Propaganda for an Ally: How the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Shaped British Propaganda in the First World War

This paper analyses British propaganda in First World War Japan by comparing two contrasting periodicals. It contrasts the failed, autonomously-managed bilingual magazine. The New East with the successful, state-controlled Senji Jihō , which utilised a Japanese editor. This shift from a laissez-faire to a controlled model reveals a crucial learning curve in British strategy. The paper argues that this evolution was shaped by the unique, high-stakes nature of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. It concludes that successful propaganda depended less on the message itself and more on the strategic decision of who should deliver it.