Nippon Times as an educational medium in occupied Japan, 1945-1951

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  • 占領下の英語経験とNippon Times
  • センリョウ カ ノ エイゴ ケイケン ト Nippon Times

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This study was performed to explore the nature of readers' experiences with English-language newspapers in occupied Japan. Focusing on Nippon Times, an English-language paper managed by Japanese but controlled by the GHQ in 1945-1951, this study shows how global media, such as English papers, cause their writers and readers identify with their own culture and nationality. Originally, Nippon Times was established to improve Japanese international relations in 1897. After the Manchurian Incident in 1931, the paper was expected to function as Japanese propaganda but after World War II, it became a mouthpiece for the GHQ. However, the newsroom included multicultural staff such as Japanese-Americans, and under the censorship of the GHQ, they identified themselves as a medium to express themselves to GHQ on behalf of the Japanese people. During the occupation, the paper's main readership was the American military and their family members in Japan, but many Japanese people subscribed to study English. Articles about Japan in English functioned as instructive texts for students and some readers actively tried to express their opinions to an international audience. Some Japanese readers actively tried to translate their domestic opinions into international ones. Through the examination of such articles written by Japanese, Nippon Times was an educational medium enhancing Japanese identity, portraying an internationalized Japan.

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