the event of a conflict, hoped to rely on military assistance from France and Romania on the basis of interstate agreements of 1921. Japan in 1922-1939 had no allies in Europe, so its operational planning did not provide for the support of a third power, but was based on the principle of elastic defense in the north and west of Manchuria with simultaneous counterattack on the Soviet grouping of troops in the Ussuri Region. Nevertheless, in 1922-1939, the military departments of Warsaw and Tokyo carried out close cooperation in the field of intelligence and counterintelligence, thanks to which a powerful decryption service was created in Japan. In addition, Japanese officers were trained in the Polish army.

AbstractThe Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) became the focus of intense competition between the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1930s, when it was more commonly known as Outer Mongolia. The Soviet Union viewed the MPR as an ideological and strategic ally, and was determined to defend that state against the increasingly adventurist actions of the Japanese military based in northern China. Japanese ambitions to solve the so-called ‘Manmo’ (Manchuria-Mongolia) problem led the Soviets to initiate ever-closer links with the MPR, culminating in the 1936 pact of mutual assistance which was intended to constrain Japanese pressure. Using unpublished Japanese materials as well as Russian and Mongolian sources, this article demonstrates how the Soviet leadership increasingly viewed the MPR as strategically crucial to the defence of the Soviet Far East.

The United States had three challenges in Asia in the mid-1960s: a hostile China, an assertive Japan, and a faltering South Vietnam. The Johnson administration's solution to these problems was to promote the normalizing of relations between its two vital Asian allies, Japan and South Korea. The two countries had refused to recognize each other diplomatically since the end of Japan's colonial rule over Korea after World War II. The acrimonious relations between Seoul and Tokyo weakened the containment wall in Northeast Asia while depriving Korea of Japanese investments, loans, and markets. These problems forced the United States to commit extensive military and economic assistance to Korea. As expected, a Tokyo-Seoul rapprochment buttressed the West's bulwark against communist powers in the region and hindered a potential Beijing-Tokyo reconciliation. It opened the road for Japan's economic penetration into Korea and enabled Seoul to receive Tokyo's help in economic development. Reassured by the friendship between Korea and Japan, Washington forged an alliance with Seoul in the Vietnam War. Between 1965 and 1973 Korea dispatched 300,000 soldiers in Vietnam, making it the second largest foreign power in support of Saigon. The Korea-Japan rapprochment proved to be a powerful remedy for America's problems in Asia.

The paper provides a retrospective historical overview of forming and developing bilateral relations between Germany and Japan in the second half of the 19th century on the basis of documents and materials, previously largely not introduced into Russian scientific discourse. Taking as an example the commemorative events marking the 160th anniversary of the f irst diplomatic treaty, the relevance of the research subject which allows a clearer logic and features understanding of the modern dialogue between the two countries. The prerequisites and historical conditions for the interaction genesis as well as the contractual and factual basis of cooperation are studied. The article highlights the preparatory stage, negotiation process, practical results and strategic consequences of the expedition of Friedrich zu Eulenburg in 1859–1862 as well as the Treaty of Friendship, Trade and Navigation conclusion between Prussia and Japan, the contribution of Iwakura 1871–1873 mission in the political and cultural rapprochement between Japan and Germany, the role of Major Clemens Meckel in the modernization of the Japanese army, the assistance of lawyer Hermann Roesler in forming Japanese Meiji statehood, government institutions and legal framework. The influence of German military doctors on the development of Japanese military medicine is shown as well as the reflection of Japanese topics in German public life and art is illustrated.

Secretary of Navy Frank Knox declared a week after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor that fifth columnist activities were partly responsible for the success of Imperial Japanese forces. Who and what he meant when he used the phrase “fifth columnist activities” is subject to debate. Most assume he was referring to all Japanese Americans or Japanese nationals residing in Hawai’i. But this essay, based on Knox’s personal correspondence, supplemented with the Pearl Harbor Attack hearings’ published reports, Judge Advocate General records, and the 14th Naval District Intelligence Officer reports, finds that Knox was referring to the Japanese Consul-General Office and a small handful of Japanese American assistants who voluntarily carried out the task of keeping the U.S. Fleet and military installations under surveillance, thereby contributing to the success of the Imperial Japanese attack.

This article analyzes Japan’s Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) policy in Jordan, focusing primarily on the areas concerning security. After the oil shock in 1973, security concerns in the Middle East affected Japan’s economic security policy. However, Japan’s long vulnerability in energy supply was not the sole determinant of its aid policies in the Middle East. Rather, a paradigm shift in the Japanese government’s ODA policy in the 1990s, the implementation of the human security approach, had a greater impact than economic security in subsequent Japanese ODA programs in Jordan. Japan has given more assistance to areas relevant to military security in its ODA in Jordan, particularly after increasing security concerns about the Middle East since the early twenty-first century. The two phenomena—Japan’s more aggressive commitment in the Middle East, including its deployment of Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) in the region and Jordan’s greater responsibility in regional security—occurred simultaneously because of a series of crises after 2003. The unusual nature of Jordanian society today, a small society that hosts refugees from many nations, means the new Japanese ODA approach in Jordan has more diverse recipients than ever, as the country is becoming a host for a community of refugees.

In 2014, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo dominated Japanese politics. He successfully hiked the consumption tax in April and decisively won the Lower House Election in November. In an ideological tilt to the right, Abe also shifted Japan away from its post-war pacifism by making a cabinet decision to accept collective security. By paving the way for Japan to exercise military force through the assistance of third parties beyond its US ally, Abe will fundamentally change the role and identity of Japan in the post-Cold War era.

The Cold War brought forth an unprecedented level of global interactions, creating relationships that not only brought states together but altered the trajectories of societies. To explore the impact of the Cold War on postwar Japan, this article examines the negotiations between the United States and Japan over Japanese membership in the Mutual Security Program, the United States’ postwar military assistance program. It considers debates over Japanese rearmament and their effect on Japan’s economy and democracy, both within Japan and between Japan and the United States, the negotiations that resulted in Japan’s membership in the program, and Japanese reactions to this membership. It argues that Japanese rearmament both brought the United States and Japan together, and created tensions between them, highlighting the complicated Cold War dynamics between domestic and international politics. Further, it asserts that the Cold War altered the nature of the state by fostering a multilayered relationship between government policy-making, international negotiations, institutional developments, and socio-political mobilizations, creating a new political relationship that it calls the Cold War State.

After two lost decades of economic stagnation and faced with rising neighbors such as South Korea and China, soft power has been touted by politicians and academics alike as a means for Japan to maintain its global profile and influence. "Soft power" is a concept coined by Harvard professor Joseph Nye to maintain American preponderance in the post-Cold War era, but what does it mean in the Japanese context? This paper suggests that there are three discernible faces to Japanese soft power. First, there is a conventional emphasis on promoting pop cultural assets overseas such as manga (comic books); anime (animated cartoons) and cosplay (costume play). Second,Japan may also seek to project influence by aligning with international norms on freedom of maritime navigation or combating climate change. Third is a somewhat more unconventional use of Japanese military assets in a non-threatening manner to attract others into supporting Tokyo's policies through, for example, providing humanitarian assistance. The paper concludes by evaluating the impact and limitations of this Japanese traid in attaining desired goals through soft power.

In October1884, the major European colonial powers of the era were invited to a conference in Berlin by the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck.1The United States also attended the proceedings as an observer nation, and its representative, John A. Kasson, signed the Berlin Convention, one of the primary purposes of which was to regulate escalating imperial conflict by officially delineating the territorial boundaries of colonial possessions. Although warfare between colonial armies in Africa during World War I underscored the failure of negotiators to avoid yet another global military conflict, the Berlin conference none the less consecrated the creation of formal European empires and ‘spheres of interest’ throughout the continent. Except for the unique cases of Ethiopia and Liberia, independent Africa eventually ceased to exist.

The article examines Japan’s relations with Myanmar at the present stage with an emphasis on their features after the military coup in that country on February 1, 2021. Japan’s ties with the armed forces of Burma, which were created during the Second World War with Japanese assistance, have been preserved for many post-war decades and are still an important factor that predetermined Japan’s special relations with Myanmar. Currently, maintaining informal contacts with the Myanmar military allows Tokyo to claim the role of a “bridge” between Myanmar and Western countries and pursue its own “balanced course” in relation to this country in the face of a clash of geopolitical interests of the main international actors in Myanmar. This coup prompted Tokyo to distance itself somewhat from the ruling regime. However, at the same time, the Japanese Government is pursuing a very flexible policy aimed at preserving its political and economic positions in Myanmar. This is not hindered by the fact that Tokyo’s approaches to Myanmar often conflict with the positions of other Western countries and cause criticism from not only these countries and various international organizations, but also within Japan itself. A powerful pro-Myanmar lobby has been operating in Japan for many decades, personified by the Japan-Myanmar Association. Thanks to the actions of this lobby, as well as the so-called “special relationship” with Myanmar, Japan has become the world’s largest aid donor to this country and one of the leading foreign investors in its economy. Despite the fact that the majority of American and European companies curtailed their activities in Myanmar after the military coup, most Japanese firms, not wanting to lose profitable business, remained in the country, taking a wait-and-see attitude in the hope of the business environment improving. It can be assumed that the rich experience accumulated over many decades in the development of Japan’s relations with Burma/Myanmar, as well as continuing ties with the country’s military elite, will allow the Japanese government to adapt its political and economic ties to Myanmar under any regime in power in this country.

The article analyzes the official development aid (ODA) as a tool for ensuring Japan’s interests in Central Asia. The author puts forward an idea that ODA reflects the complex nature of Japan’s foreign policy which is a combination of a strategies based on national interests, efforts at implementation of liberal values and seeking common Asian identity. The research starts from the brief overview of history of the ODA and then proceeds to the coverage of Japan’s ODA towards Central Asia to demonstrate how the evolution of Japan’s political priorities manifested itself in the country’s assistance policy. The author uses quantitative and qualitative analysis of ODA to Central Asia as well as content analysis of the key documents on diplomacy and ODA. The research then focuses on the main directions of assistance and studies how they relate to Japan’s foreign policy goals. Further attention is given to the role Japan plays in the region, by assessing her position among the main donors of Central Asia as well as the significance of its aid from the point of view of economic development of the region, ODA’s security role and Japan’s efforts at preserving the cultural heritage of the region. The author comes to the conclusion that realism-based objectives such as getting access to the natural resources of the region, securing its geopolitical stance in the heart of Eurasia and ensuring the support for Japan’s bid to the UN Security Council seat by five Central Asian states dominate Japan’s ODA policy. It is also influenced by external factors, such as US-Japan military alliance and Japan’s geopolitical rivalry with China. At the same time, much of Japan’s efforts are directed at liberal goals such as promoting democracy in the region with Japan being a role model for democratization, supporting modernization and market economy. Assisting economic development and helping settle security issues with an emphasis on human security projects demonstrate not only Japan’s desire to boost its positive image in the region but also enhance its international reputation and its vision of Central Asia as a ground for cooperation with other countries. The author comes to the conclusion that cultural ODA is directed at objects related to shared history, mainly at preservation of the Buddhist heritage which Japan sees as a foundation for common identity and which underlies its connections to the Silk Road.

A chilling subplot in the twentieth-century saga of state-sponsored mass murder, torture, and other atrocities was the widespread incidence of medical complicity. Nazi doctors' human “experiments” and assistance in genocidal killing are the most oft-cited exemplar, but wartime Japanese physicians' human vivisection and other grotesque practices rivaled the Nazi medical horrors. Measured by these standards, Soviet psychiatrists' role in repressing dissent, Latin American and Turkish military doctors' complicity in torture, and even the South African medical profession's systematic involvement in apartheid may seem, to some, almost prosaic. Yet these and other reported cases of medical complicity in human rights abuse compel an inquiry into medicine's vulnerability to becoming an adjunct to illicit state purposes.

Abstract The following study provides an insight into Japanese policies on wounded veterans’ relief during the twentieth century. During the long war (1937–1945) with China and later with the Allied Forces (1941–1945), the Japanese government established strong physical, occupational and spiritual rehabilitation programs in addition to several laws that provided pensions or allowances for military disabilities. After the defeat in 1945, under the Occupation’s new rules of democratization and demilitarization, wounded veterans quickly lost all their benefits. Furthermore, their image was devalued in the eyes of society and their voices were marginalized. However, because of their struggles, the State established a new non-discriminatory law for all disabled people. Nevertheless, after the return of Japanese autonomy in 1952, the wounded veterans still felt that they were not treated adequately because no law addressed their specific circumstances. In order to attain their goal, they created a new association of disabled veterans to express their frustration and to lobby the Japanese government for change. Because of their stubborn mobilization, the Law for Special Aid to the Wounded and Sick Retired Soldiers was finally enacted in 1963 and provided veterans with the assistance they needed and for which they had long-since been asking.

The Japanese Navy has mobilized troops against Koreans since August 1943. The Navy's late push for the mobilization of Korean troops was due to concerns and distrust of Koreans. However, as the war situation worsened and Japanese military resources became scarce, naval mobilization was eventually implemented against Koreans. Until now, the structure and status of the Japanese Navy's mobilization of Korean troops has been poorly understood due to data limitations. The sketchy accounts of the start of the naval special assistance system in Korea in 1943 and the conscription system in 1944 make it even more difficult to understand the structure of the navy's troop mobilization. This article examines the status of the Japanese Navy's implementation of the Korean Special Support System through institutions and examples, and explains in detail the structure and methods of troop mobilization. The results show that the Japanese Navy utilized both the volunteer and conscription systems to mobilize the Korean population. Contrary to what is known, the scale of Korean mobilization was greater through volunteers than conscription, as the Japanese navy preferred to train them directly through volunteers in order to secure high-quality troops. Meanwhile, Koreans were initially mobilized as sailors and mechanics, but after 1945, about 50% of the total number of Koreans were mobilized as engineers. This was due to the need to build airfields and underground facilities to prevent American air raids and landings.

The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan. Japan was one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh officially, on 10 th February 1972, fewer than two months after the latter gained independence. This article investigates the great assistance that Japan extended to Bangladesh at this crucial juncture in its history, while also exploring several new insights into Japan’s contribution to the freedom struggle in 1971. The widespread support and cooperation of the Japanese people towards Bangladesh during its resistance against the Pakistan military were spontaneous and overwhelming. Many Japanese organizations, like the 'Japan-Bangladesh Friendship Association' (JBFA), the 'Bangladesh Solidarity Front' (BSF), and the Japan Red Cross Society (JRCS), made an immense contribution to Bangladesh's War of Liberation. Notable Japanese politicians and professionals, like Takashi Hayakawa (MP), Professor Tsuyoshi Nara, and Professor Setsurei Tsurushima, coordinated and strengthened their collective efforts to support Bangladesh. The Japanese press and media, like the Japan Times, Daily Yomiuri, and Asahi Shimbun, also played a very positive role in mobilizing public opinion in favor of the independence of Bangladesh. The Japanese government was sympathetic towards the defecting Bengali diplomats who left the Pakistani side and were in Japan under special permission from the Japanese government. Even the Japanese United Nations (UN) Mission came forward to sponsor or co-sponsor several resolutions supporting the means of Bangladesh. We earnestly hope that fifty years of bilateral relations will elevate into "heart- to-heart" relations, from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership.

With the changing world situation, the end of World War II, the withdrawal of Japanese people from Taiwan, the eruption of Korean War, the assistance of Military Assistance Advisory Group in Taiwan, and the participation of American military in Vietnam War, a lot of US people came to Taiwan and brought a distinct lifestyle and culture, which have exerted their influence up to now. Apparently, the introduction of American culture greatly influenced the society at the time; people pursuing fashion gradually accepted western way of leisure and changed the existing traditional model. It also revealed the expansion of exotic cultural identity locally.By distributing and collecting questionnaires on-site, teachers and students of Chinese Culture University and the neighboring citizens in Yangmingshan are sampled for this study. A total of 500 copies of questionnaires were distributed, and 316 valid copies were retrieved, with the retrieval rate of 73%. Each retrieved copy stands for a valid sample. The research results are concluded as follows. 1. Cultural Identity presents significantly positive effects on Possible to purchase in Purchase Intention of American Commodity. 2. Cultural Identity reveals remarkably positive effects on Intend to Purchase in Purchase Intention of American Commodity. 3. Cultural Identity shows notably positive effects on Consider to Purchase in Purchase Intention of American Commodity. 4. The correlation between Cultural Identity and Purchase Intention of American Commodity shows partially significant differences on demographic variables.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the results of the using bomber aviation of Air Forces USSR in the framework of providing military assistance to the armed forces of the Kuomintang in 1937–1939. The purpose of the publication is to analyze the combat experience gained by Soviet pilots in repelling Japanese aggression in China. The authors considered changes in the tactics of using bomber aircraft, methods for improving the technical characteristics of aircraft, the development of methods for training personnel. Particular attention is paid in the article to the recommendations presented by bomber pilots based on the results of combat missions, for implementation into the practice of the USSR Air Force. The publication is based on the memoirs of direct participants in the events and materials from the funds of the Russian State Military Archive. The author comes to the conclusion that combat practice in China allowed Soviet pilots to gain experience, study the performance characteristics of their aircraft in the best possible way and even make some modifications to their design, and the analysis of combat sorties significantly expanded the arsenal of tactics of Soviet aviation.

Abstract The Chinese Mission in Japan, which existed from 1946 until Japan regained its sovereignty as a result of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1952, represented the Republic of China in working with the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in reconstructing postwar Japan. The original objective of the Chinese Mission was to serve as the government’s agency to carry out the repatriation of Japanese troops and civilians from China in coordination with the Allies, secure war reparations from Japan, and try war criminals. However, as President Harry S. Truman terminated US aid to China in 1947 and Guomindang (GMD) military fortunes in the Chinese Civil War declined under the command of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese Mission was given an additional assignment: to lobby General Douglas MacArthur to secure military assistance from SCAP. This essay discusses the interaction between the Chinese Mission and General MacArthur during the Chinese Civil War from 1946 to 1949 and examines the way in which the Chinese Mission persuaded him to play a role in the Civil War. This study argues that although it was in opposition to Washington, MacArthur’s determination to assist Chiang Kai-shek was in great part due to the strenuous lobbying of the Chinese Mission in Tokyo. Although MacArthur’s intervention could not reverse the final outcome of the Chinese Civil War, his anti-Communist outlook was formed and played a significant role during the Korean War a year later.

IntroductionInternational collaboration for disaster response is an increasing phenomenon. Japan-United States joint field exercises have been conducted annually since 2004, triggered by an incident in which a US helicopter crashed into a university campus in Okinawa, Japan. The fifth Japan-US disaster field exercise was conducted testing the disaster response of the Okinawa government and US military.MethodsThe simulated exercise involved a US Navy aircraft that crashed into a city center in Okinawa, Japan. There were 16 simulated casualties that included US military members and Japanese citizens. The participants in this exercise were US military members, including the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and local rescue and medical teams including the Okinawa Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT). Data were gathered from the joint debriefing session held by both medical teams. Furthermore, interviews with team leaders from both nations were conducted and feedback obtained.ResultsLack of communication and inaccurate communication remained the root of most problems encountered. There were several miscommunications at the scene due to the language barrier and ignorance of different medical teams' capability and method of practice. Due to the unclear signage of the initial triage zone, another triage zone was developed later by a second medical team. Confusion regarding gathering information and order of transport also was witnessed. The capabilities of team members were not well known between teams, resulting in inappropriate expectations and difficulty in effective cooperation.ConclusionsUnderstanding the systems and backgrounds of each medical team is essential. Signs or symbols of key elements including triage areas should be clear, universal, and multilingual. Communication remains the Achilles' heel of multi-national disaster response activities.

This article aims to clarify Japanese South-commissioned writers’ perception of Eurasians in 1940s Indonesia on the basis of Abe Tomoji’s retelling of a tale of treachery in his essay “Chi to Tsuchi to Kokoro— Eruberuferuto no koto nado” (1944.7). The treachery in question is that of Pieter Elberfeld, a Eurasian man accused of plotting a rebellion against Dutch East Indies Company authorities with Javanese assistance, who was then brutally executed. In 1930s Japan, this story was symbolically employed by the “anti-Western” movement. Abe portrays Eurasians as people who act without clear reasons because of their mixed-blood nature, and he represents them as “born traitors.” By employing the notion of the “contact zone” as a conceptual framework through which to interpret Abe’s essay, this article argues that this portrayal of Eurasians is related to the Japanese military policy towards enemy aliens in Indonesia. This policy exempted Eurasians from internment in camps alongside Europeans if they could prove their Asian descent. As a result, many Eurasians who once prided themselves on their European ancestry began to identify themselves as Indonesians. This article’s findings fill the void in previous research on Abe as a South-commissioned writer, which primarily focuses on Indonesian scenic beauty and the eroticization of Dutch women there.

Abstract The Komagata Maru incident of 1914 occurred at a time when intra-Asian trade was flourishing, but it coincided with a period of great migration. Many Indians (South Asians), and also Chinese and Japanese, moved around the Indo-Pacific, a migration that stirred anti-Asian feeling among white peoples. It also occurred in a transitional period for the British Empire. But Britain still held a dominant position in the Indo-Pacific, not only because it benefited from intra-Asian trade, but also because it could make use of Indians as a military force and rely on a measure of assistance from Japan, its ally. Taking the above facts as background, this article examines the incident by approaching a wide range of topics, including political, legal, and immigration histories, and by incorporating local, national, and regional histories into a globally connected history, to demonstrate the incident’s use as a showcase that illuminates multilateral and multitiered linkages in the Indo-Pacific, the British Empire, and beyond.

Aim. To reveal the main interests of Japanese foreign policy in the countries of the South Caucasus.Methodology. Based on the analysis of the programs and instruments of Japan’s «soft power» in the countries of South Caucasus, the main interests of the country in this region were identified, including the expansion of connecting transport routes between Europe and Asia, as well as the promotion of the «Eurasian Policy» of Tokyo and the influence increase in the important geopolitical space. To determine the dynamics of the provision of humanitarian assistance to Japan within the ODA (Official Development Assistance) the available data of the last 5 years was analyzed. The practical experi ence of the main grant program (Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects – GGP) and the scholarship program (MEXT scholarship) implemented in the Transcaucasian countries is summarized. The analysis of the interstate humanitarian cooperation within the framework of the «Japan’s Caucasus Initiative» was also carried out.Results. When researching the activities of Japan in the South Caucasian countries, the author determined that Japan is aimed at expanding the policy of «Eurasian Policy» actively implementing the instruments of «soft power» in the countries of the Transcaucasia. It also revealed the need to deepen research of the implementation of «soft power» in the South Caucasus not only of the «traditional» interested actors (Western countries), but also the Asian ones including Japan.Research implications. The author considers the under-investigated topic of the implementation of non-military tactics by Japan in the South Caucasus, summarizes and analyzes various instruments of «soft power», including the «Japan’s Caucasus Initiative», identifies the motives of Tokyo’s activity in this direction.

Myanmar and Japan have had an important shared history since the Pacific War, when Japan occupied the British colony of Burma and established the country's first postcolonial state and army. The period from 1941 to 1945 also witnessed the “militarization” of Myanmar as the country was turned into a battlefield by the Japanese, the Allies and indigenous insurgents. After independence from Britain in 1948, the Union of Burma continued to suffer insurgency and became a deeply conflicted society, especially under the isolationist socialist regime of General Ne Win (1962–1988). However, Japan played a major role in Myanmar's economic development through its allocation of war reparations and official development assistance (ODA), especially yen loans. During the period of martial law from 1988 to 2011, Tokyo exercised some self-restraint in giving aid due to pressure from its major ally, the United States, with its human rights agenda. However, with the transition from junta rule to constitutional government in 2011 came a dramatic increase in Japanese ODA, as Tokyo forgave large amounts of debt and invested in ambitious new special economic zones (SEZ). Japan will no doubt benefit from Myanmar as close ties are expanded: Not only will Japanese companies profit, but Japan will have access to Myanmar's raw materials and gain ability to compete more effectively with an economically expansive China. On Myanmar's side, though, it is unlikely that anyone other than the military and crony capitalist elites will benefit from the flood of new yen loans and infrastructure projects. This paper argues that without a political resolution of Myanmar's many conflicts, including the establishment of genuinely open political institutions, the aid of Japan (and other countries) is likely to make these deep-rooted social and ethnic conflicts even worse.

Despite the numerous contemporary studies of military-political cooperation between the USSR and Mongolia, a lot of questions remain requiring deeper understanding and analysis. They include issues relating to the geopolitical situation, bilateral Soviet-Mongolian cooperation in the military-political and economic spheres on the eve of the Second World War. The contemporary Russian and Mongolian researchers believe that the events at Khalkhin-Gol marked the beginning of this war. Thus, this article aims to analyze the entire spectrum of the military-political and economic cooperation between the USSR and Mongolia, taking into account both domestic and international factors during the events in Khalkhin-Gol. The methodological basis of this study involves the principles of historicism and objectivism, which allowed to establish an objective geopolitical situation associated with the exacerbation of the situation in the Far East in connection with the aggressive plans of Japan. The latter threatened the national sovereignty and security not only of Mongolia, but also of the USSR first. Under these conditions, the USSR was the only guarantor of the preservation of Mongolian statehood. The main conclusions include the following. One of the decisive armed confrontations on the eve of the Second World War was the events on the Khalkhin-Gol River, during which the combined forces of the USSR and Mongolia managed to win a decisive victory over the Japanese-Manchurian troops. The main task of the USSR was to protect its borders in the Far East, while Mongolia was a reliable ally against the aggressive plans of Japan. The 1936 Protocol of Mutual Assistance between the USSR and the Mongolian People’s Republic is an example of a mutually beneficial union of two states directed against external aggression. The victory at Khalkhin-Gol had not only great importance on changing the balance of power, the conclusion of the Soviet-German Pact of 1939, but it also contributed to the formation of Mongolian statehood, strengthening the Soviet-Mongolian military-political union. According to the results of the Yalta Conference of 1945, the “status quo” of Mongolia was finally defined, which marked the beginning of its independence and international recognition.

AbstractSince the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo as President of Nigeria Japan's attitude towards the West African state seems to have been positively transformed. The relationship between the two countries kicked-off with panache after the President's first visit to Tokyo in April 1999 as President elect to renew acquaintances. The two countries are now bound together in a "Special Relationship", which provides them with a coherent framework for regular and constructive consultations. The recent developments replace a period of immobilist diplomacy between Tokyo and Abuja especially during when Nigerian domestic politics was infested with military dictatorships.Tokyo's recent initiatives toward Abuja have to be seen within the context of Japan's invigorated diplomatic initiatives toward sub-Saharan Africa as manifested through the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. The relationship is also premised on Nigeria's hegemonic position within the sub-region of West Africa. As a result, Japan has relatively increased its economic assistance to Nigeria in recent years and is seemingly showing signs of interest in the economic development of Nigeria. On his part, President Obasanjo has pledged his country's determination "to change from the way and manner business was done in Nigeria in the recent past in order to institute a new regime of accountability and transparency in conformity with internationally accepted codes of business ethics".

The article examines the specifics of the activities of Soviet military advisers sent to the Republic of China in 1938–1943 to assist in the construction of a modern army at that time, in planning and conducting defensive and offensive operations. The organizational structure of the soviet apparatus is presented, including 4 chief military advisers (M. I. Dratvin, A. I. Cherepanov, K. M. Kachanov, V. I. Chuikov). It is noted that the staff of advisers included representatives of all branches of the armed forces: combined arms, artillery, aviation, tank, engineering, communications, air defense, logistics, intelligence, as well as military doctors. Based on the memoirs, the features of the advisers' activities in the Chinese theater of operations, the specifics of relations with Chinese military leaders are considered. According to memoirists, Soviet officers sent to China did not receive special training to perform the functions of advisers, the experience of advisers who worked in China in the 1920s. It was not generalized, and the instructions of the representatives of the People's Commissariat of Defense were of the most general nature: it is necessary to help the Chinese comrades. In the memoirs, several problems stand out in the work of advisers with Chinese generals: the presence in the command structure of the Chinese armed forces of feudal generals who received military education in military academies of Western countries and Japan and had their own idea of the tasks of combating Japanese aggression; the gap in military ranks (Soviet majors – advisers to Chinese generals); the age barrier (the advisers were much younger than the Chinese generals, to whom they had to advise something); the language barrier. The advisers attributed attachment to traditions and intolerance to criticism, even the most reasonable, to the psychological characteristics of Chinese generals. Related to this were recommendations for a special approach to Chinese generals. The issue of the relationship between the leaders of the Kuomintang and the CPC, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong during the war is being considered. It is emphasized that the recall of advisers to the USSR in 1943 It was primarily associated with the growing scale of American military assistance to China, including advisers. Рассматриваются особенности деятельности советских военных советников, командированных в 1938–1943 гг. в Китайскую Республику для оказания помощи в строительстве современной по тому времени армии, в планировании и проведении оборонительных и наступательных операций. Представлена организационная структура советнического аппарата, включая 4-х главных военных советников (М. И. Дратвин, А. И. Черепанов, К. М. Качанов, В. И. Чуйков). Отмечается, что в аппарате советников были представители всех родов войск: общевойсковые, артиллерийские, авиационные, танковые, инженерные, специалисты по связи, ПВО, тылу, разведки, а также военные врачи. На основе воспоминаний рассматриваются особенности деятельности советников на китайском театре военных действий, специфика взаимоотношений с китайскими военачальниками. По свидетельству мемуаристов, направленные в Китай советские офицеры не проходили специальное обучение для выполнения функций советников, опыт советников, работавших в Китае в 1920-е гг. обобщен не был, а инструкции представителей наркомата обороны носили самый общий характер: надо помочь китайским товарищам. В воспоминаниях выделяется несколько проблем в работе советников с китайскими генералами: наличие в командном составе китайских вооруженных сил генералов-феодалов, получивших военное образование в военных академиях западных стран и Японии и имевших свое представление о задачах борьбы с японской агрессией; разрыв в воинских званиях (советские майоры – советники китайских генералов); возрастной барьер (советники были значительно моложе китайских генералов, которым они должны были что-то советовать); языковой барьер. К числу психологических особенностей китайских генералов советники относили привязанность к традициям и нетерпимость к критике, даже самой разумной. С этим были связаны рекомендации особого подхода к китайским генералам. Рассматривается вопрос, связанный со взаимоотношениями в ходе войны руководителей Гоминьдана и КПК, Чан Кайши и Мао Цзэдуна. Подчеркивается, что отзыв советников в СССР в 1943 г. был связан прежде всего с ростом масштабов американской военной помощи Китаю, в том числе советниками.

An outstanding orthopedic traumatologist and military field surgeon, scientist and teacher, one of the founders of orthopedics in Russia, founder and long-term director of the St. Petersburg Orthopedic Institute (1906–1924), organizer of the first Department of Pediatric Surgery in Russia (1933) and creator of a large scientific school of orthopedic traumatologists, Professor Roman Romanovich Vreden was born on March 9 (21), 1867 in St. Petersburg in the family of a well-known otorhinolaryngologist, Professor Robert Robertovich Vreden. From childhood, Roman chose the profession of a doctor for himself, and after graduating with a gold medal from the First Classical Gymnasium in St. Petersburg in 1885, he entered the Imperial Military Medical Academy. After graduating from the academy in 1890, he passed the competition and left for further development of the specialty as an adjunct at the Department and Clinic of Hospital Surgery founded by N. I. Pirogov and led by Professor V. A. Ratimov. In 1893, R. R. Vreden successfully defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine on the topic: «On the etiology of cystitis», after which he was sent to Kiev, where from 1893 to 1896, he worked as a resident at the Kiev Military Hospital, headed the Surgical and Ear Departments there. In 1896, Roman Romanovich returned to the Military Medical Academy and received the position of senior assistant in the Hospital Surgical Clinic of V. A. Ratimov. In 1898, R. R. Vreden was awarded the academic title of Privatdozent. In 1902, in connection with the retirement due to illness of V. A. Ratimov, a competition was held to fill the position of the head of the Department of Hospital Surgery, but R. R. Vreden lost to S. P. Fedorov in it, after which he left the Department. In 1902–1904, he was a leading surgeon and director of the French Hospital in St. Petersburg and a surgical consultant at the Nikolaev Military Hospital. In 1903, R. R. Vreden was appointed an official for special assignments at the Main Military Medical Directorate. In February 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began and R. R. Vreden was sent to the Far East. In March 1905, Roman Romanovich returned to St. Petersburg, until 1906, served as head of the faculty surgical clinic of the Women’s Medical Institute. In July 1906, Roman Romanovich was appointed the first director of the first Russian Orthopedic Institute in St. Petersburg. R. R. Vreden can rightfully be considered the founder of operative orthopedics in our country. Such surgical interventions as arthrotomy, arthroplasty, arthrodesis, bone and joint resections, tendon and bone plasty, osteotomy, open reduction of dislocations and others were widely performed at the Institute. In 1911, Roman Romanovich was elected a professor at the Psychoneurological Institute and created the Department of Orthopedics on the basis of his Institute. In 1912, he organized training in orthopedics for doctors at the Clinical Institute of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, and in 1918, he created and headed the Department of Orthopedics at the First Petrograd Medical Institute. In 1925, the «Practical Guide to Orthopedics» was published, which summed up the 18-year activity of R. R. Vreden in this field of medicine. Roman Romanovich created one of the first and largest scientific schools of orthopedic surgeons in our country. Professor Roman Romanovich Vreden died in Leningrad on February 7, 1934 and was buried at the Smolensk Lutheran cemetery. In 1967, the Leningrad Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics was named after R. R. Vreden.

The main milestones of the life and creativity of Professor S.R. Mirotvortsev are described in the article. Little-known facts from the professor's biography are noted. He was rewarded with two gold medals for his students' works: “Vessels and nerves of sinews of the human foot” (with his student V.P. Vorobyov) and “Dislocations of bones of the wrist.” Notably, during the Russian-Japanese war, S.R. Mirotvortsev spent 11 months in the besieged Port Arthur and remained with the wounded who were taken prisoner by the Japanese there. From 1905 to 1914, S.R. Mirotvortsev worked in the Military Medical Academy (Saint Petersburg), initially under the leadership of Professor S.P. Fedorov and then as assistant for Professor V.A. Oppel. From 1914 until the end of his life, S.R. Mirotvortsev worked in Saratov, in the Department of General Surgery; beginning in 1920, he was a member of the fa­culty of the surgical clinic. From 1922 to 1928, S.R. Mirotvortsev was the rector of Saratov University. In the period of the Great Patriotic War, he was the chief surgeon of Saratov and the Saratov region. S.R. Mirotvortsev published approximately 150 scientific works regarding questions of clinical and field surgery. In 1908, he demonstrated the first transplantation of ureters in the rectum and defended a doctoral dissertation (1909) on this subject. Broad popularity was gained by his work regarding malignant new growths, particularly sarcomas of tubular bones. S.R. Mirotvortsev developed methods of unilateral closure of the large intestine, determined the plasticity of the sealing gland of the meninx, and processed burn wounds with potassium permanganate solution. S.R. Mirotvortsev suggested the use of the hemostatic properties of catgut for local cessation of bleeding from parenchymatous bodies and channels within the meninx. His numerous works on field surgery provided statistical analysis of 180 000 cases involving gunshot wounds; these were especially valuable during World War I (1914–1918). Notably, the Department of Faculty Surgery of the Saratov Medical Institute, as well as a street in Saratov, carries the name of S.R. Mirotvortsev. He was awarded the Labour Red Banner, the Red Star, and numerous medals.

ABSTRAK Kekalahan Jepang pada Perang Dunia II membawa sejumlah perubahan dalam perpolitikan Jepang. Sejak saat itu, Jepang menerapkan politik pasifisme yang berorientasi kepada perdamaian dan pertumbuhan ekonomi. Kontribusi Jepang dalam bantuan ekonomi semakin besar setelah menjadi bagian dari Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Jepang juga menunjukkan peran aktifnya dalam upaya menciptakan perdamaian dunia. Keaktifan Jepang mulai terlihat pada masa Perang Teluk dengan menjadi United Nation Peace Keeping Operation (UNPKO). Hingga saat ini, Jepang masih menjadi salah satu negara yang aktif mengirimkan bantuan militer melalui UNPKO untuk menjaga perdamaian dunia. Besarnya peran Jepang dalam menjaga perdamaian dunia dan kontribusinya dalam perekonomian dunia membuatnya merasa siap untuk menjadi anggota tetap Dewan Keamanan PBB. Tulisan ini menganalisa mengenai upaya yang dilakukan oleh Jepang untuk mendapatkan posisi sebagai anggota tetap Dewan Keamanan PBB melalui OECD dan UNPKO serta tanggapan negara-negara mengenai intensi Jepang tersebut.Kata Kunci: Politik Luar Negeri Jepang, Anggota Tetap Dewan Keamanan PBB, OECD, UNPKO ABSTRACTJapan's defeat in World War II brought several changes in Japanese politics. Since then, Japan has implemented a pacifist policy that is oriented towards peace and economic growth. Japan's contribution to economic assistance has been even greater after becoming part of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Japan has also shown its active role in efforts to create world peace. Japan's activeness began to be seen during the Gulf War by becoming part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation (UNPKO). Until now, Japan is still one of the countries that actively sends military assistance through UNPKO to maintain world peace. The magnitude of Japan's role in maintaining world peace and its contribution to the world economy has made it feel ready to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. This paper analyzes the efforts made by Japan to obtain a position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council through the OECD and UNPKO and the responses of countries regarding Japan's intentions.Keywords: Japanese Foreign Politics, Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, OECD, UNPKO

The special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine has led to an increased possibility of using nuclear weapons. The use of nuclear weapons during the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 led to severe injuries and death of thousands of people, burns, mechanical trauma. Ionizing radiation lesions were new and specific, causing significant difficulties in the diagnosis and management of this pathology. Since then, there have been a number of accidents at nuclear power plants, the largest of which were the accidents at the Chernobyl and the Fukushima. During this time, the concepts of acute and chronic radiation syndromes were introduced into medical practice, and methods for treating these diseases were developed. Today, in connection with the threat of the use of a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine, as well as with the increasing likelihood of using tactical nuclear weapons, there was a need to form certain skills and concepts of actions in case of injuries from ionizing radiation among doctors and paramedical personnel.

Рассматривается освещение событий антияпонской войны китайского народа (1937–1945 гг.) газетой Тихоокеанского флота «Боевая вахта» (г. Вла-дивосток). В это время Советский Союз предоставлял Китаю не только военную, материальную помощь, но и оказывал моральную поддержку, в том числе через средства массовой информации, рассказывая о национально-освободительной войне китайского народа. Отмечено, что во время войны Гоминьдан и Коммунистическая партия Китая создали антияпонский национальный единый фронт и объединились против японских захватчиков. Китайский народ мужественно боролся за свою свободу и национальную независимость. Газета высоко оценила деятельность Коммунистической партии Китая и её борьбу с японскими захватчиками в трудных условиях. Но во время антияпонской войны правительство Гоминьдана не отказывалось от антикоммунистической политики. Газета критиковала коррупцию в правительстве Гоминьдана и его неспособность вести активные действия в середине и конце войны; публиковала факты, как Ван Цзинвэй вступил в сговор с японскими захватчиками. 26 января 1940 г. «Боевая вахта» приводила текст соглашения, подписанного между Ван Цзинвэем и японцами. Подчёркивается, что газета «Боевая вахта» цитировала сообщения из китайских газет, то есть показывала дальневосточникам, как китайские газеты осуждают предательские действия марионеточного режима Ван Цзинвэя. «Боевая вахта» в подробностях сообщала также и о причинах, процессе и результате советско-японской войны – последних военных действиях в рамках Второй мировой войны. Ключевые слова: газета «Боевая вахта» (г. Владивосток), публикации, национально-освободительная война китайского народа, Гоминьдан, Коммунистическая партия Китая, Ван Цзинвэй, сговор с японскими захватчиками, марионеточный режим, советско-японская война, последние военные действиях в рамках Второй мировой войны. Abstract. The coverage of the main events of the anti-Japanese war of the Chinese people (1937–1945) by the Pacific Fleet newspaper Battle Watch (Vladivostok) is considered. At that time, the Soviet Union provided not only military and material assistance to China, but also provided moral support, including through the media, telling about the national liberation war of the Chinese people. It is noted that during the war the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party created an anti-Japanese national united front and united against the Japanese invaders. The Chinese people fought bravely for their freedom and national independence. The newspaper praised the activities of the Chinese Communist Party and its struggle with the Japanese invaders in difficult conditions. But during the anti-Japanese war, the Kuomintang government did not abandon anti-communist policies. The newspaper criticized corruption in the Kuomintang government and its inability to take active steps in the middle and end of the war; published the facts as Wang Jingwei colluded with the Japanese invaders. On January 26, 1940, Battle Watch cited the text of the agreement signed between Wang Jingwei and the Japanese. It is emphasized that the Battle Watch newspaper quoted messages from Chinese newspapers, that is, it showed the Far East how Chinese newspapers condemn the treacherous actions of the puppet regime of Wang Jingwei. The Battle Watch also reported in detail about the causes, process and result of the Soviet – Japanese war – the latest military operations in the framework of World War II. Keywords: Battle Watch newspaper (Vladivostok), publications, the national liberation war of the Chinese people, the Kuomintang, the Chinese Communist Party, Wang Jingwei, conspiracy with the Japanese invaders, puppet regime, the Soviet-Japanese war, recent military operations within World War II.

On December 27, 1951, Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru sent John F. Dulles a letter that explained “Counter Infiltration" against China. Yoshida thought the best way to wean Chinese from the Communist regime was by sending people into China through trade activities and encouraging an anticommunist movement in China. He believed that Japan could have a major role in such an operation. The purpose of this paper is to examine Yoshida's “Counter Infiltration" plan against China from the standpoint of intelligence. Yoshida, taking a special interest in intelligence, established intelligence organs such as the Public Security Intelligence Agency and the Cabinet Research Office (CRO) in quick succession soon after the San Francisco Peace Treaty went into effect in April 1952. Worried about indirect aggression from communist countries, Yoshida concentrated his efforts on developing an interior intelligence framework. At the same time, he tried to foster the growth of a Japanese intelligence organization that could gather information and perform covert operations in Mainland China.This study shows that Yoshida proactively tried to strengthen intelligence cooperation with governments of both Taiwan and the United States. Yoshida appointed Ogata Taketora Chief Cabinet Secretary and made him supervisor of Japanese intelligence organs. Ogata urged the Nationalist government on Taiwan to cooperate in establishing a Communist information exchange organ, and asked the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for assistance in creating a Japanese CIA. On the other hand, Yoshida let retired lieutenant General Tatsumi Eiichi recruit ex-military personnel for service in the CRO. With the assistance of Tatsumi, the CRO started actual intelligence activity against China after January 1953. The CRO interrogated repatriates from China, and proposed a joint operation with the CIA to send Japanese agents into Macao. Thus Yoshida tried to establish a Japanese intelligence system and backed U.S. strategy against China in the intelligence field.Yoshida's idea, however, was frustrated by rapid changes at home and abroad. After the Peace Treaty came into force, Yoshida couldn't maintain a firm hold on power. Not only the opposition parties but also the media criticized Ogata's plan to launch a Japanese CIA. In the end, Ogata had no choice but to downscale his ambitious plans, and eliminate overseas covert operations. Moreover, Yoshida's confrontational approach against the Chinese government was criticized for being behind the times after the Indochina armistice in 1954. In the last days of his ministry, Yoshida encouraged both Britain and U.S. to set up a “high command" on China in Singapore. His aim was to use overseas Chinese based in Southeast Asia to infiltrate Mainland China, but his idea wasn't put into practice because he was unable to gain the support of either Britain and the United States or even his own entourage.

'Self-awareness' and the development of the autonomous subject (derived from Enlightenment and the Anglo-European philosophical traditions) has often been implicated in discussions of modernity. In East Asian societies where the Confucianist social order is seen as a deep-rooted social and cultural force, discussions of modernity and modernisation have often revolved around the tension between the spread of individualism and liberalism that come with modernisation and contact with the West. The preservation of traditional sociocultural values and familial and social structures that stress mutual obligations, social harmony and a certain form of "benign" paternalism have been key concerns. The popular television dramas in these societies seem to provide a public imaginary space where such tensions and conflicts are often played out in dramatic ways. They provide places were simulated or compromised solutions are proposed and explored. Popular TV romance dramas in particular can serve as a window to the ways in which the topic of the (non-) self-determining subject is explored. These dramas typically present a scenario in which strong mutual love and desire between two people come into conflict with the existing sociocultural values (e.g., familial, social constraints). In this paper, I analyse a recent popular South Korean TV romance drama: (1) Autumn in My Heart (also known as Endless Love I, Autumn for short below) and contrast it with (2) Friends, another recent popular TV romance drama jointly produced by television companies in Japan and South Korea. These cultural products are shown not only in their respective societies but also sold to television companies in other neighbouring countries; their VCD/DVDs are widely marketed and circulated in East Asian areas (e.g., Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China). 1 Autumn is about a brother (played by Song Seung-hun) and sister (played by Song Hye-kyo) who had grown up together and had developed a very close relationship in a happy middle class family until one day the family found out that the girl was actually not their own. There had been a mistake in the hospital and two baby girls were swapped. Hye-kyo was 14 when this mistake was discovered. She returned to her real mother's poor working class home (her father died from blood cancer before she was born), while the middle class family left Korea for the States with their son and newly recovered daughter as an attempt to forget about the whole incident. From then on, Hye-kyo was separated from her "brother" (Seung-hun) and started her longing for him. Ten years later, the middle class family returned to South Korea and the "brother" and "sister" met again and fell in love. Seung-hun wanted to break his prior engagement with his fiancée to marry Hye-kyo. However, family and friends still saw them as "brother" and "sister" (despite the fact that they are not related in blood) and imposed great familial and social pressure on them to end their "improper" relationship. Later, Hye-kyo discovered that she had blood cancer. She hid her illness from Seung-hun and wished him happiness with his fiancé. Seung-hun, not knowing about Hye-kyo's illness, and under a guilty conscience to make it up to his fiancée (who had attempted suicide for him), consented to leave Hye-kyo and go back to the States with his fiancé. At the last moment, he found out about Hye-kyo's illness and rushed to the hospital. Families and friends were finally moved by their love for each other and did not prevent them from spending their last days together. Hye-kyo died from her illness soon and Seung-hun, having lost all hope and interest in life, was hit by a truck. To the Western audience, such a storyline may seem implausible and perhaps impossible. For instance, how can family and friends find any legitimate reasons to prevent Seung-hun and Hye-kyo from loving each other when they are not blood relatives? Seung-hun's father mentioned once that their "improper relationship" would bring disgrace to the family. His mother did not support their union, either, as she could not bear to see the "brother-sister" relationship being transformed into a romantic, sexual relationship. She became ill, tormented by her own guilty feelings: she blamed herself for not taking Hye-kyo with her to the States ten years ago and she thought that their "love" for each other was a tragic distortion of their original brotherly and sisterly feelings due to their long separation. On the other hand, Seung-hun felt guilty for breaking his prior promise to his fiancé. Hye-kyo was also full of guilty feelings for she felt that they were hurting everybody who cared about them. Almost 90% of the time when the couple talked to each other, they were in tears and were deeply tormented by the conflict between their perceived obligations towards family and friends who loved them and their strong desire to stay together. At one point, they decided to part so that "no one would get hurt any more" (without admitting that they themselves were deeply hurt). Such self-negating actions were coupled with an unquestioning acceptance of the legitimacy of the familial and social demands on them. Is the current South Korean society very much against the development of an autonomous individual and the individual's self-determining actions? On this issue, Korean cultural studies scholar Lee Dong-hoo had the following comments: Many Korean dramas, especially daily soap operas, put values on relationships, such as family relationship and friendship. Even a success story, which emphasizes one's own will to succeed, doesn't neglect the aspect of human relationships. … The traditional Confucianist ethics or patriarchal ideology can be found in the dramas' emphasis on relationship or one's social role. And I think that keeping good relationships is one of the survival strategies in Korea. The Korean society has been maintained by the closely connected social nets. The dramas may (unconsciously) reflect this reality. Lee's remarks about the importance of Confucianism in the Korean society are evidenced in the long-term activities of the well-organised Confucianist society ("Confucian Forest"), which maintains special schools in major cities and counties, offering instruction in Confucianist ethics, rituals and practices (Wu 27). Another example of Confucianist relational ethics can be found in the recent rejection by the South Korean parliament of the nominated female prime minister; one of the reasons quoted is that her son has chosen to be an American citizen (Nan 26). Before moving on to a discussion of the ideological implications of the tragic ending in Autumn, let us first look at another recent popular TV romance drama, Friends, which was jointly produced by Japanese and South Korean television companies. Interestingly, Friends did not start with a scene in Korea or Japan but with the Victorian Harbor scene in Hong Kong, with spectacular cosmopolitan skyscrapers in the background, and a Western-style saxophonist playing Jazz music in a busy street corner. Tomoko, a tourist from Japan, was left on her own by her colleague who had travelled with her on holiday but was keen to see her boyfriend who worked in Hong Kong. Soon, Tomoko was robbed of her handbag in a busy street. In chasing the robber, she mistook Kim as the culprit. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, they became friends. Kim was a college student from South Korea and an active member of the Film society in his university. He was in Hong Kong trying to shoot his first and last movie on a shoestring budget (last because he had decided to give up film-making after this to conform to his father's wish for him to run the family business). Tomoko agreed to help Kim by acting in his movie, which was about a young woman running and searching for true love in the busy streets of a foreign place (Hong Kong). After the short stay in Hong Kong, they returned to Japan and Korea respectively and started their e-mail correspondence. Soon they fell in love. Tomoko felt that corresponding with Kim made her able to like herself again. Coming from a divorced, single-parent family and not doing very well in school, she had tried to commit suicide before. Her lowly, routine job as a sales assistant in a big department store in Tokyo also gave her little satisfaction and purpose in life. However, after starting her romance with Kim, Tomoko seemed to have regained confidence in herself and a purpose in life -- she started taking lessons in the Korean language, worked very hard and finally succeeded in becoming a tour guide for Korean trips so that she could move to South Korea. Likewise, Kim found that he could become himself again when he was with Tomoko. Tomoko encouraged him to pursue his dream of becoming a movie director. However, aggravating family pressure later made Kim wonder whether he was right in defying his father's wishes (by pursuing a film career and loving a Japanese woman) and he blamed Tomoko for his strained relationship with his father. Tomoko, dejected and heart-broken, returned to Japan. Kim, having lost Tomoko, came to his senses and returned to his low-paid job as a film production assistant. Finally he succeeded in gaining a prize for his movie and his parents came to the award ceremony indicating a softening on the part of his father, who finally came to recognise the value of, and his passion for, film work. Kim later became re-united with Tomoko. The happy ending of Friends stands in sharp contrast with the tragic ending of Autumn. The simulated ending of Friends reflects "imaginary realism", one of the newly appropriated strategies based on marketing considerations found in the recent hugely successful blockbuster movies produced in South Korea; it "enables [one] to escape the restrictions of reality without losing a sense of the real" (Lee 12). In Autumn, Hye-kyo frequently said to Seung-hun that their actions would be punished and she later remarked that her illness was a punishment for hurting other people. This tragic ending thus seems to have the ideological, didactic effect of teaching about the punishment for violating the Confucianist social order. Friends, on the other hand, seems to use the hybrid, third space created by the cosmopolitan scene and Western symbols (the Western street musician playing jazz) in Hong Kong (a former British colony which claims itself to be "the Manhattan of Asia") to fabricate a modernised, Westernised and yet still Asian background for the love story to start in. Tomoko was instrumental in inducing Kim to follow his dream, to become the person he really wanted to be. Kim's subsequent success which helped win the acceptance of his father symbolises the possibility of the maturing of the self-determining subject in the new, globalised economic order (Kim's superior in Kim's military service once encouraged him to follow his passion and contribute to the film-making industry to bring glory to the nation) and the possible gradual transition from Confucianism to a certain form of nationalist liberalism in South Korea (e.g., following one's dream and contributing to national glory simultaneously), under the influence of seemingly more Wesernised neighbouring societies (e.g., Japan, Hong Kong). Autumn and Friends seem to represent two different possible stances towards the traditional order at this historical juncture when South Korea is experiencing enormous economic success and going through modernisation and a certain degree of Westernisation that come with its participation in the global economic order. Sociocultural tensions, conflicts and resolutions are simulated and explored in the relatively safe, imaginary space of popular TV dramas, which apart from playing their economic part in a highly successful national media industry, also play an important role in engaging the transnational public (e.g., audiences in East Asian societies which share a Confucianist tradition) with sociocultural issues in an imaginary space. As in the feminist retelling and re-staging of the traditional Chinese opera Butterfly Lovers in newly formed Communist China in the 1950s to explore the self-determining subject and autonomous actions of the female protagonist (Li), these Korean TV dramas seem to provide an important public space for the explorations of a society's cultural ethos and the contested issues of modernity, Westernisation and cosmopolitanisation. They reflect the articulation of different (contradictory) cultural, economic and historical forces and their potential constitutive impact on the future sociocultural landscape of East Asian societies awaits further research. Notes For instance, the media in Hong Kong and China readily talk of the coming of the "Korean Wave" and the names of Korean TV idols such as Song Hye-kyo, Song Seung-hun and Won Bin (who co-starred in Autumn) are familiar to many Chinese young people. The final episode of Autumn aired on Asia Television (ATV) in August 2002 had attracted as high as 70% of that night's television audience in Hong Kong, a rare phenomenon that ATV hurried to boast of. References Lee, Dong-Hoo. "Relationships in Korean Dramas". E-mail communication to the author, 6 August 2002. Lee, Sooyeon. Explaining the South Korean blockbuster movies: An industrial and textual analysis. Unpublished manuscript. Korean Women's Development Institute, South Korea, 2002. Li, Siu Leung. Cross-dressing in Chinese opera. Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong Press, 2001. Nan, Li Ming. "Broken dream of female prime minister in a sad South Korea [in Chinese]." Yazhou Zhoukan—The International Chinese Newsweekly, 12-18 August 2002: 26. Wu, Le Shan. "Female prime minister in South Korea's new era [in Chinese]." Yazhou Zhoukan—The International Chinese Newsweekly, 22-28 July 2002: 26-27. Citation reference for this article Substitute your date of access for Dn Month Year etc... MLA Style Lin, Angel M. Y.. "Modernity and the Self" M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5.5 (2002). [your date of access] < http://www.media-culture.org.au/mc/0210/Lin.html &gt. Chicago Style Lin, Angel M. Y., "Modernity and the Self" M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5, no. 5 (2002), < http://www.media-culture.org.au/mc/0210/Lin.html &gt ([your date of access]). APA Style Lin, Angel M. Y.. (2002) Modernity and the Self. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5(5). < http://www.media-culture.org.au/mc/0210/Lin.html &gt ([your date of access]).