Japan Pictorial

Tokyo, Japan: Board of Tourist Industry. Very Good-. 1937. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. Paperback. B&W Illustrations; This is an oversized paperback book. The book is in Very Good- condition and was issued without a dust jacket. The front cover of the book has noticeable ground-in dirt and rubbing. There is some beginning bumping and wear to the spine ends and corners of the book covers. The text pages ar generally clean and bright, though the title page has generalized spots of foxing. This book was produced by the Japanese Government Railways and Board of Tourist Industry, in anticipation of the 1940's Olympics, and before (or early on ) the The Second Sino-Japanese War. The text in the book includes descriptions in English, French, and German. "When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out on July 7, 1937, Ichiro Kono, a member of the Imperial Diet (legislature) , immediately requested that the Olympics be forfeited. The 1938 Far Eastern Games were also canceled, but Japan's IOC delegates persisted under a belief that the war would soon be over. Amid the intensification of the war, the feasibility of both the Summer Olympics and the 1940 Winter Olympics grew increasingly questionable to other countries, who suggested a different site be chosen and spoke of the possibility of boycotting the Games were they to proceed in Japan. In March 1938, the Japanese provided reassurances to the IOC at the organization's Cairo conference that Tokyo would still be able to serve as the host city. However, many Diet members in Japan had already openly questioned hosting the Olympics in wartime, and the military was demanding that the organizers build the venues from wood because they needed metals for the war front. In July, a legislative session was held to decide the matters of the Summer and Winter Olympics and the planned 1940 World's Fair all at once. The World's Fair was only "postponed", under a belief that Japan would be able to wrap up the war, but the Olympics could not be moved and was canceled. " (from Wikipedia); Signed by Author .