Argues that in the final phase of the eight months of US-Japan talks leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor, serious mistranslations in the US decoding system were a significant factor in the misunderstandings which grew between the two sides.

Keiichiro Komatsu was born in Tokyo but spent his early years in Germany at the local kindergarten, before returning to Japan to enter primary school at which point he began learning Japanese and went on to complete his education. Subsequently he spent ten years working for a Japanese financial institution in Tokyo and then New York dealing with small and medium-sized enterprises. This was followed by research work at the University of Oxford where he was granted a D.Phil in International Relations. He has since returned to the business world specialising in the field of international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), currently based in London. He is a member of the Royal Institute of International Affiars, Chatham House, London.

Preface, Introduction, Part I: The Historical Legacy, Part II: Turning Points in the Negotiations I, Part III: 'Magic' as a Cause of US-Japan Misunderstanding, Part IV: Turning Points in the Negotiations II, Conclusion, Appendix, Historiographic Developments, Q&A Section, Bibliography, List o f Important 'Magic' Mistranslations, Telegrams and Drafts, Index