This fascinating first-hand account of the impact of the declaration of war by Japan upon Britain in 1941 provides reflections upon the diplomatic and personal situaions of the staff engaged in Anglo-Japanese relations at the time.

Former ambassador John Whitehead's Canterbury address marking the fiftieth anniversary of VJ Day.

Charles Alfred Fisher (1916-82) was an ex-prisoner of war, who played a significant, if forgotten role, in the rise of Japanese Studies.

This essay details Ernest Bevin's (1881-1951) role in Britain's post war attitudes and policies towards occupied Japan at the start of the Cold War, as Britain strived to remain a global power and public oppinion of Japan remained poor.

Lewis Bush was a POW who had lived in Japan prior to the war. This chapter comprises extracts from his account, The Road to Inamura.

Ian Nish, later Professor at SOAS, gives an account of his work in the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre, where he translated contemporary newspapers, along with documents from during the war, and was later involved in the first post-war elections.

Diplomat John Figgess was among the first of the British contingent to arrive in Tokyo in 1945 and in this chapter he describes his arrival and his work in Japan.

This essay seeks to answer the question of Edward Wood's (1881-1959) attitudes towards Japan in his role as foreign secretary from 1938 to 1941, when relations between Britain and Japan were becoming increasingly frayed.

F.S.G Piggott was one of a small number of japanophiles left in post-war Britain, preferring to overlook the worst excesses of Japan's pre-war leaders. This chapter details his nostalgic view of life in pre-war Japan.

As a prisoner of war, Peter Dean was one of the first westerners to experience Japan after the surrender.

This portrait details Philip Malins' (1919-) military career and key role of  in postwar reconciliation between Britain and Japan.

Shortly before his resignation as Prime Minister in 1954 Yoshida Shigeru visited Britain. This essay examines the political controversy surrounding Yoshida's visit, as well as the visit itself and an assessment of its success.

This portrait seeks to assess Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden's (1897-1977) attitude towards Britain's former ally and contemporary adversary, Japan, as well as detail his efforts to rebuild relations in the wake of the bitter legacy of the Pacific War.

This portrait offers an analysis of Sir John Simon's (1873-1954) flawed role in the foreign office and in Anglo-Japanese relations as a whole as they pertained to the Manchurian crisis.

Robert Scott’s (1905-82) career goes some way to illustrate Japan’s impact on the world in the 20th Century, particularly with regard to British and American foreign policy in South East Asia following the Second World War.

This essay uses the tragic death of Melville James Cox (1885-1940) in Tokyo to assess the misconduct of the Kempeitai in arresting British citizens during the Second World War.

This essay provides an account and analysis of The Shōwa Emperor's (Hirohito's) visit to Britain in 1970. It marked the first Japanese state visit to Britian, as well as the first time a Japanese emperor had ever made a visit abroad.

This essay details the role of William Patrick - Britain's appointed judge - in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 1946-48, along with the problems faced by the Tribunal.

Yone Noguchi (1875-1947) was the first Japanese-born writer to publish poetry in English, and had links with many famous English literary figures. This portrait charts his poetic career including his visits to the USA and London.