During the 1930s, a dramatic increase in Japanese exports to Africa and Japan's growing influence in Ethiopia led many Europeans and South African whites to evoke the specter of the 'Yellow Peril' and to call for measures to halt Japan's 'penetration' of Africa. Japan's close ties with Ethiopia and her growing exports to South Africa were of particular concern. Japan and Italy were able to reach an agreement with regard to their conflict of interest in Ethiopia, but Japan's relations with the British Empire suffered as a result of anti-Japanese sentiment in South Africa.

Growing Chinese economic and political influence in Africa has recently received considerable attention, but this is not the first time that the projection of Asian power into Africa has provoked great concern. In the 1930s, a rapid rise in Japanese exports to Africa and Japan's close ties with Ethiopia invoked cries of the 'Yellow Peril' and led to efforts to stop Japan's penetration of Africa. Barriers to Japanese exports were erected all over Africa to secure markets for the colonial powers of Europe, Britain in particular. With decline in European exports during World War I, the Japanese had been able to gain an economic foothold in countries such as the Union of South Africa. This growth of Japanese exports to southern Africa during the first decades of the 20th century coincided with the growth of South African economic nationalism, which, in turn, led to public hysteria among European competitors and domestic business interests over what was perceived as Japanese economic "dumping." The conclusion of a "Gentleman's Agreement" with Japan by Prime Minister Hertzog's government in the 1930s further antagonized white South Africans who displayed widespread bi-partisan hostility to the arrangement. Later, following the Great Depression and South Africa's gold standard crisis, the economic concerns of South African whites were compounded with worries over Japan's political ambitions in Ethiopia.

This became a matter of concern from Rome to Cape Town at the time of the Italo-Ethiopian crisis of 1934-35, during which Italy feared that Japan would provide military assistance to Ethiopia, were it attacked. Though this incident initially saw public outcry on both sides, it ultimately brought Italy and Japan closer together. The Italian and Japanese governments were able to overcome their clash of interests in Africa by reaching a compromise regarding their respective spheres of influence in Ethiopia and Manchuria. But for the British, the Japanese activities in Manchukuo combined with the ongoing competition between the two over exports throughout Africa was a point of tension dividing the two former allies.

Richard Bradshaw is a professor of history and international relations at Centre College, Kentucky. His dissertation focused on Japanese-African relations prior to World War II and he has written several articles on this topic.

Jim Ransdell is a history and East Asian Studies major at Centre College, Kentucky. He co-authored an article in the 2010 edition of the Southeast Review of Asian Studies (SERAS) on Japanese-South African relations in the prewar period and is currently working on a book on Japanese-African relations.

Recommended citations: Richard Bradshaw and Jim Ransdell, 'Japan, Britain and the Yellow Peril in Africa in the 1930s,' The Asia-Pacific Journal Vol 9, Issue 44 No 2, October 31, 2011.