During the 20th century's early decades, the parliamentary government was not rooted deeply enough to withstand the economic and political pressures of the 1930s. Military leaders became increasingly influential and led the nation into a series of military conflicts that culminated in the almost total destruction of the nation during World War II.

Japan at War and Peace, 1930-1949: U.S. State Department Records on the Internal Affairs of Japan delivers essential and unique documentation to support scholarly research on international politics, history and economics, as well as providing a vivid picture of a country's drift toward war and recovery.

The U.S. State Department Central Classified Files are the definitive source of American diplomatic reporting on political, military, social and economic developments throughout the world.

This collection of classified files relating to internal and foreign affairs contains thousands of documents from U.S. diplomats, including:

• Special reports on political and military affairs
• Studies and statistics on socioeconomic matters
• Interviews and minutes of meetings with foreign government officials
• Court proceedings and other legal documents
• Full texts of letters, instructions and cables sent and received by U.S. personnel
• Reports and translations from foreign journals and newspapers
• Translations of high-level foreign government documents, including speeches, memoranda, official reports and transcripts of political meetings and assemblies