Continental Policy of Japan as Seen from France: Japanese Expansion in China and French Political World
https://doi.org/10.24412/2687-1440-2021-50-163-183
Abstract
This article analyzes responses of French politicians and analysts to a then new phase of Japanese expansion into China from July 1937, known in Japan as the “China Incident” because the state of war was never officially proclaimed. The Sino-Japanese War became a piece of “news” of global significance for the French press too, even if not so important as internal political problems or events in neighboring countries like the Spanish Civil War. A well-known analyst, Secretary General of the Committee for Pacific Problems Study Roger Levy (1887–1975) directly connected the changed situation in the Far East with French interests in this region, while his works were marked by an equidistant view of the Sino-Japanese conflict. The “German factor” of this conflict, important for France, emerged soon and was noted by an influential politician Albert Sarrault (1872–1962), a former Prime Minister. Also, for this reason, the position of a right-wing monarchist movement “Action française” was not as explicitly pro-Japanese as it was during the Manchurian Incident of 1931 and the Shanghai crisis of 1932. University of Paris professor Jean Escarra (1885–1955) presented arguments for the Chinese side. Philosopher and political writer Felicien Challaye (1875–1967) condemned Japanese aggression while trying to be equidistant from both sides of the conflict. Famous novelist Claude Farrere (1876–1957) and ex-diplomat turned historian and political analysts Edouard Clavery (1867–1949) took the side of Japan, seeing her as an ally of France in the fight for stability in East Asia. A study of French opinions and responses to Japanese continental policy will enrich our knowledge of this period and will help us to better understand the political philosophy of France as well as the workings of its propaganda and image-making systems.
About the Author
V. E. Molodyakov
Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Takushoku University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Molodiakov Vassili E., Doctor of Sciences (Political Science), Leading Researcher, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Professor, Takushoku University, Research Institute for Global Japanese Studies, Otsuka 1-7-1 G-210, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-0012, Japan
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Review
For citations:
Molodyakov V.E. Continental Policy of Japan as Seen from France: Japanese Expansion in China and French Political World. Yearbook Japan. 2021;50:163-183. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24412/2687-1440-2021-50-163-183
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