A gripping, behind-the-scenes account of the personalities and contending forces in Tokyo during the volatile decade that led to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the American ambassador who attempted to stop the slide to war.
In 1932, Japan was in crisis. Naval officers had assassinated the prime minister and conspiracies flourished. The military had a stranglehold on the government. War with Russia loomed, and propaganda campaigns swept the country, urging schoolchildren to give money to procure planes and tanks.
Into this maelstrom stepped Joseph C. Grew, America’s most experienced and talented diplomat. When Grew was appointed ambassador to Japan, not only was the country in turmoil, its relationship with America was rapidly deteriorating. For the next decade, Grew attempted to warn American leaders about the risks of Japan’s raging nationalism and rising militarism, while also trying to stabilize Tokyo’s increasingly erratic and volatile foreign policy. From domestic terrorism by Japanese extremists to the global rise of Hitler and the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, the events that unfolded during Grew’s tenure proved to be pivotal for Japan, and for the world. His dispatches from the darkening heart of the Japanese empire would prove prescient—for his time, and for our own.
Drawing on Grew’s diary of his time in Tokyo as well as U.S. embassy correspondence, diplomatic dispatches, and firsthand Japanese accounts, Our Man in Tokyo brings to life a man who risked everything to avert another world war, the country where he staked it all—and the abyss that swallowed it.
Steve Kemper is the author of Our Man in Tokyo, A Splendid Savage, A Labyrinth of Kingdoms, and Code Name Ginger. His work has appeared in many national publications, including Smithsonian and National Geographic. He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.
This book is much more than a biography of American Ambassador to Japan, Joseph C. Grew and provides information about the mind set of Japan between 1932-1941........a mindset that led to Pearl Harbor and war.
Grew, a wealthy Ivy League graduate was a learned man who joined the Diplomatic Corps in 1906 and served in several countries before being appointed as Ambassador to Japan. He read all he could about the country and fell in love with it immediately.....the culture, the people, and the beauty of the islands. But he was not blinded by his enchantment. He wrote to Secretary of State, Cordell Hull; The thing that makes the Japanese nation so powerful and menacing is the national morale and esprit de corps...the force of a nation bound together with great moral determination fired by national ambition, and peopled by a race with unbounded capacity for self sacrifice.... Hull, who hated the Japanese and thought they were insignificant, ignored Grew and continued to ignore his reports and advice until December 7, 1941.
The reader is shown the inner workings of the Japanese Empire and the almost complete autonomy of the military as they invade China to create the Japanese controlled Manchuoko, move into French Indo-China (Vietnam) and set their eyes on the Dutch West Indies. The United States instituted tariffs and restricted imports in an attempt to bring Japan in line but to no avail. During this time, Ambassador Grew attempted to advise the State Department on possible diplomacy actions but, as usual, he was ignored.
There is so much of great interest in this book, that a review cannot do it justice. It is a fantastic history of pre-WWII actions which eventually led to the war, much of which is little known. Based on Grew's diaries and a book that he published about his years in Japan are utilized by the author as part of his research. I very highly recommend this book, very highly.
I have read extensively on World War II, mostly about the horrors of Nazi Germany, but knew very little of what led to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This book tells of the American ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, who was appointed in 1932. Japan was already in turmoil, heading steadily downhill because of the military’s rising power, their control of news sources, the ever present propaganda, and general fake news about Japanese atrocities. In early 1941, things started to get really bad in Japan under the new regime. Everything was rationed, and sports were deemed strictly for physical fitness and not enjoyment. Women were admonished for wearing colorful clothes and makeup, beauty parlors were monitored for “illegal” hair styles, and geishas were renamed “national policy girls.” These new restrictions reminded Ambassador Grew of his favorite definition of totalitarianism: “Everything not forbidden is compulsory.” Despite the ambassador’s best efforts, the hard liners prevailed, and the US was drawn into World War II. This book is a must read, not only for those interested in the history of World War II, but also for those readers who enjoy well written, thoroughly researched, and accessible nonfiction, such as In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. I’m grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for permitting me to review this advance copy.
Great history of the ten years leading up to Pearl Harbor on the Japanese side through the eyes of our ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew.
Grew is one of the unsung heroes of World War 2. He worked tirelessly for the interests of both the United States and the citizens of Japan who were being drug into a war they were being prevented from understanding.
The main story arch of the book is Grew trying to get the Roosevelt administration to understand that there were two Japans - 1) the people, the emperor, and the civilian government who all wanted peace, and 2) some military hardliners who were determined to conquer East Asia.
But the hardliners had the power (how they got it and kept it is an interesting story but what it boils down to is situations that couldn’t be undone because of “saving face,” and a whole lot of assassinations) and they were the ones causing the trouble the US couldn’t see past.
All the way up until 12/6/41 Grew and the sane members of the Japanese government were trying to make peace happen.
Ultimately though, it seems like it was probably better for Japan to end up going full bore into war so that they could lose completely four years later. It was the only way to unwind a devastatingly terrible system of government. They had to start from scratch as a democracy. And today the country is thriving.
A lot of history here I wasn’t aware of. Excellent writing. You will fall in love with Grew.
This is the book I’d hoped In the Garden of Beasts would be. If you were disappointed in that one, try this one. If you liked ITGOB, you’ll really love this one.
Growing up, history tends to begin paying attention to Japan in World War II with the attack on Pearl Harbor. A more thorough history will mention the horrific actions in China, but otherwise, not much more ink is spilled on Japan in U.S. textbooks. Well, guess what? Turns out there is a lot more to the story!
Luckily, Steve Kemper is here to write a book about Japan before Pearl Harbor. And even luckier, Ambassador Joseph Grew was the diplomat in Japan during the ramp up to war. Grew is not a name you hear often, but he is absolutely vital in telling this compelling story. Kemper clearly had a lot to work with due to Grew's diaries and documents which show a slow and disjointed march towards war. For me, a book needs two main things for it to be great. The story itself needs to be interesting and the author needs to tell it in a compelling way. Both are fully on display here. Japan was far from a country of bloodthirsty people hell bent on conquering the world. In fact, Kemper makes a hypothetical case that Pearl Harbor was far from a fait accompli.
Kemper is a very gifted writer. I consistently forgot that this book is a tremendous amount of political back and forth. This book could have easily felt like someone was reading Grew's journals back to you. Instead, Kemper presents Grew's words and provides insight which makes this book read like a thriller. It cannot be understated how much Kemper's writing takes this book from good history to great read.
(This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books.)
This is an exceptional history and a must read book for any WWII enthusiast. This would also be a great companion read along with John Toland's The Rising Sun. What we have in this book is primarily a history of the career of Joseph Grew who was, for the 10 years prior to Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Of course we are given the expected personal background of Mr. Grew before his assignment to Tokyo but most of the book is about his life in the chaos that was Japan and its politics.
This book gave me the kind of history I really enjoy: the backroom stuff, the secret meetings, the confidential reports and memos, the political maneuvering, and the rumors and gossip. The reader will be introduced to the insanity that was the organizational structure of Japanese government and Japanese psychology which Grew learned to understand and respect while his bosses in Washington did not. At times the book reads like a thriller even though the reader knows the outcome as the tension is nevertheless apparent. Grew repeatedly attempted to advise his D.C. bosses regarding the psychology involved in Japanese negotiations but he was either ignored entirely or criticized and suspected of "going native" and being too appeasing to the Japanese. After reading this book it is much more difficult to understand how Pearl Harbor was a surprise as war was regarded as all but certain. Why all Pacific U.S. military installations weren't ordered to high alert long before 1941 is beyond excusable. Maybe vanity is the greatest cause of wars among humans though greed helps the cause I suppose. Enjoy.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was shocking and unexpected to the American public and government, but for Joseph C Grew, the American ambassador to Japan, it was the only logical outcome to a decade's worth of missed opportunities for peace.
For all the many times we rehashed World War Two in school, I never learned much about what led Japan to side with the Axis, and why they seemingly so suddenly launched into war with the United States - Pearl Harbor always arrived as a sudden attack. I picked up this book because it promised to tell me more about that.
It was astonishing how convoluted and strange a story it was, as a decade of mounting jingoism led to an inevitable conclusion. The Japanese political system of that time was shadowy and indirect, but Kemper did an excellent job of explaining not only what happened but why the key players acted as they did. I came to admire Grew and his Japanese counterparts while still understanding where they misstepped, and was shocked and depressed by how thoroughly the State Department failed in paying attention to what was really happening in Japan, as opposed to their preconceived beliefs about it.
However, I did feel that the writing was somewhat dry, which combined with a more zoomed-out, impersonal overview of a decade's worth of complex Japanese politics meant that . I also wished we had a little bit more at the end after Pearl Harbor hit discussing how the American government and public handled things - especially since the book stressed again and again how abruptly their illusions about Japan were shattered in December 1941.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
If you liked In the Garden of the Beast by Erik Larson, this is a similarly themed book but about the American Ambassador to Japan in the years leading up to Pearl Harbor.
It is a gripping read and one of my favorite history books of 2023.
In the past year or so I have read many fine books about World War II in the Pacific. Most have been written from the American point of view, some from the Japanese. Yet not one of them has done as fine a job as Steve Kemper in depicting how war came about and how an unsung hero, Joseph Grew, tried desperately to prevent it.
Grew was a Boston Brahmin who did not fit the traditional mold. He trod the usual path at the time of prep school and then Harvard. However, once free to wander the world he roamed to areas few in his class were at all interested in seeing. On one memorable occasion he crawled into a hole to shoot a tiger just feet from him. When Teddy Roosevelt heard of this he appointed him a member of the diplomatic corps! In time Grew became a skilled diplomat and was appointed Ambassador to Japan. He kept up his life long habit of keeping a diary which forms the backbone of this book.
Kemp skillfully weaves Grew's experiences into the story of how a relatively small number of mid-level officers, by dint of assasination and threat of assassination essentially hijacked an entire country and drove it into a needless and senseless war. The complex political and social structure of Japan at the time is carefully and skillfully laid out by Kemper. Japan's constitution was set up so that the Army and Navy were responsible to no one except the Emperor who's traditional role and powers were oblique and weak. This set up made possible the war in China, the invasion of southeast Asia, membership in the Axis and ultimately an oil embargo on US oil sales. Thus Japan and the United States, not understanding each other's true motives and intentions, both set off on roads to destruction on which neither thought they could reverse direction. It was in this setting that Grew, as a man and diplomat stood head and shoulders above all other players. He desperately tried to persuade Secretary Hull to reconsider the rigid requirements the US had set up as a prerequisite to talks. He likewise urged the Japanese to control their armed forces and to look beyond the requirements of "face"
Grew's analysis, although ignored , proved prescient. We don't know whether his advice, if followed, would have changed the course of events. His advice was heeded in setting up post war Japan and we gained an ally and peace in that part of Asia.
Grew is often seen in history, if at all, as the man delivering a telegraph from Roosevelt to the Emperor seeking further talks while Pearl Harbor was ablaze. He deserves much more than that and this well written, entertaining book delivers
The Ambassador Who Tried and Failed to Prevent Pearl Harbor
In the annals of the American foreign service, Joseph Grew is held in high esteem and represents the gold standard for a career diplomat. This book, by Steve Kemper, profiles Grew’s service as U.S. ambassador to Japan for ten years leading up to Pearl Harbor and offers many insights into this period of building tension as well as the failures on both the Japanese and American sides to understand each other and reach peaceful accommodation.
Grew was wealthy and entertained lavishly, paying out of his own pocket for much of his socializing with Japanese influentials and expatriates. He was from a well-connected Boston family, attended Groton and Harvard, and was two years ahead of FDR with whom he had a personal relationship.
Grew was characteristic of the kind of person who rose in the State Department at the time — well connected and a member of the Eastern establishment. This contrasts to today where ambassadorships are a reward for financial and political support of the administration in office. The life of a diplomat in the 1930s left plenty of time for leisure. During his tenure in Japan, Grew devoted an extraordinary amount of time for golf, sometimes playing 72 holes a day! Sabbaticals for a break from responsibility at the post could last for months. So it was a different era for an ambassador than today.
As ambassador to Japan for ten years, Grew developed close relationships with a wide range of the “Who’s Who” in the Japanese power structure and had insight into Japanese culture. One lesson was the importance to a Japanese of saving face. While in normal times Grew’s wide and longstanding relationships with those of influence would have made him very effective, the years leading up to December, 1941 were not normal. Increasingly, the military had a stranglehold on government. The rise of extremists in Japan in the 1930s led to the assassination of many Japanese officials and turnover in the Japanese cabinet.
Often in human affairs, who you know is at least as important as what you know. Grew had unparalleled personal relationships with important individuals but that was undercut by the short tenure of those holding the position of prime minister, war minister, foreign minister, and navy minister. Moreover, to Western eyes, there was the opaque nature of Japanese views and decisions. Grew penetrated this curtain better than most ambassadors would have done, but even the Japanese principals misunderstood and misjudged each other.
Author Kemper refutes the contention that FDR was personally responsible for Japan’s decision to go to war because the president invoked an oil and steel embargo on Japan, thereby painting them in a corner. Although FDR was ultimately responsible for the decision, Kemper places most of the blame on Stanley Hornbeck who was special advisor on the Far East to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. Both Hornbeck and Hull tended, as the crisis developed, to ignore Grew. Hornbeck, in particular, thought Japan would never dare attack the U.S. Hull criticized Grew as having gone “native” as Grew tried desperately to moderate the U.S. tendency to establish rigid conditions for discussions at the highest level.
Although Emperor Hirohito presided over Imperial conferences, he rarely injected a personal opinion and once the group had decided an issue he always sanctioned the decision. In effect, the emperor had no say
As portrayed in the book, it’s tragic how close the two nations came in the summer and autumn of 1941 to deferring if not stopping the slide to war. The Japanese navy had always had cold feet. Emperor Hirohito is portrayed as having grave reservations about entering into war with America but, at least as portrayed in this book, convention called for him to be asked for his opinion rather than asserting himself. Even Tojo, as head of the military and one of the outspoken hawks, had last-minute reservations about declaring war on the U.S.
The Japanese sought a meeting, to be held in Hawaii, between Prime Minister Konoye and FDR. Meanwhile the U.S. sent conflicting messages, sometimes seeming to hold few preconditions for a talk, only to send a subsequent message demanding major concessions from Japan including withdrawal from China. There was a desperate effort at the 11th hour by Grew and foreign minister Toyoda to arrange this meeting. The proposal was rejected by Hornbeck, Hull, and ultimately FDR (even though Grew made a direct appeal to FDR personally).
In fairness to Hull, because the U.S. had broken the Japanese diplomatic code Washington sometimes knew more about Japanese intentions than did Grew. Based on Japan’s own inconsistent actions, there was reason for legitimate concern about whether Japan was truly committed to peace and would follow through on vague promises.
In October, 1941, there were a flurry of meetings called by Prime Minister Konoye which included Navy Minister Oikawa, War Minister Tojo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Tomita, and Military Affairs Chief Akira. Even though all had reservations, each without exception passed the buck, refusing to take responsibility for a last-chance effort to stop the drive to war.
Grew returned to Washington and when Edward Stettinius succeeded Hull as Secretary of State in 1944, he was appointed under secretary. Grew likely had a role drafting the surrender document that made it possible for Japan to accept defeat because the position of the emperor was retained, albeit with an honorary status. Although not addressed by author Kemper, Grew also played a key role in promoting a “benevolent” and soft-handed occupation of Japan, which worked to U.S. advantage.
This book will be of interest to many who know little about the diplomatic and political maneuvers leading up to Pearl Harbor. It’s difficult for even the best informed of diplomats to truly understand a culture that is significantly different to our own, but that puts all the more onus on our diplomats to help bridge that gap.
Kemper doesn’t seem to have any formal credentials to write about this period, but the book is well written and is well researched. It is also highly relevant as our diplomats are today challenged to help us avoid sliding into terrible war. The cultural gaps and possibility of inflexibility between the U.S. and China over Taiwan come to mind. Both American and Chinese diplomats could benefit from reading this book.
Our Man in Tokyo by Steve Kemper This is most likely not a book for everyone, but it certainly is a book for me. Mr. Kemper uses the diaries of the US Ambassador Joseph C. Grew to detail the period of the 1930’s up to and including the start of WWII for America in the Pacific. Of course, we know when it started and how it ended but this book does an excellent job of describing in detail the delusional path taken by the Japanese Government to cause massive destruction and loss of life in Asia including their own homeland of Japan. There is extensive details of Ambassador Grew’s efforts to understand and then inform the State Department of Japan’s thinking as difficult as it is to separate truth from out right lies. The book also describes in my opinion the silly nature of embassy life of parties and drinking as what often seems the main justification for their existence. The same staff from the embassy community dress up and rotate nearly daily to the various embassies for festivities while around them the people are starving. Ambassador Grew was also a golfer and I thought it was amusing the Japanese had spies to watch what days he played as an indication of how mush at any time he was involved in difficult decision writing to the US State Department. This book along with Ian Buruma’s China Nights, a historical fiction book together gives an excellent look at the sacrifices made by the Japanese public as the war which started with China in 1931 took a toll on the day to day lives of the Japanese. If I felt there was one fault with the book it was the failure by omission to discuss did America know or not about the attack on Pearl Harbor prior to it occurring. The US had broken the codes and was intercepting messages between Tokyo and the Japanese Embassy in Washington. Although there are hints as discussed in this book no smoking gun message is described. I think it should have been mentioned more directly. To summarize, if you are interested in how the relationship between the US and Japan disintegrated resulting in the Pacific war this is a very good book to read.
An interesting book, very well researched. Also quite well written, and well thought out. "Our man in Tokyo - An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor" is about Joseph C. Grew, the US Ambassador to the Imperial Japanese Court from 1932 until all the staff of the US Embassy were imprisoned by the Japanese after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941. From a patrician NE family, Harvard educated, and as connected as a man in his day could possibly be, he chose a life of gov't service in the Diplomatic Corps essentially as a route to travel & adventure out of college. And adventures he had! He rose through the ranks of gov't service until, in his mid 50's, he was selected for one of the toughest jobs in US Diplomatic Corps, as Ambassador to Japan, at a period when Japan was on a crash course with the USA due to it's militaristic, expansionistic policies of invading neighboring countries that were allies of the US, as well as forming an alliance with Nazi Germany & Fascist Italy (The Tri-Partite Alliance) essentially overtly aimed at world domination. And Grew's role was to keep the peace, and keep America out of the war. He knew his job was going to be tough when he accepted the position. Ever the eternal optimist, and against ever increasing odds, he engaged every diplomatic skill within reach to convince elements within the Japanese gov't that going to war with the West was a losing proposition for Japan, and his efforts often made a positive impact, but never quite enough. This story about what he was involved in, what he did, how he did it, and the thinking behind his efforts is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the art of International Diplomacy. It was well worth a read, and a book I can confidently recommend to a fair number of friends.
I have just finished reading this incredible book and I can't really say enough about it. It is an inside look at the US Ambassador to Japan's time there leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Like many Americans, I learned mostly about Germany and its role in World War II, especially Adolf Hitler. I never was taught anything about the Japanese and their machinations before and after Pearl Harbor. Mr. Kemper gives so much information about the people in power behind the attack and their motives I could not put the book down.
If you are interested in learning more about the often overlooked Axis power, I encourage you to read this book. The only thing I believe would have made this even better would have been pictures of the men involved in this horrendous action.
This was such a delight to read, this was my first World War 2 book and I cant't say I'm disappointed. Through the use of diary entries from U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Grew, we get a more detailed glimpse into the Japanese government's path to cause mass destruction in Asia.
Very interesting and informative book about the decade leading up to the United States entry into WWII, as seen through eyes of our Ambassador to Japan, Joseph C. Grew. There were many factors involved in how the U.S. and Japan ended up going to war against each other on 1941. The Japanese society at the time was very complex with their government, their military, and their Emperor often at odds with each other as to what policy to follow. There were many in Japan who really wanted peace and a good relationship the the United States, but there were also many who were extremely militaristic and who wanted Japan to dominate Eastern Asia. Japan was already at war with China, and the U.S. was sending aid to the Chinese to assist them in that conflict. Ambassador Grew knew the Japanese people very well and did his best to try to maintain a good relationship between the U.S. and Japan, but many high ranking U.S. officials did not trust the Japanese at all (they were already attacking U.S. installations in China as part of their was against China). Although many in Japan did not want a war with the United States, the radicals were getting more and more powerful within the country, and those who really did not want war did not want to back down in order to safe face (a very strong emotion within the Japanese society). So, although there were many on both sides during the 1930s who were working to try to avoid conflict, the path to war was inevitable, leading to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the beginning of WWII for the U.S vs. Japan.
A very well-researched (albeit a bit lengthy), fascinating story of Japan's turbulent decade prior to World War II, as seen through the eyes of the eternally optimistic US ambassador Joseph Grew. I think much of the fascination with World War II history (at least in mainstream nonfiction books) lies in the European war, so this was the first book I've read about the Pacific front in the pre-war era. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this era or this angle.
This was an extremely well written account of Joseph Grew and his efforts to keep peace between the Japanese and the Americans. The lengthy build up to war demonstrated how humans still can with the best intentions still go down a disastrous path.
Steven Kemper’s Our Man in Tokyo tells the story of Joseph Grew, the United States’ Ambassador to Japan in the decade leading up to World War II. Ultimately, of course, the story has to be a tragedy. Despite Grew’s tireless efforts to build meaningful relationships and develop creative solutions, he could not keep the United States and Japan from war. Nor could the many other well-intentioned people in both nations.
Grew’s story is an engaging and encouraging one, despite the ultimate result. The ambassador – outgoing, handsome, well-read, witty, used his many gifts and connections (a Harvard man) to develop true friendships with many Japanese, from those in the highest places in power (Emperor Hirohito) to those whom the world saw as lowly (even after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Grew tried to keep his older Japanese staff paid so they could eat).
Throughout the decade leading to war, Grew communicated constantly with local Japanese, other diplomats (what a grapevine in Tokyo), cultural influencers, and Presidents to try and provide on-the-ground insights about what was going on, particularly with Japanese psychology, the dangers of not providing ways to save face, and the growing power of the Japanese military in decision-making.
Kemper draws a few villains – namely U.S. advisor for Far East the State Department in Stanley Hornbeck. Hornbeck’s ideology, rather than careful observation of on-the-ground observations, led him to actively work against diplomacy and important summits between figures who may have been able to craft some sort of face-saving agreements preventing war. Kemper (and he is not the only one) sees Hornbeck’s constant attacks on Grew’s opinions as one of the deciding factors in swaying Secretary of State Hull from working diplomatic options as hard as possible. However, while Hull and Grew didn’t always agree, Hull always listened, which Kemper praises. Kemper also points out that Hull was privy to communications intercepts from Japanese sources which provided him information that even Grew didn’t know. One does wonder whether Grew would have changes some of his analysis if he had known what Hull knew.
On the Japanese side, Kemper spends time focusing on Japan’s attacks on China and Indochina; and the structural issues of a government in which a leader is divine and the military has no real civilian oversight.
My two favorite quotes about Grew come from Grew. I believe they summarize his worldview and his character:
“Diplomacy is hell on the head and double hell on the liver.”
When asked by Congressional investigators on when he knew war was inevitable, Grew’s response was always the same: “Never.”
After WWII, Grew never returned to Japan. However, he wrote that he wouldn’t given up his experience of a decade in Japan for anything “despite the final failure of my mission.” He donated funds to start a group benefitting Japanese youth and put a former diplomatic rival in charge of the organization.
I admire Grew’s tenacity, and his ability to lead with character. I hope our diplomatic corp today is filled with people of similar temperament!
This book offers a lot, I found the new perspective of WWII and insight into embassy life the most interesting. The writing was quite good and portrayed all the information in a very readable way.
Using US Ambassador to Japan Grew's papers and diaries, Steve Kemper takes readers behind the scenes in the years leading up to Pearl Harbor. Grew's many years in the country and keen study of the culture and development of friendships among leaders gave him insight into the fractured state of politics in Japan during these years as some were greedy and eager to grab all the land they could in Asia while others wanted peace. Through Grew's years as ambassador readers watch the relationship between the US and Japan become more and more fractured, and why (mostly "accidental" bombing of US property and citizens in China, even of ships with giant US flags on them). And he did his best to advise US leaders how to approach peaceful negotiations in a way that would allow the Japanese to both save face AND change their position right up into the last 24 hour before war was declared.
The way many US history books portray the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor makes it seem like the attack came out of nowhere, but this definitely makes it clear that US-Japan relations were tense for years before then and rumblings of a possibly attack came many, many months before December 1941. None of the history books mention how Japan's invasion of China and the war with Chiang Kai-shek's forces was such a huge part of leading up to Pearl Harbor, but this book makes that abundantly clear. It also shows how Japan's government was not unified, there were multiple factions, numerous assassinations and resignations of prime ministers and cabinets during the years leading up to 1941, and how some of the least clear thinking and most war-hungry ones were taking out or drowning out the voices for reason and peace. It was eye-opening to learn about the lack of communication between the US State Department with Ambassador Grew. As an expat, I admire how Ambassador Grew worked hard to understand the Japanese people and culture to be able to know how best to broker deals across cultures. (Having also read In the Garden of the Beasts about the US Ambassador to Germany at the time, it is also crazy to compare and contrast the two Ambassadors. One of them did the job well, the other...) One can't help but wonder how world history could have been different if the US State Department had listened to Grew's advice and insight. Anyway, this was a fascinating biography that fills in a lot of the gaps often left out in cursory overviews of WWII history.
Notes on content: About 5 minor swears in quotes. No sex scenes. The book quickly mentions some of the horrors of the Rape of Nanking, but doesn't go into graphic detail at all. Several assassinations described in detail (the number of assassinations that happened of politicians, mostly Japanese politicians, during Grew's time in Japan is a bit astounding) as well as casualties of the Sino-Japanese war (Grew frequently took lists of Americans killed to the Japanese to protest, the list included some children that really hit him and others hard), and eventually WWII. Smoking and drinking as was common during that time period is mentioned.
Ambassador Grew had one of the most difficult, if not impossible, challenges in diplomatic history. As US Ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941, he witnessed Japan’s struggle to control rising militarism and imperial nationalism. At the same time he had to deal with a growing racial bias against the Japanese in America.
He fought against both of the trends right up until the attack on Pearl Harbor. He never found the way to steer the US - Japan relationship away from increasing antagonism and eventual war. Without a more forceful and engaged Emperor, this was probably an impossibility.
This book is good with the sequence of dates and facts as seen from the Ambassador’s perspective. Perhaps too many facts and dates, but still important to bear in mind.
My biggest criticism is that Kemper doesn’t explore or try to explain how the Japanese came to feel the way they did and believe what they did about how their expansion would be viewed and accepted by the Allies.
One of the best books I've read in a while. Based on diaries and reports by Joseph C. Grew, the US Ambassador to Japan during the build-up to Pearl Harbor, the book tells of doomed efforts to maintain peace between the US and Japan from Grew's appointment in 1932 to the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The book is sympathetic to Grew, who understood Japan's desire to be the dominant power in east Asia (as the US was in the Western hemisphere) and Japan's concerns for their future and the need to find ways to sustain their economic expansion. Grew was eternally optimistic and, perhaps too hopeful that solutions could be found, refused to give up on the idea that war could be averted. He was also largely ignored by the State Department, which often failed to communicate with him or to keep him in the loop. Secretary of State Cordell Hull's special advisor on the Far East, Stanley Hornbeck, is the villain of the book. He had never been a front-line diplomat and contradicted almost all of Grew's advice. Kemper also judges Hull badly, seeing him as "inflexible and blind to nuannce."
In addition to his focus on the personalities involved, both American and Japanese, Kemper shows an understanding of the situation in which Japan found itself. For example, the country was seeing coup attempts, assassinations (of the Prime Minister in particular), and increasingly repressive domestic laws. The belief in the divinity of the emperor (even though the story had been invented in the 19th century), the belief of Japan's ultra-nationalists that Japan had a destiny to free Asia's people from the imperialist White race, and even the 1889 Meiji Constitution, which created Asia's first parliamentary government but also enshrined the emperor as an infallible god above politics, contributed to an increasingly difficult environment. For example, the prime minister was the most powerful person in the government, but he served at the pleasure of the military, who picked the ministers of war and the navy and who could bring down the cabinet at any time by refusing to appoint those ministers. The military pledged loyalty to the emperor, not the Constitution. The Japanese ultranationalists fed the public a stream of fake news and propaganda to incite fear, resentment, and hatred.
Kemper also focuses on how these difficulties were compounded by a variety of factors, including Japan's need for natural resources – e.g., oil, gas, steel, and Manchuria's coal – to support the military build-up envisioned by the military leaders. (Interestingly, Kemper also sees Hitler's gamble in attacking Russia as having to do with replenishing Germany through the immense natural resources of the Soviet Union.) Japan also felt that China constantly violated Japanese treaty agreements in Manchuria, that the warlord chaos throughout China was a problem, and that, whenever Japan complained of treaty violations to the League of Nations, they were ignored. Japan's small domestic market and lack of natural resources made it vulnerable to trade controls, many of which were introduced in response to the global depression. Worry about war with Japan's traditional enemy, Russia, was also a factor, especially after the Bolsheviks overthrew an imperial leader. Many in the Japanese military saw Europe's war as distracting Britain, Germany, and Russia, thus allowing Japan to expand into east Asia. And Japan began to see that Germany would not defeat England and Russia before Japan's own resources ran out. Desperate countries sometimes do desperate things.
Kemper also looks at the importance of Japanese culture, particularly the concept of "face" and not losing face, which meant that it was often best to provide a way to save face; otherwise, the only way to save face might be to attack. Would an oil embargo, for example, "sober up" Japan or lead the country to war? (Hull himself opposed an oil embargo because he didn't believe that the US military was prepared for the war that might result.) Shame was also a powerful motivator. For example, when the US wanted Japan to halt aid to any Chinese government but Chiang Kai-Shek's, they wouldn't, for fear that they would be shamed by admitting that attacking Manchuria was a mistake. There were other misunderstandings between the two countries as well. For example, Grew warned the State Department many times about Japan's threat but the department believed that the Japanese military was bluffing. The Japanese believed that America was too soft to fight or would continue its stance of neutrality.
Why the US was so unprepared for the attack on Pearl Harbor is not entirely clear, though. In November 1941, Hull himself had said that "We should be on the lookout for a military attack by Japan anywhere at any time." On November 27, the chiefs of the US army and navy were told "to advise their commanders in Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific that negotiations had ended and that Japan might strike at any moment." Unfortunately, little was done in response to those warnings.
I have dreaded writing this review. I have a hard time writing a book review and not separating the book from the person who the book is about (witness: Custer and MacArthur). So let's get this over with: the book is very interesting, very, if you need to know how we ended up in a war with Japan. Is it definitive? Close to it, although Secretary of State Hull's writings could also be informative.
Kemper is clearly sympathetic to Grew. I also have to admit, no one in that job could have done it. Having said that: Ambassador Grew was a "patsy" for Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull. The state department purposely kept information from Grew, vital information. Why? I believe the common wisdom in D.C. was he had grown too close to the Japanese. He didn't even know that the Americans were reading Japanese diplomatic codes. That tells me that Hull or Roosevelt did not trust him. In the end I get the idea that his job was to stall any war with Japan until the US could build up its army and naval forces. I agree with the way Hull treated him, but I, like you, have the wisdom of hindsight. There is an interesting statement in the book where Hull chastises Grew for being too close to the Japanese. It is interesting in that it seems unsolicited. The book is based on Grew's substantial diary but there were parts left out. I believe he wrote something that upset Hull and conveniently left that out of his diary.
In the first chapter Kemper describes Japan's form of government. The army and navy report directly to the emperor while all the rest of the government reports to the prime minister. Under the prime minister the secretary of war exists. I think in the ten years that Grew was ambassador he went through fifteen changes of government. If the government attempted to scale back the spending for the military, the government fell. If the army attacked, unprovoked, in China, the government fell. But it was always inching closer to the militant military and their complete control. For example when the army attacked Nanking, (250,000 Chinese killed) it was the militants in China that approved that. Not even the emperor or the military in Tokyo knew it was taking place. In as early as December 1937 the military attacked an American gunboat and also sank three Exxon tankers. They were clearly marked American. All thru the Chinese war Americans marked the roofs of their buildings with the US flag. At some point that flag became the target for the Japanese bombs. It was the Japanese militants in China that were running Japan, but yet, Grew, in his naivety negotiated with the Japanese diplomatic corp. Who, incidentally, came and went with each change of government. Grew did not have a lot of carrots and sticks, but it would not have mattered as Hull wouldn't allow him to use them. One carrot was the US could cut off aid the Chiang Kai-Shek and it was a desire the Japanese military coveted. Instead when Japan asked that it be cut off America would send more money and weapons. Usually in response to Japan expanding the war in China while telling Grew they were seeking peace. Fool that he was.
Grew and his wife were returning to America on a sabbatical around 1939 and the Japanese citizens on the dock cheered him on. This is telling. It is also what makes me think he was a patsy. He adored the adulations. And that was why Hull kept him in the dark.
In 1941 the Japanese diplomatic corps were seeking a peace treaty with America, proposing limiting their expansionism in Indochina (Vietnam). All the while they were transiting an additional 50,000 troops there. America froze Japan's assets in America and stopped oil shipments also. That was pretty much the straw that broke Japan's back.
He served his useful purpose, stalling the war with Japan. I didn't appreciate his work ethic or his values in relation to being diplomatic. But like I said, I have the benefit of hindsight.
note: in the picture section there is a picture of a coded telegram from January 1941 where Grew is telling Hull that there is a rumor that Pearl Harbor may be the target of a military attack.
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advance copy of this book focusing on the relations between Japan and the United States before the events at Pearl Harbor and the American Ambassador who tried to keep the peace.
All great events have moments that lead up to them. A ripple of an assassination, another of a missed telegram, a change in policy, or in governments, and suddenly things are moving much to fast for anyone person, or people to control. As von Clausewitz said "War is the continuation of policy with other means.". Unfortunately this was the situation faced by American ambassador Joseph C. Grew, in Japan, whose warnings went ignored, or even worse just filed away. Writer and journalist Steve Kemper in Our Man In Tokyo:An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor, looks at the life, times and tribulations of this man and the events in Japan that lead to that fateful day in Pearl Harbor, bringing both sides into a war, only a few people seemed to want.
In 1932 Japan was beset by secret societies whose members included right-wing and fanatical members of the military who pledges fealty to the Emperor, but whose idea of war and returning Japan to glory ran counter to Japanese politics. These groups carried out a campaign of assassination against government officials, diplomats, and anyone who spoke out against the idea of war and the greatness that was Japan. Into this came a new ambassador, Joseph C. Grew, the scion of a notable Boston family, with a lot of grit, and a long history in the of representing the American government. Grew was a friendly person, who soon made the embassy popular among the Japanese government and other foreign representatives. This allowed Grew to gain quite a bit of insight and intelligence into what was going on in Japan, And the news was not good. However in passing on his thoughts, and intelligence most of his findings and opinions went into the void, and American intransigence was not making things easier.
A fascinating book detailing a time in history that I didn't know that much about. I've read before about all the diplomatic attempts with Hitler, but knew little about the discussions done with Japan. And not surprisingly both sides seemed to have been at fault. The idea of face and shame was not something known by many Americans and for us to be such sticklers and immovable on so much, leaving Japan no way but to look weak, was a consideration. Also the fact that a small, but vocal group that seemed to hold sway over others, one that allowed them to commit assassinations, and yet not have to serve jail time was another. Grew is a fully fleshed out character, compelling, brave, and yet willing to learn and listen, unlike most people. The narrative moves well, the cast are all explained well, as well as world events that led to certain actions.
A very different look at some of the origins for the problems between America and Japan. Recommended for World War II fans, and for those who enjoy biographies about people that history has seemed to have forgotten. History fans will have quite a lot to think about after reading this. A perfect gift for the holidays.
This was a great find for my WWII reading list this year. The author does a great job balancing the precarious development of geopolitics in the years leading up to WWII in the Pacific with the personal life of the American ambassador in Tokyo. Through the ambassador's journals and letters we learn of the ebb and flow of diplomatic goodwill between the two nations and the intricate web of considerations and concerns woven in the interwar years. The book is a fascinating window into the domestic Japanese factions that contributed to the rise of the military state. For example, the exploration of various collapses of the government and political assassinations was one aspect that I found very insightful, even for those who have studied the war extensively. It is also a great learning manual in a way for those who are interested in the art of diplomacy.
The book follows a chronological progression of the interwar period and explores in depth the Japanese forays into Manchuria and China. The book also helps clarify the role of complicating factors like WWI settlements, League of Nations politics, economic pressures, and domestic Japanese politics that led that nation to embark on a bold military effort against the United States and its allies. The book helps show the make or break state that the Japanese found themselves in, and helps flush out why Admiral Yamamto knew that the war would result in failure before it even began. The betrayal and deceitful use of diplomacy by the Japanese is all the more profound when we see how their officials were operating when they knew that an attack was forthcoming. More fascinating still, is when we see the U.S. officials interacting with people, whom they know have information they are not sharing, due to U.S. obtained signals intelligence intercepts.
We also get an interesting window into how Americans viewed the Japanese and their place in the global community. The interplays explored between the ambassador, Secretary of State, and President are equally as fascinating to analyze. The author does a great job showing how the US tried many different avenues to address the political and military crises that preceded the war. But the book also challenges many American beliefs that have developed about the utter surprise of the war; and it shows how policies dictated by western powers in part led Japan down a course that eventually led to military aggression.
This book is relevant and timely to today's world. As global tensions rise and great powers struggle for influence, it reminds us that diplomacy is about more than simple transactions. Diplomacy requires building trust and embedding a nation's representatives into the foreign society. By learning the culture and mentality of his Japanese hosts, the ambassador provided keen insights into the inner workings of the state and the mental state of the leaders making big, world-changing decisions.
This book focuses on the American Ambassador who attempted to maintain peace and the ties between Japan and the United States prior to the events at Pearl Harbor.
All great events have moments that lead up to them. A ripple of an assassination, another of a missed telegram, a change in policy, or in governments, and suddenly things are moving much to fast for anyone person, or people to control. Sadly, this was the predicament that American envoy Joseph C. Grew found himself in when he visited Japan. His warnings were either disregarded or, even worse, were simply filed away. In his book author and journalist Steve Kemper examines the life, times, and trials of this man as well as the events in Japan that led to that fateful day in Pearl Harbor, which thrust both sides into a war that only a small number of people appeared to want.
Japan was plagued with secret societies in 1932, some of whose members were right-wing, fanatical military personnel who swore allegiance to the Emperor but whose views on war and restoring Japan to its former grandeur ran opposed to Japanese politics. These organisations ran an assassination campaign against politicians, diplomats, and anybody else who opposed war and the glory of Japan. Joseph C. Grew, a new ambassador who was the descendant of a well-known Boston family and had a long history of representing the American government, entered this situation. Grew was a sociable individual who quickly won over the Japanese government and other foreign delegates to the embassy. Grew was able to learn quite a little about what was happening in Japan as a result, and the news was not good. But, most of his research and conclusions were lost when he shared his ideas and knowledge, and American intransigence did not help matters.
A great book describing a historical period I didn't know much about. Grew is a completely developed character who is intriguing, brave, and unlike most people, open to learning and listening. The story runs along well, and the cast members' motivations for taking particular actions are all clearly explained.
An very new perspective on some of the causes of the issues between America and Japan. Fans of World War Two and those who appreciate reading biographies of people who history seems to have forgotten should read this. Also glad that I read along with audiobook.
Thank you Times Reads for sending me a copy in exchange for honest review.
To his credit Kemper has written a thorough and nuanced depiction of Grew’s experiences from the time of his arrival in Tokyo as US Ambassador in 1932 until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor along with a other targets in Asia in December 1941. Our Man portrays Grew’s deep grasp of the complex cultural, social, and political dynamics of Japan in an engaging and informative way. Likewise for the challenges Grew faced in trying to communicate with, let alone influence, what he came to believe was the US State Department’s myopic point of view of Japan and events as they unfolded over that time period. Quotations by Grew and other individuals to elaborate on a point being made are included in a timely and thus largely effective way.
If anything in some respects Our Man is a proverbial victim of its own success. Ie, there are times when the descriptions of the interactions amongst the various people both in Japan and the USA are so detailed as to become ponderous. The large, frequently changing cast of Japanese government and military officials which the author included in the narrative became difficult to remember.
There is another aspect to the book which I found to be somewhat problematic. It may well have been true that social gatherings with Japanese officials and other foreign dignitaries were sometimes useful for Grew’s efforts at information gathering. But the author’s descriptions of these were long and, IMHO, unnecessary.
Fortunately, Kemper’s prose is generally quite readable because he writes in direct, declarative sentences. Other strengths of the book include a 4 page selected bibliography, a 26 page index, and a 32 page photo section. There are 36 pages of end notes in Our Man. But these are not demarcated in the text itself.
Even with my long standing interest in Japanese history and culture for the reasons noted above Our Man became taxing to read over the last one quarter or so. I would only recommend it for those who are patient and have a deep interest in the country. Eri Hotta’s Japan, 1941: Countdown to Infamy offers a shorter but still quite informative depiction of the final year leading up to Pearl Harbor.