2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Switzerland and Japan during the Long Second World War: A Diplomatic History
| Project/Area Number |
21K13087
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
LOTTAZ Pascal 京都大学, 白眉センター, 特定准教授 (40844014)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-04-01 – 2025-03-31
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| Keywords | World War 2 / Switzerland / Japan / Foreign Policy / International Relations |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In fiscal year 2023, I gathered a (hopefully) final batch of primary materials from the Swiss National Archives to reconstruct the foreign policy changes between Switzerland and Japan in the years before the "Long Second World War" especially in the late 19th century, the 1910s and the 1920s. The insights gathered from the official diplomatic correspondence between the Confederation and the Empire of Japan seem to suggest a growing but relatively one-sided interest in stronger bilateral interest from the Swiss side, mainly for the purpose of trade (exports). I also participated in public discussions on WWII and Japan in the Kyoto University Academic Day to present some findings to the public.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
I originally planned to finish the research for this project in AY 2023 but due to new findings in the archives of Switzerland I had to add more time to improve the quality of the analysis and the discussion of the context. Overall I am very pleased with the amount of additional information that I could uncover, although this all has to be sorted and organised which is now taking more time than expected. I would also like to add more research from Japanese archives which is occupying me in these months to broaden the discussion about the bilateral relationship if possible.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I am intending to do analysis of the currently available primary sources and if possible supplement with sources from Japanese archives. The task for this year of extension is to properly write up the findings and summarise the data which will be used in the final book manuscript.
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| Causes of Carryover |
As I am not finished with the writing of the book manuscript, I will be using the outstanding amount to cover costs related to the publication of the manuscript and miscellaneous expenses that I might incure in the next fiscal year due to equipment needs or needs to travel to archives inside Japan for final searches of documents relating to this project.
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