The first release in a new electronic series published by the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas, James J. Halsema's "Diary of the 1940 Japan America Student Conference" (ed. Grant Goodman) offers an interesting account of the last JASC conference before the Second World War. A student delegate to the conference (which was held in Japan), Halsema made a number of astute...

On Monday, the US Navy began an official inquiry into the collision on February 9 of the USS Greeneville, a nuclear submarine, with a 190-foot Japanese fishing trawler, the Ehime Maru, off the coast of Japan. The accident led to the death of nine Japanese crew members, including four high school students. Over the last three weeks, several issues have emerged that are sure to be taken up at the...

The Japan Society was founded in New York City in 1907 by a group of businesspeople who were intimately interested in promoting relations between the United States and Japan. While the Society experienced a downturn in activities during World War II, the postwar period saw the Society come under the direction of John D. Rockefeller III, who was able to vastly expand its programs. Currently, the...

Upon opening this website, visitors will be treated to an image from an anonymous Japanese scroll which depicts a steam locomotive and several Japanese onlookers. It's an excellent way to start a digital collection dedicated to Commodore Matthew Perry's visit to Japan in 1854. The collection is part of Brown University's Center for Digital Initiatives, and it was created as part of a project by...