TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Japan's hiropon panic: Resident non-Japanese and the 1950s meth crisis
JO  - International journal on drug policy
A1  - Alexander, Jeffrey W.
SP  - 238
EP  - 243
VL  - 24
IS  - 3
N2  - BACKGROUND: This qualitative historical policy analysis explores Japan's early postwar market for hiropon (methamphetamine/meth) and the impact of its anti-hiropon campaigns. The paper traces the origins of medical methamphetamine production in prewar Japan; known at that time by its former brand-name, 'Philopon' (pronounced hiropon), and argues that the anti-meth 'shock-horror' campaigns of the 1950s were exacerbated by long-simmering animosity toward non-Japanese residents - especially Koreans and Taiwanese. METHODS: Through an analysis of both English- and Japanese-language source materials, the paper explores the gritty, frightening themes of Japan's 1950s-era anti-meth propaganda campaigns and the parallel effort by police to arrest, prosecute, and deport members of the resident Korean and Taiwanese communities. RESULTS: The author demonstrates that by incorporating a wider variety of contemporary Japanese-language sources such as news reports and anti-drug propaganda materials about the postwar hiropon trade, we may more fully appreciate the historic, underlying social tensions behind the swift and targeted public response. CONCLUSION: The author concludes that Japan's postwar federal and municipal governments, together with police and media agencies, cultivated a sensational 'drug panic' designed both to dissuade citizens from using hiropon and to fuel a concerted police campaign against non-Japanese involved in the meth trade.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0955-3959
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.12.001
ID  - ref1
ER  -