Compton Packenham

Compton Packenham
Founding member of American Council on Japan
Personal details
Born Kobe, Japan

Compton Packenham was an American journalist. He was a former British army officer and served in the American Council on Japan.

Early life

Packenham was born in Kobe, Japan. His father was British and managed a shipyard. He spoke fluent Japanese.[1] He had spent his early childhood in Japan.[2] He served in the Coldstream Guards as an officer.[3]

Career

Packenham worked in the New York Times in the 1920s.[1] He was the Tokyo Correspondent of Newsweek after World War Two.[4] In 1946 he was appointed the bureau chief of Newsweek in Japan.[1] He was part of the American Council on Japan.[2] He helped found the council in late June 1948 in Harvard Club in New York City.[5] Upon the recommendation the Emperor of Japan, Packenham helped John Foster Dulles meet Japanese politicians and businessmen.[6] In 1947 he engaged in bitter criticism of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.[7]

He along with others of the American Council on Japan taught Nobusuke Kishi English and helped him improve his image. They helped him become Prime Minister of Japan.[8] In Japan during the occupation period, he helped Japanese government officials communicate with senior US politicians and officials. The Japanese government was able to circumvent MacArthur's communication blockade.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Schonberger, Howard B. Aftermath of War: Americans and the Remaking of Japan, 1945-1952. Kent State University Press. p. 136. ISBN 9780873383820. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 Schaller, Michael. Altered States: The United States and Japan Since the Occupation. Oxford University Press. p. 30. ISBN 9780195069167. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  3. ↑ Finn, Richard B. Winners in Peace: MacArthur, Yoshida, and Postwar Japan. University of California Press. p. 256. ISBN 9780520069091. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Schaller, Michael. The American Occupation of Japan: The Origins of the Cold War in Asia. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199878840. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  5. ↑ Takemae, Eiji. Allied Occupation of Japan. A&C Black. p. 459. ISBN 9780826415219. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Stueck, William. The Korean War in World History. University Press of Kentucky. p. 162. ISBN 0813136954.
  7. ↑ Kataoka, Tetsuya. The Price of a Constitution: The Origin of Japan's Postwar Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 71. ISBN 9780844817149. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Seagrave, Sterling; Seagrave, Peggy. Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold. Verso. p. 122. ISBN 9781859845424. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  9. ↑ Davis, Glenn; Roberts, John G. An Occupation without Troops: Wall Street's Half-Century Domination of Japanese Politics. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9781462903702. Retrieved 30 January 2017.

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