This presentation examines the intentions behind the utilization of media in Japanese public diplomacy before World War Ⅱ, focusing on Eiichi Shibusawa, a famous Japanese businessman and philanthropist. Shibusawa organized a business mission to the United States in 1909 under the instruction of Foreign Minister Jutaro Komura to improve Americans’ perception of Japanese Americans. He considered influencing the American public through media such as local newspapers. However, very little research has been done on how Shibusawa thought of the media in relation to public diplomacy.

By scrutinizing Shibusawa's perception of the media, this presentation will show the transformation process of Japanese public diplomacy, especially in US-Japan relations. Shibusawa struggled with the structural changes to international news concerning Japan after the Russo-Japanese War. The global importance of Japanese news made Japanese public diplomacy rather tricky because of the widened gap between what Japan wanted to let the international society know and what other powers wanted to know. International exchanges among elites were less effective in international relations than they had previously. Shibusawa was one of the non-governmental agents who recognized this significant change and sought to manage the new situation.