Japan: The Hungry Guest

Written after the outbreak of war between Japan and China but putting aside British sentiments of suspicion, dislike and a sense of competition, G C Allen bases his observations of Japanese social, political and economic life on his first-hand experience of living and working in the country for a number of years. He argues that the economic expansion of Japan was regarded as a greater threat to Britain because of Japan’s political aims and aggressive territorial expansion, but he is at pains to explain the Japanese domestic circumstances which gave rise to this situation. He also argues that the expansion of the British Empire has some parallels with Japanese expansion, without condoning Japanese methods. Overall the author emphasizes the extent to which judgments about the qualities of the Japanese people have been influenced by the political views of writers in Western countries.