著者

水沢 光

出版者

日本科学史学会

雑誌

科学史研究. 第II期 (ISSN:00227692)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.52, no.266, pp.70-80, 2013-06-25

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In World War II, when Japan was under a scientific blockade, the Ministry of Education provided a science and technology information service, such as summary reports of foreign journals and translations of foreign books. The information service covered a wide area of scientific investigation. Although the Japanese government advocated an emphasis on wartime research at its August 1943 Cabinet meeting, the Ministry of Education continued to expand the information service. Previous studies give no details on how these science-promoting measures were adopted in wartime. This paper, using the Inumaru Records in Japan's National Diet Library, reveals that the information service started and expanded through a loose coalition between scientists and Ministry of Education officials. Inumaru Hideo( 1904-1990) was a Ministry of Education official who took charge of the information service. In August 1942, the Ministry started a summary reports service for German academic journals in response to scientist complaints about the blockade. The Ministry left the choice of journals up to scientists, and the reports service continued to expand until late 1944. In July 1943, the Ministry started a translation project for foreign books, addressing a decline in students' academic ability resulting from a cut in higher-education requirements. In the project, textbooks in various fields translated into Japanese, and the translation project continued after the war.