Professor Ian Nish CBE (3 June 1926 – 31 July 2022)

Ian Nish had been involved with the Japan Society for over 70 years, since studying for his PhD at SOAS, and was known to many members. He was the last of the wartime Japanologists, and spent the majority of his career in the International History Department at LSE. After retiring, he continued to research and publish on the subject of international relations and diplomacy.

He was a long serving member of the Council of the Japan Society and its publications committee. Under the auspices of the Society he acted as joint convenor of the Anglo-Japanese History Project, which brought together academics from Japan and the UK to work together on a history of Anglo-Japanese relations since 1600, published in five volumes.-He was a regular contributor to the Society’s Japan & Britain: Biographical Portraits series and most recently spoke to the Society in 2016 on the publication of his two-volume History of Manchuria, 1840-1948.

Ian will be much missed. Since we heard the news on Sunday evening, many people have been in touch to comment on the importance of his own outstanding academic work, his support and encouragement of younger colleagues, his contribution to UK-Japan reconciliation activities and his enormous kindness.

Image (left): By Library of the London School of Economics and Political Science - Ian H. Nish, c1980