Datsu-A Ron

"Datsu-A Ron" (Japanese Kyūjitai: 脫亞論, Shinjitai: 脱亜論) was an editorial published in the Japanese newspaper Jiji Shimpo on March 16, 1885 arguing that Meiji Japan should abandon the "conservative governments" of Qing China and Joseon Korea and align itself with the West. The title "Datsu-A Ron" has been translated in a variety of ways, including "Goodbye Asia" and "Leaving Asia".

As such an idea was controversial at the time, it was written anonymously to avoid possible backlash, probably by author and educator Fukuzawa Yukichi. (The editorial was included in the second volume of Fukuzawa's complete works in 1933.) Even so, the editorial was generally ignored and did not attract any comment upon its publication.

In 1996, historian Shinya Ida used forensic linguistic methods to analyze "Datsu-A Ron" and concluded the writer was likely either Yoshio Takahashi or Fukuzawa.

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