A Study Of American Mainstream Media On Anti-Japanese Opinion Around Japan’s Full-Scale Invasion Of China

The study of American public opinion towards Japan has certain academic value and practical significance in the research field of the history of Japan US relations.From the perspective of academic value,the change of American public opinion towards Japan is an important part of US Japan relations.American public opinion towards Japan not only reflects the changes in US Japan relations,but also influences the formulation of American foreign policy.This paper is divided into three parts: introduction,text and conclusion.The text includes two,three,four,five and six chapters.The first chapter is the introduction.The second chapter mainly discusses the public opinion of the United States to Japan before Japan’s comprehensive invasion of China.After the September 18 th Incident,Japan gradually brought the northeast and Inner Mongolia into its rule.Isolationism prevails in the United States,and its attitude towards Japan is non-interference.It can be seen from the media reports that there are few criticisms of Japanese aggression,only sporadic warnings of Japanese ambitions.The third chapter mainly discusses the public opinion of American newspapers to Japan after Japan’s comprehensive invasion of China and the attack on Shanghai.More newspapers began to expose Japan’s ambition of dominating China,reported Japan’s killing of Chinese cities and civilians,and the bravery of Chinese army.Newspapers began to debate whether the legislation was applicable to the Sino Japanese War,and the influence of isolationism was still there,but the mainstream media began to call for sanctions against Japanese aggression.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the changes of American public opinion towards Japan caused by the "isolation speech".After Roosevelt’s speech,public opinion is divided into two parts,one is to praise and hope that the United States will take action to stop Japanese aggression,the other is to hope that the United States will return to isolationism and this speech will drag the United States into war.Obviously,the first voice has the upper hand,because Japan’s expansion is a real threat to the United States itself.The fifth chapter mainly discusses the occurrence of the "Panay" incident and the changes of American public opinion caused by the incident.It is obvious that the incident caused great Anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States,and contributed to the action of sanctions against Japan.After Japan apologized,the voice returned to moderation.At this time,the United States still did not want to be involved in the war.The sixth chapter mainly discusses the public opinion of the United States to Japan before and after the abrogation of the Treaty of Japan US trade and navigation.Compared with the original,the public opinion is more anti-Japanese.The abrogation of the treaty opens the door to the sanctions against Japan and makes the relationship between Japan and the United States deteriorate rapidly.According to media reports,there was general support for sanctions against Japan.At this time,the sense of hostility against Japan reached a new height until the Pearl Harbor incident.To sum up,through the reports of major American newspapers on Japan,this paper basically explains the relationship between the rise of hostile consciousness of the United States against Japan and China’s Anti-Japanese War,and reflects the contradiction between Japan’s rapidly expanding ambition and the interests of the United States in the Far East.The research shows that the hostile consciousness of the United States to Japan is influenced by public opinion,but its essence is the irreconcilable contradiction between Japan and the United States in the struggle for hegemony in the Far East.This provides a partial reference for the study of American foreign public opinion,and also provides a certain perspective for the future study of US Japan relations.