Episode 587 – The All-Seeing Eye, Part 4 Facing Backward Podcasts podcast

Over 20 million podcasts, powered by

Artwork

Content provided by Facing Backward Podcasts. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Facing Backward Podcasts or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Facing Backward Podcasts « »
Episode 587 – The All-Seeing Eye, Part 4

1M ago

Share

MP3•Episode home

Content provided by Facing Backward Podcasts. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Facing Backward Podcasts or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

This week, conspiracism takes a new twist in Japan, from paranoid worries about Christianity to paranoid beliefs in “Western encirclement”. How did this new form of conspiracism help drive Japan’s descent into fascism, empire, and eventually the self-destructive decisions of the Second World War?

Sources

Duus, Peter. “The ‘Paranoid Style’ in Japanese Foreign Policy.” in Japan in the World, the World in Japan: Fifty Years of Japanese Studies at Michigan.

Duus, Peter. The Japanese Discovery of America: A Brief History with Documents

Driscoll, Mark W. The Whites are the Enemies of Heaven: Climate Caucasianism and Asian Ecological Protection

Sinh, Vin. “Tokutomi Soho and Japan’s Imperial Destiny.” Journal of Japanese Trade and Industry vol 2 (June, 2002)

Images

Japanese troops entering Shenyang (a city in Manchuria) in 1931. Japan’s invasion of Manchuria was widely condemned in the West, but in Japan that condemnation was treated as further proof of the ABCD “conspiracy.”

Japanese troops entering Shenyang (a city in Manchuria) in 1931. Japan’s invasion of Manchuria was widely condemned in the West, but in Japan that condemnation was treated as further proof of the ABCD “conspiracy.”

The political cartoon described at the start of this episode.

The political cartoon described at the start of this episode.

The journalist Tokutomi Soho, once an avowed liberal, was so shaken by the events of 1895 and Russia’s intercession to force Japan to return territory to China that he became a right-wing nationalist and authoritarian for the rest of his life. He would go on to be a major promoter of the ABCD conspiracy theory.

The journalist Tokutomi Soho, once an avowed liberal, was so shaken by the events of 1895 and Russia’s intercession to force Japan to return territory to China that he became a right-wing nationalist and authoritarian for the rest of his life. He would go on to be a major promoter of the ABCD conspiracy theory.

A magazine article in the weekly “Shasshin Shuho” (Photography Weekly) depicting the “ABCD siege” of Japan’s “liberation campaigns” in Southeast Asia. From the August 13, 1940 edition.

A magazine article in the weekly “Shasshin Shuho” (Photography Weekly) depicting the “ABCD siege” of Japan’s “liberation campaigns” in Southeast Asia. From the August 13, 1940 edition.

… continue reading

11 episodes

Artwork

Episode 587 – The All-Seeing Eye, Part 4

Facing Backward Podcasts

14 subscribers

published 1M ago

Share

MP3•Episode home

Content provided by Facing Backward Podcasts. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Facing Backward Podcasts or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

This week, conspiracism takes a new twist in Japan, from paranoid worries about Christianity to paranoid beliefs in “Western encirclement”. How did this new form of conspiracism help drive Japan’s descent into fascism, empire, and eventually the self-destructive decisions of the Second World War?

Sources

Duus, Peter. “The ‘Paranoid Style’ in Japanese Foreign Policy.” in Japan in the World, the World in Japan: Fifty Years of Japanese Studies at Michigan.

Duus, Peter. The Japanese Discovery of America: A Brief History with Documents

Driscoll, Mark W. The Whites are the Enemies of Heaven: Climate Caucasianism and Asian Ecological Protection

Sinh, Vin. “Tokutomi Soho and Japan’s Imperial Destiny.” Journal of Japanese Trade and Industry vol 2 (June, 2002)

Images

Japanese troops entering Shenyang (a city in Manchuria) in 1931. Japan’s invasion of Manchuria was widely condemned in the West, but in Japan that condemnation was treated as further proof of the ABCD “conspiracy.”

Japanese troops entering Shenyang (a city in Manchuria) in 1931. Japan’s invasion of Manchuria was widely condemned in the West, but in Japan that condemnation was treated as further proof of the ABCD “conspiracy.”

The political cartoon described at the start of this episode.

The political cartoon described at the start of this episode.

The journalist Tokutomi Soho, once an avowed liberal, was so shaken by the events of 1895 and Russia’s intercession to force Japan to return territory to China that he became a right-wing nationalist and authoritarian for the rest of his life. He would go on to be a major promoter of the ABCD conspiracy theory.

The journalist Tokutomi Soho, once an avowed liberal, was so shaken by the events of 1895 and Russia’s intercession to force Japan to return territory to China that he became a right-wing nationalist and authoritarian for the rest of his life. He would go on to be a major promoter of the ABCD conspiracy theory.

A magazine article in the weekly “Shasshin Shuho” (Photography Weekly) depicting the “ABCD siege” of Japan’s “liberation campaigns” in Southeast Asia. From the August 13, 1940 edition.

A magazine article in the weekly “Shasshin Shuho” (Photography Weekly) depicting the “ABCD siege” of Japan’s “liberation campaigns” in Southeast Asia. From the August 13, 1940 edition.

… continue reading

11 episodes

All episodes

×

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

Listen to 500+ topics

Help/FAQ | Advertise with Us

Arts|Business|Comedy|Economics|Entertainment|News|Politics|Religion

Science|Soccer|Sports|Storytelling|Technology|True Crime

Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright

Listen to this show while you explore