Meteorologists from the University of Tokyo: Their Exodus to the United States Following World War II

Abstract

The emigration of 11 young Japanese meteorologists to the United States following World War II is investigated. Their move is examined with the benefit of a historical backdrop that includes a study of the socioeconomic conditions in Japan and the education that they received at the University of Tokyo. Oral histories and letters of reminiscence from these scientists are used with standard source material to reconstruct the conditions of postwar Japan. The principal results of the study are that 1) these scientists were among the intellectual elite, because of the rigorous screening process in the Japanese educational system; 2) their scientific education was fundamentally grounded in traditional physics and a wide range of geophysical sciences; 3) they all experienced austere living conditions and poor job prospects in the war-torn Japanese economy; and 4) they made a strong scientific connection with U.S. researchers in the areas of numerical experimentation and numerical weather prediction, which facilitated their move to the United States.