Japanese Participants at International Congress of Psychology Pre-WWII

Abstract

In the present paper, the early contribution of Japanese psychologists at the International Congress of Psychology (ICP) was evaluated after scrutinizing every formal ICP report. From the 11 ICPs held prior to WWII, 25 Japanese names were registered. Among them, 18 Japanese participated, though only six presented. The first two participants, while not degreed psychologists, did present, and this suggests that by the end of the 19th century, Japanese scholars were academically ready for international exchange. Despite only a small number of Japanese scholars having participated by the 1940s, their constant involvement at ICPs led Japan to becoming a charter member of the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) in 1951.