Opium Empire: Japanese Imperialism and Drug Trafficking in Asia, 1895-1945 | Office of Justice Programs

Opium Empire: Japanese Imperialism and Drug Trafficking in Asia, 1895-1945 | Office of Justice Programs

Opium Empire: Japanese Imperialism and Drug Trafficking in Asia, 1895-1945

NCJ Number

 

177960

Author(s)

 

John M. Jennings

Date Published

 

1997

Annotation

This study, based primarily on Japanese language sources, examines Japan's connection with opium and narcotics trafficking in Asia between 1895 and 1945.

Abstract

The historical linkage between Japan and the drug trade is a tenuous one. Unlike the case of China, there was no "opium war" when Japan developed relations with western powers in the 19th century and the habit of opium smoking did not spread to the Japanese people.

 Rather, contact with the opium and narcotics trade resulted from Japan's emergence as an imperial power in its own right. With the annexation of Taiwan in 1895, officials of the nascent Japanese colonial empire were faced with the task of formulating a policy to deal with the island's large number of opium smokers. 

Similarly, the annexation of Korea in 1910 necessitated official attention to the problem of drug control. 

Moreover, the extensive penetration of Japan's political and economic influence in China was accompanied by increasing involvement in the opium and narcotics trade, especially during the 1930s. 

Japan's involvement in drug trafficking in Asia is detailed with respect to the nature and legacy of Japanese imperialism in Asia and political, economic, and social ramifications of drug abuse.

 Data are provided on opium and narcotics production in Korea between 1919 and 1940, narcotics production in Japan between 1914 and 1918, narcotics imports by Japan between 1913 and 1918, and opium import and sales in the Kwantung Territory between 1912 and 1918. 

References, notes, and tables