Siebold, the Foreigner for Hire, and Newspaper Operations to Influence British Public Opinion: From the End of Edo to the Beginning of Meiji Era

Siebold, the Foreigner for Hire, and Newspaper Operations to Influence British Public Opinion: From the End of Edo to the Beginning of Meiji Era

One of the reasons for Japan's emphasis on newspaper editorials in its diplomacy with Britain was the fact that Britain was a nation of public opinion in the latter half of the 19th century. Parliamentary politics had matured, and foreign policy was strongly influenced by public opinion formed through newspapers and magazines. Decisions on treaty revision and Far Eastern policy were not made solely within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the influence of newspaper opinion on politicians and intellectuals could not be ignored.

In this context, the central decision was made by Shuzo Aoki, who was in charge of diplomacy in the UK. Aoki understood that government-to-government negotiations alone would not be sufficient to improve Japan's position, and he was keenly aware of the need to incorporate the formation of public opinion itself into diplomatic strategy. One of the concrete measures he adopted was the publication of editorials in leading newspapers, in other words, newspaper manipulation.

Behind this information warfare was an extension of the intellectual network that had existed since the end of the Edo period. The tradition of mediating the image of Japan to Europe began with the academic introduction represented by Siebold and turned into a war of words with political intent in the early Meiji period. The direct contribution practice was carried out by Zubolt, a foreigner in his employ, and under Aoki's direction, he circulated editorials favorable to Japan in leading newspapers. In the editorials, the justification for Japan's modernization efforts and treaty revisions were presented in language and logic easily understood by British readers.

From the reports of the time, it is clear that careful consideration was given to which newspapers to publish and which tone would be most effective. Diplomacy was no longer conducted solely through secret negotiations between governments; the open space of public discourse itself had become the battlefield.

This newspaper operation shows that modern diplomacy was no longer limited to negotiations between nations, but had transformed into an activity that dealt with society as a whole. Japan, which was inferior in terms of military and economic power, used speech and information as weapons to influence British public opinion and indirectly change the decision-making environment of the government. This attempt to step into political information warfare, while inheriting the translation of the image of Japan since Siebold, was a realistic front that diplomacy reached from the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji era.