The Diffusion of American Football in Japan from 1930's to 1950's

This research examines the diffusion of American football in Japan from 1930's to 1950's from the sociological perspective.  The research question is why and how it diffused in Japan during the time.  In general, Japanese-American relations during the time was tense because of Immigration Act of 1924, Manchurian Incident  in 1931, Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937-1945, Pacific War in 1941-1945 and the occupation of Japan by GHQ in 1945-1952.  American football diffused in Japan in these situations although it is one of the most conspicuous American cultures.  Why and how did this happen?  In my opinion, there are four main reasons.  Firstly, at the beginning of 1930's, Nisei students from Hawaii and the west coast of America began to come and study in Japanese universities, and they started to play American football.  Secondly, some Japanese politicians, diplomats, business people and the American Embassy staff in Japan supported Nisei students to play American football because they thought that it was useful for promoting friendly relations between Japan and America, or at least, for preventing Japanese-American relations from getting worse any more.  Thirdly, the media like newspaper publishing companies also supported Nisei students to play American football because they thought that it had a potential to become popular content like baseball and help to sell their newspapers or magazines more.  Lastly, because many Japanese people saw American football through American movies from the beginning of 1930's, American football had a grounding to be diffused.  For example, about 20,000 people came and watch the first official game in Japan on November 29, 1934.  In conclusion, American football diffused in Japan from 1930's to 1950's because four different actors shared their different interests through American football.