Japan’s policy of isolation during the Tokugawa era protected the country against outside threats. During the mid-1850s, however, it became apparent that Japan’s closed door also kept out technology and other useful new ideas. Japan was falling far behind the Western industrialized world. In 1853, American naval officer Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor with battleships. His ships were steam-powered, made of iron, and had powerful cannons. The Americans also had new and better rifles. Japan still relied upon old technology that was now quite harmless against these new advances in military weaponry. Perry wanted Japan to open its doors to foreign trade. Because of the American’s superior weaponry, the Japanese were forced to agree to Perry’s terms. They were intimidated and realized that they could not compete against the powerful American battleships. Thus, the door to Japan was pried open.
JAPAN OPENS ITS DOORS
After years of seclusion and isolation, the arrival of the Americans and Europeans threw Japan into political turmoil. Many Japanese wanted to resist the intrusion of outsiders. In 1867, they restored power to the emperor. The ruler who came to power was only 15 years old. His name was Emperor Mutsuhito and his rule initiated the Meiji era. Meiji means “enlightened rule,” something that Japan desperately needed at that time. After centuries of division and fighting, the era of the shoguns had ended. A courageous and enlightened young emperor would determine Japan’s future. Early in 1868, the youthful Mutsuhito called nearly 400 leaders to the Imperial palace. He pledged to them that he would take Japan in a new direction. These pledges are known as the Charter Oath. In the document, Mutsuhito said that Japan would develop its economy and seek knowledge from around the world. These and other progressive statements in the Charter Oath threw open the doors of Japan to the outer world. This was a startling reversal of the policies of the closed-door era. New leaders emerged with revolutionary new ideas as Japan threw off the shackles of isolation. Feudalism and class social structures were eliminated. Compulsory education was introduced, requiring all Japanese youngsters to attend school. Telegraph lines and trains were introduced. Japan built a new and modern navy and renegotiated its treaties with the United States.In 1889, Japan adopted a new constitution patterned after that of Germany. In it, the emperor granted more freedom to the people. The Meiji Restoration brought enormous changes to Japan. Some Japanese opposed these radical changes. In 1877, a shogun led nearly 40,000 troops against the government in the Satsuma Rebellion. The shogun was fighting to preserve his power. The rebellion, however, met with crushing defeat. In the battle, Meiji soldiers killed thousands of the rebel samurai. The traditional power of the samurai and shoguns was broken forever. The Meiji era was truly a time of great changes.With the new centralization of power, great opportunity existed for rapid advancement. Introduction of new military technology and other knowledge from the West led to a rapid modernization of Japan’s military forces.While the new constitution of 1889 provided for a Diet, or legislature, the lower house was elected by only a small portion of the population. This meant that the military and a few traditional leaders still held great power. This factor would later cause problems for Japan. During the mid-1800s, the United States and other Western powers had pressured Japan into signing unfair treaties. To become a world power, Japan had to renegotiate these treaties and make them more fair. Japanese leaders also understood that their country needed a strong economy and military in order to become a major world power. This was Japan’s goal at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. By the 1890s, the country reached its goal and had become a great world power.
JAPAN AS A WORLD POWER
During the late 19th century, most of the world’s powerful nations were scrambling to gain colonies.Possessing colonies enabled these nations to obtain natural resources from their foreign territories and then sell manufactured goods back to the colonists. Imperialism (gaining control of foreign lands) was an important element of foreign policy for many nations. Japan decided to participate in this global economic and political strategy. Japan thought that it could gain control of many important natural resources by extending its power to China. Japan had very few resources and it needed metals, fuels, and other resources to support its economy. Foreign territories under Japanese control also could provide markets for Japanese manufactured goods. By the turn of the 20th century, Japan had emerged as a military and manufacturing power. The Japanese government supported corporations and strong ties developed between business and government. Japan developed successful transportation systems modeled on those of Western nations. The Japanese people embraced foreign ideas and adapted their culture to help the country move forward. Japan had moved from isolation to welcoming many important ideas from the West. As a result, it developed quickly in both political and economic terms. Japan established its place on the international stage through war.In 1894,Japan went to war with China and won some territory. Then, in 1904, Japan declared war on Russia. Japan had established itself as a major world power that had to be respected. Its war against Russia marked the first time that an Asian country had defeated a modern European power. Strong military leadership and modern military technology helped the Japanese win. With these impressive victories under their belt, Japanese leaders moved to secure additional natural resources and colonies. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea. The Japanese military was far stronger than that of Korea.In fact,Japan was able to seize Korea simply by threatening to use force.Japanese occupation of Korea lasted until 1945 and created a strong resentment of Japan by the Koreans that still lingers today. About this same time, Japan increased its control of the island of Taiwan. These strategic moves into Korea and Taiwan increased Japan’s appetite for a still-larger empire. This ambition for more territory eventually led Japan into conflict. In the early 20th century, relations between Japan and the United States worsened. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt hosted a peace treaty meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that ended the war between Japan and Russia. The Japanese complained that their country had not received all that it should have because of pressure from the United States. In the United States, anti-Japanese sentiments increased as the fear of Japanese aggression heightened mistrust. Under Roosevelt, the United States also strengthened its presence in the Pacific with a naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. All of these activities increased the tensions between the United States and Japan. World War I (1914–1918) benefited Japan in some ways. Western nations were too busy with the war to conduct trade. This gave Japan the opportunity to form trade links with other Asian countries. Japan’s economy flourished during this time. However, major problems struck Japan when the war ended. Economic deflation damaged the economy as prices dropped. Moreover, shortages of rice, Japan’s primary food, caused widespread rioting. By the early 1920s, Japan was at a crossroads.
MILITARY RULE
In 1926, Hirohito became emperor of Japan. Historians call this era the Showa Period, meaning “enlightened peace.” During Hirohito’s early years, the military became increasingly frustrated with democratic rule by civilians. They believed that the military budget was not being increased fast enough. They also thought that the military would be more effective than civilians in running the government. Civilians, the military reasoned, were too preoccupied with domestic issues, such as the economy. Some military officers wanted to return more power to the emperor. Other officers, however, believed that they would be more effective as rulers if the emperor held only a symbolic role. In 1930, the civilian government signed a peace agreement with the United States and European nations. This agreement was short-lived, however, because Japanese military officers did not really want peace. In 1931, the Japanese military seized control of Manchuria, a region in northeastern China. By 1932, Japan had established a puppet government in Manchuria, renaming the region Manchukuo. The international community, including the League of Nations, was furious. When Japan’s civilian leader, Premier Inukai Tsuyoshi, criticized the military actions in Manchuria, he was assassinated. This tragic event marked the start of unquestioned military authority in Japan. All domestic dissent was silenced.The military was clearly in control. Japan continued to expand its power throughout Asia. In 1937, Japan invaded China and was involved in the horrible plunder of several Chinese cities. In the city of Nanking, for example, Japanese soldiers murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.Japanese troops raped and tortured many women and children. This brutal treatment of conquered people continued in other areas into which the Japanese military moved. As the Japanese military continued to expand its control, it saw one major obstacle to domination of the Asia-Pacific region—the United States. On December 7,1941,Japan conducted a sneak attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor on Hawaii’s island of Oahu. The Japanese military hoped this preemptive strike would destroy the U.S. Pacific forces and enable Japan to move forward,unimpeded,toward building its Asian empire. Following Pearl Harbor,Japan was able to conquer many new lands throughout the South Pacific. Like falling dominoes, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya, Burma, Indo-China, and Singapore all fell to Japanese control. It appeared that Japan would soon control all of the South Pacific. The rapid Japanese expansion seemed to pose a potential threat even to India and Australia! To counter the devastating effect of Pearl Harbor, the United States worked quickly to rebuild its Pacific forces. In June 1942, the United States won a key naval fight in the Battle of Midway. This proved to be a turning point of World War II in the Pacific. After the Battle of Midway, the United States and other allies slowly and systematically chased Japan back to their home islands. The Allies considered the costs of an invasion of Japan. Military experts estimated that hundreds of thousands of American and other Allied soldiers would die. American President Harry S. Truman decided to use a powerful new weapon—the atomic bomb—to convince Japan to surrender. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima,killing nearly 100,000 people. Still, Japan showed no sign of surrendering. On August 9, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing nearly 75,000 more people. Japan’s military government still would not surrender. With millions of people already dead and millions of others suffering horribly, Emperor Hirohito stepped in. He surrendered, thus ending Japan’s tragic World War II saga.The quest for an empire had failed horribly. Japan was devastated and the United States was now stepping in to occupy and rule the nation. The country’s humiliation was great. This humiliation, however, was nothing compared with the starvation and suffering of the ordinary Japanese people.
JAPAN AFTER WORLD WAR II
The end of World War II left Japan a badly damaged country. Its industries lay in ruin. Its relationships with virtually all its neighbors were in tatters because of the brutality of its invading armies. In addition, the country was occupied by American forces under General Douglas MacArthur. The Americans drafted a new constitution for Japan, which the Japanese adopted in 1947. The new constitution renounced war forever as a means of settling disputes with other countries.It kept the emperor,but stripped him of most powers. The new government was shaped much like that of the United States. It had a legislature, called the Diet, that was composed of two chambers. It also gave new rights to women. During the first elections, about 35 women were elected to office. Occupation by the United States and the Allies lasted until 1952. The Korean War began in 1950.This nearby conflict gave a great boost to the new industries being built in Japan. In 1951, in San Francisco, Japan agreed to and signed the peace treaty with all of the allies. This treaty formally ended World War II. With this agreement, Japan regained its independence. The country also entered into a mutual defense agreement with the United States. On its own again by the early 1950s, Japan began an era of remarkable economic growth. Still faced with having few natural resources, the country began to trade with various countries that supplied the needed resources. Industrial production grew at unprecedented rates. Prices of Japanese products were low because of the meager wages paid to workers. This meant that the goods sold well in the international markets. During the two decades following the war, the phrase “Made in Japan” took on the meaning of “cheap products of poor quality.” By the late 1960s, however, the meaning began to change. The quality of Japanese products improved, markets expanded, and prosperity returned to the country and its citizens. Names like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Kawasaki, Sony, Panasonic, and countless others began to symbolize high quality. Japanese products continue to enjoy a reputation for high quality and reasonable prices in today’s global marketplace. Its post-war success led Japan to great gains in the international community.Japan is now a respected member of the United Nations. The country’s economic success has been copied by other countries around the world. A very close relationship between business, banking, and government benefited Japan greatly until 1989, when a stock market fall threatened the economy. Today, the closeness of the business, banking, and government sectors seems to work against the country’s economy. However, the quality of life enjoyed by Japan’s people remains high. Japan’s rise and fall after the Meiji Restoration shows clearly the paths that this small country has used in its attempt to become a world power. The early path of military aggression left the country defeated and humiliated. The peaceful path followed during the second half of the 20th century,however,has made Japan a modern industrial nation with one of the world’s highest standards of living. Problems are still evident in the economy, but any visitor to Japan will be impressed with the progress that has been made and the society that exists. No longer a hermit, Japan is now a dynamic country woven into the global fabric with thousands of political, economic, and social threads connecting it to the world.
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