Selective Reporting

Scholars traditionally used politico-economic theories to analyze the formation of the Berlin-Tokyo Axis. While these frameworks emphasize the similarities between the developmental trends of Japan and Germany, they do not fully explain the timing of the alliance and downplay obstacles such as conflicting ideologies and economic interests. This book seeks to put interwar German-Japanese relations in a new light by examining Japanese and German newspapers to gauge how the two countries portrayed each other. Evidence indicates that while Germany and Japan showed interests in the other's culture, society and economy, they did not depict each other as a predestined ally but merely perceived it as one nation among many and even attacked its leadership and policies. Moreover, the press reports often suffered from ideological analyses that projected false images of the other country. These findings point to a need to re-examine the level of mutual knowledge between Germany and Japan, and the causes leading to Japanese-German rapprochement using contingent factors. Researchers in International Relations, History and Journalism should find this book interesting.