Analyzing Trends in the Medical Community During the Spanish Flu Pandemic in Japan with the Comprehensive Knowledge of Humanities and Sciences: A Case Study of the Medical Journal, The Japan Medical World

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the trends in the medical community in Japan during the Spanish flu pandemic by analyzing The Japan Medical World (JMW), a medical journal of modern Japan. The analysis included 3,856 articles published in issues Nos.228–279, from January 1918 to March 1919. Three key issues emerged from this analysis. First, the tone of the JMW’s discourse may have been influenced by the prevailing medical situation or may have placed emphasis on specific aspects of the situation. Second, the JMW and the medical community in Japan initially neglected the influenza pandemic until the autumn of 1918, when the Spanish flu became widespread in Japan. Third, complex factors, such as academic factionalism and conflicts within the pharmaceutical industries, influenced the Japanese medical community, particularly the bacteriological scientific community during the Spanish flu pandemic. Therefore, “a comprehensive approach” to understanding the period, including not only medical knowledge but also critical reading skills of humanities and social sciences, is indispensable for analyzing the trends in the Japanese medical community during the Spanish flu pandemic. Attention should be paid to these factors when examining the trends in the medical community in Japan at that time.