Description
Book SynopsisEven before Japan joined Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance, its leaders clarified to the Nazi regime that the attitude of the Japanese government and people to the Jews was totally different than that of the official German position and that it had no intention of taking measures against the Jews that could be seen as racially motivated. During World War II some 40,000 Jews found themselves under Japanese occupation in Manchuria, China and countries of South East Asia. Virtually all of them survived the war, unlike their brethren in Europe. This book traces the evolution of Japan's policy towards the Jews from the beginning of the 20th century, the existence of anti-Semitism in Japan, and why Japan ignored repeated Nazi demands to become involved in the ""final solution"".
Trade Review"Japan’s attitude to and policies toward Jews from 1933 to 1945 — the years that coincided with the rise and fall of Nazi Germany — is the subject of Meron Medzini’s fine and fascinating work of scholarship,
Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun: Japan and the Jews During the Holocaust Period ... Medzini, a Hebrew University historian, is one of the few scholars who has exhaustively delved into this intriguing topic ... Medzini’s wide-ranging book fills the gap quite admirably. He deals with the influx of Jews into Japan from the mid-19th century, the image of Jews in Japanese society, the export of antisemitism to Japan, the treatment meted out to Jews in Japanese-occupied Manchuria, China and Southeast Asia and the policies Japan formulated with respect to Jewish refugees." -- Sheldon Kirshner, The Times of Israel, 5 Feb 2017
Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun is a timely book that presents both experts and laymen with an excellent overview of up-to-date research on this topic in a readable and engaging form. -- Rotem Kowner, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Haifa * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *
[
Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun] is a very good addition to Japanese-Jewish historical literature. ... While there are other general books about Jews in Japan, this book’s focus on the WWII years makes it somewhat unique. The book contains an excellent selected bibliography as well as endnotes which will aid students and scholars for further research. Recommended for all academic libraries and libraries that collect in Diaspora or WWII history. * Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Preface
Chapter 1: Early Jewish Settlers in Japan
Chapter 2: Jewish Settlers in Japan at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century
Chapter 3: Japanese Images of the Jews: Myths, Canards and Fears
Chapter 4: Nazi Antisemitism and its Influence on Japan in the 1920's and 1930's
Chapter 5: Japanese Experts on Jews, Judaism, and Zionism
Chapter 6: Japan and the Jews of Manchuria Beginning in 1931
Chapter 7: Passports, Entry Visas, and Transit Visas: Japan's policy toward Jewish Refugees (1935-1941)
Chapter 8: The Jews of Shanghai under Japanese Rule
Chapter 9: Jews in the Japanese-Occupied Territories during the War Years
Chapter 10: A Japanese Righteous Gentile: The Sugihara Case
Chapter 11: The Japanese Policy toward the Jews in Japan’s Home Islands
Chapter 12: "The Jewish Question" in Japanese-German relations, 1936-1945
Chapter 13: The Japanese, the Holocaust of European Jewry, and Israel
Selected Bibliography
References
Index
