Yoshiomi Saito is a historian specialising in the cultural Cold War. He has been an Associate Professor at Kyoto University since 2013. His recent published work contextualises American jazz diplomacy from the viewpoint of 20th century global history.

His current research project is on the British information activities, both overt and covert, towards Japan from the Occupation period (1945-52) through to the 1970s. This project investigates the British approach towards Japanese internal politics; thereby, providing a detailed study of the policy debate among British authorities – such as within the Foreign Office in London and the British embassy in Tokyo – as well as examining the characteristics of Japan’s early post-war democracy and the threat of communism.

Also, this research traces how the views of Foreign Office Japan specialists evolved as Japanese society underwent major transformations between the late 1940s and 1970s – and shows how their evolving views later had a profound influence on Foreign Office policy decisions towards Japan. Through exploring an array of social, cultural, political and diplomatic history viewpoints, this research aims to demonstrate how Japanese domestic politics interacted with the cultural and propaganda dimensions of the Cold War.