Fairbank Obtains Visa, Will Leave for Japan

John K. Fairbank '29, professor of History, will leave Stanford, California, for Japan tomorrow, one year after he planned on leaving.

The State Department notified the far east expert he could visit Japan early in August. The Department of the Army, which had charge of visas to that country while it was occupied by U. S. troops, had denied Fairbank permission to enter for a year's study last August. The professor was in California waiting to sail when the denial came through.

The Army said it denied Fairbank a passport because of "security reasons." Fairbank thought the "reasons" were his connection with the Institute of Pacific Relations, then under investigation by a Senate sub-committee.

Fairbank appealed to the Army Board of Review, which promised to "take the matter under consideration" and notify the professor of its decision.

With the end of the U. S. occupation in June, the Army's jurisdiction in Japan ended. The files on the Fairbank case were turned over to the State Department.

In a short telegram, the State Department advised Fairbank early in August he could get his passport by forwarding the regular fee.

He will visit Honolulu first, then take the President Wilson to Tokyo. He plans to remain in Japan one year, travelling and studying. He will return to the University next September.

While he is gone, Edwin O. Reishauer, professor of Far Eastern Languages will head the China department of the International and Regional Studies program. Fairbank's wife and daughter will accompany him to Japan.