The Study Of Ishibashi Tanzan’s Sho-Nihon-shugi

Japan’s modern history can be described as the process of establishing the Great Japanese Empire. However, on the opposite of this process is the conception of "sho-Nihon-shugi" which Ishibashi Tanzan, the reporter of "Toyo Keizai" in Taisho ages had advocated. He claimed that the colonial of Japan is economically useless, besides Japan should abandon all of the overseas colonies, reduce armaments, and commence the autonomy movement of weak countries. In addition, he also had a great sympathy towards Chinese undergoing nationalism movement, advocated a non-interference policy to Chinese domestic affairs, and on support of China’s reunification with further economic development of China.However, Ishibashi Tanzan’s remarkable career as a reporter still leave a large period of time that was spent during the Sino-Japanese war period. During the wartime his stance had undergone a gradual change, although he did not positively support Japan’s war of aggression, but his original stance of " sho-Nihon-shugi " had been through retrogressed. Firstly, he began to support Japanese Government to interference the Chinese domestic issues, and began to accuse the Chinese government’s pro-nationalism foreign policy, furthermore he acknowledged the Manchukuo’s independence which was regarded as Japan’s puppet regime. Moreover, he had changed the point of view of colonial economy, began to actively assess the value of the Japanese colonies. In addition to he had gradually turned to positive reviews towards the role of the military, advocate for national autonomy has gradually disappeared. May be we can say a great ideological shift had occurred that Ishibashi Tanzan as a "sho-Nihon-shugi " had been gradually conversed during the wartime.