Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

118 • IWAKURA, TOMOMI
IWAKURA, TOMOMI (1825–1883). Imperial prince, supporter of the
anti-Tokugawa forces, and top official in the Meiji government. He
led the Iwakura Mission to the United States and Europe from 1871
to 1873, held high positions in the Meiji government, and was a close
adviser and confidant of Emperor Meiji. See also IWAKURA MIS-
SION; MEIJI ERA.
– J –
JANES, LEROY LANSING (ALSO KNOWN AS CAPTAIN
JANES; 1838–1909). American educator and missionary. A former
military officer, Janes arrived in Japan in 1871 to teach mathematics,
science, and history at the Kumamoto prefectural school for Western
studies. A fervent Christian, Janes also taught the Bible and Christianity,
and converted a number of his students who called themselves
the Kumamoto Band. Some of these Japanese converts went on
to became well-known Japanese ministers, such as Ebino Danjo and
Ukita Kazutani. The school was forced to close in 1876 because of
anti-Christian sentiment in Kumamoto, and several members of the
Kumamoto Band moved to Kyoto to attend Doshisha College run by
Japanese Christian Jo Niijima. Janes taught English in Osaka, and
then returned to the United States. He came back to Japan in 1893
and taught in Kyoto before returning to California, where he died in
1909. See also YATOI.
JAPAN–AMERICA ECONOMIC ALLIANCE CONFERENCE.
The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren)
founded the Japan–America Economic Alliance Conference in February
1952. Taking advantage of special military procurement during the
Korean War, the conference served to promote close economic cooperation
between Japan and the United States. It also aimed to foster
use of Japan’s rearmament program as a measure to maintain economic
prosperity even after the end of special Korean War–related
procurement. In cooperation with U.S. military forces, Keidanren
mapped out a plan for Japan’s future self-defense force needs consisting
of 300,000 troop ground forces, 300,000 tons of naval ship tonnage,
and 3,000 military aircraft. Keidanren estimated that with this