Border control in question: transformation of anti-cholera measures in Japan at the end of the19th century

Abstract

This paper aims to examine how Japan’s medical authorities explored a flexible way of border health control against cholera at the end of the 19th century. Since quarantine measures provoked diplomatic tensions with neighbouring countries, the Japanese government considered implementing a scheme of medical inspection of vessels from infected ports. However, Japanese geographical conditions seemed unsuitable for this measure. As a result, a permanent border control was established on the one hand and, on the other hand, bacteriological examinations were carried out within the territory. This exploration of flexible border control, which comprised the domestic realm, aimed to set up a reliable outbreak alert network, but cholera epidemics revealed the lack of material conditions of this system. From the turn of the century, the authority began to seek more technical solutions.