抄録
Yusuke Tsurumi was a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the period before and during World War II, and then later as a member of the House of Councilors in the post-war period. In contemporary times, he is acknowledged as a pioneer of "Public Diplomacy". Tsurumi traveled to Australia in 1937, where he made, in his words, a "delightful discovery", namely a "Japanese language learning boom". Following this discovery, Tsurumi continuously examined Japan's external policy vis-a-vis Australia both during the war and in the post-war period. This paper explores the process by which Tsurumi discovered the "Japanese language learning boom" in Australia, together with facts concerning the true nature of this "boom". It also examines how his discovery was subsequently incorporated into Tsurumi's political agenda. This examination aims to uncover the influence exerted by one Japanese language teacher on the words and deeds of a politician.
