Ten Years in Japan: A Contemporary Record

by Joseph Clark Grew

s/ Drawn from the Diaries & Private & Official Papers of J.C. GrewThe author was US Ambassador to Japan 1932-1942. This book is a Contemporary Record drawn from his diaries & official papers, & as such, is an important source for an historian.IllustrationsForewordThe Assassin's Shadow Lies Across JapanThree Years of Calm Before the StormFrom Abortive Revolution to Open WarChina IncidentOne Two WarsOne One WarJapanese Officials & Foreign DiplomatsIndex

Genres: History, Japan, Travel

554 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Joseph Clark Grew (May 27, 1880 – May 25, 1965) was an American career diplomat and Foreign Service officer. Early in his career, he was the chargé d'affaires at the American Embassy in Vienna when the Austro-Hungarian Empire severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 9, 1917.

Later, Grew was the Ambassador to Denmark (1920–1921) and Ambassador to Switzerland (1921-1924). In 1924, Grew became the Under Secretary of State, and in this position he oversaw the establishment of the U.S. Foreign Service. Grew was the Ambassador to Turkey (1927–1932) and the Ambassador to Japan beginning in 1932. He was the American ambassador in Tokyo at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) and the opening of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Grew (1880-1965) was an American career diplomat and ambassador to Japan from 1932-42 - sent there for the explicit purpose of defusing what was clearly a situation heading for conflict. This book consists of diary entries he made during those ten years, spaced no more than about a week apart. Grew was the ultimate American gentleman, and well received in Japan. His friendships with so many people in Japan in the context of the path to war between the U.S. and Japan creates a tension that grows ever more fraught. But whatever your take on the rights and wrongs of both sides in the lead-up, and in spite of this book being, as a diary, one-sided by definition, Grew's sincerity and humanity, not to mention his perspicuity and wisdom - in a word, his diplomacy - come through.

It is fascinating to be "by Grew's side" as he hobnobs with the people who made the history of that time such as Japanese Cabinet ministers, and even calls occasionally on the Emperor himself (who clearly had a much closer involvement in the running of Japan before the war than the Emperor does now). His comments on these characters give memorable faces to what for me had been only names in the history books.

The ultimate page-turner is knowing that Pearl Harbor is coming up, and wanting to know how predictable or otherwise it was to the actors. Going by what he wrote, Grew had a very clear, hard-headed grasp of things, but doggedly did his best to secure peace to the very end.

Perhaps one of the most valuable insights that this book provides - or at least reinforces - is how powerless both he and most of those Japanese he dealt with were in the face of a Japanese Army that was basically running riot in China and the rest of Asia, leading Japan by the nose into disaster.

[David Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading about World War II and its causes most of my life. Seems no matter how much reading I do, there is always more to learn. I have had a pretty good grasp on the events that led to the war in Europe but up to now had little understanding of political, economic, and diplomatic events that led to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. This book goes a long way toward filling that gap.

Grew was US Ambassador to Japan from 1932 until Pearl Harbor, and was held by the Japanese until mid-1942. He had interactions with key Japanese political figures during that time, as well as attending court of His Imperial Majesty.

The basis for the book is Grew's diary. He has updated many of the entries. For example, an entry for June 4 may include a description of events on later days related to June 4. Sometimes he adds information from much later.

Considering that the book was published in 1944, I was a bit surprised it's not the least bit chauvinistic or strident as are so many others of the time.

One of my big take-aways from this book is how shaky Japan's pact with Germany was. Once Japan started fighting China in 1937, one of their primary concerns was war with the Soviet Union. When Germany concluded its non-aggression pact with the Soviets, Japan worked to achieve the same thing. Then, just days after concluding the pact Hitler launched Barbarossa, generating turmoil amongst Japanese leadership and resulting in a change of government.

[Bob Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

He saw it coming!

My Dad fought in the Pacific against the Japanese military machine during WWII. But before the war’s outbreak Ambassador Joseph Grew saw it coming - like a train wreck he could not stop.
This book - really a series of diary entries over 10 years - is ponderous to read at times but ultimately fascinating.
We all know the outcome. We were exposed to the bare facts in grade school. But WHY did the war happen? Not the propaganda but the real day to day facts of the matter.
Ambassador Grew offered a glimpse into those reasons, and even 80 years later there are still lessons to be learned from his writings, for those like me interested enough to take the time.

[Lewis M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One method I follow in my investment research is to seek out and study historic precedents from which I can learn that may be applicable in the future I expect - or fear. Thus I took up the reading of this well written and insightful book by the US Ambassador to Japan, who wrote of the decaying relations between the US and Japan that led to the war. I watch the same decay between the US and China with the same concern. Key insights and possible similarities included 1.) the reality distortion field created by Japanese propaganda kept Japanese officials from understanding that the U.S. would not back down, 2.) Japan's belligerent moves foreshadowed by seizing and fortifying Islands such as Yap and the Solomons (sound familiar?), 3.) all conflicts were inter-related as countries changed behavior based upon the progress of the conflict in other theatres, 4.) American overconfidence in sanctions as a tool to drive compliance, 5.) marginalization of Japanese businessmen and their interest in globalization & avoiding conflict, & 6.) Japan called its invasion of Manchuria the "China Incident" just as Russia calls its adventure in the Ukraine a "special military operation."

Overall a sobering read into the daily process leading up to the war for those contemplating current events (August 2024).

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being drawn from journals and notes, this chronological account of Grew's ambassadorship to Japan in the decade leading up to WWII is not a page turner. It does, however, provide enough background for someone generally familiar with the growth of the Japanese Empire (or "Co-Prosperity Sphere") before the war to understand it.

Frankly, a primary motivation for reading this book was to find out what happens to ambassadors when their countries go to war. (He and his staff were confined to their grounds, then shipped to a neutral site for pick-up).

I read this amidst a bunch of other books about modern Japan. The sum of them has led me to the uncomfortable recognition of imperial Japan as being much like the imperial United States of America. Both were/are swaggering, racist and sanctimonious, their aggressions against other, smaller powers broadcast to the world, and understood by themselves, as being for the good of all. It is not a pretty picture.