Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
In 1939, Yoshioka Yayoi embarked on a trip to Nazi Germany on behalf of the Japanese government, to observe local maternal healthcare and welfare policies and facilities. As a prominent woman doctor and women's rights activist, Yoshioka actively engaged in social and medical activism in Japan in the interwar years, eventually becoming a key leader in various government-sponsored women's groups during World War II. Through an analysis of Yoshioka's 1939 trip hosted by the Nazi Women's leader, Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, this article looks to uncover salient features of the transnational network established between Japanese and Nazi women leaders. With reference to Yoshioka's observations on maternal protection in Nazi Germany, this article also evaluates her strategic adaptation of Nazi policies to improve maternal welfare and healthcare in Japan, as well as the reception of these policies in a global context. Furthermore, it examines the alignment and disparities between Yoshioka's perspectives and those of the wartime Japanese government, revealing the complexities faced by women leaders in navigating between women's and national interests during the wartime period.
Haiying Hou (Wed,) studied this question.