ABSTRACT
Relations between Germany and Japan in the field of research date back to Japan’s so-called Meiji restauration in the last third of the 19th century when scientists and other experts from the West began aiding in Japan’s modernization. Relations in the field of research between Germany and Japan were nevertheless asymmetric. Japanese researchers came to Germany to learn, not to teach. The tradition of German–Japanese relations in the field of research and the strong influence of Western thinking on Japanese universities in general kept Japanese academics from applauding the National Socialists’ rise to power in Germany in 1933. The most extensive formal relations between German and Japanese researchers were established in that field where ties had the longest tradition, namely in medicine. Japanese researchers in engineering who invited German colleagues were more interested in technical expertise for military purposes than in National Socialist ideology.
