Transformation of Japan

During the time period between the 1850s and 1950s, Japan underwent massive changes politically, economically, and socially. Acknowledging the failure of isolation, Japan imitated the West in an attempt to modernize, however, still retaining its own identity. A reorganized and more centralized government allowed Japan to industrialize in half the time it took the nations of Western Europe. Industrialization provided Japan with the tools needed to transform itself from a half civilized and "backwards" society during isolation, to a dominating superpower during WWII.

In 1853 during the Tokugawa shogunate, Matthew Perry, an American commodore, arrived with an army at Edo Bay to coerce the Japanese government to allow the Americans to trade. In 1856, Japan signed a treaty opening two ports to the United States trade. Soon, other nations such as Britain, Russia, and Holland won similar rights. The opening of Japan to the West created opposition among its people and in the 1860s political crisis came into the open. In 1866, civil war broke out. The samurai armed with the surplus of weapons from the American Civil War defeated the shogunate force. The civil war ended, when the victorious reform group proclaimed Mutsuhito, often called the "Meiji" meaning enlightened one, emperor.

The new Meiji government promptly went about making reforms to the political structure. Feudalism was abolished and replaced with a system, similar to that of the French, of nationally appointing prefects, or district administrators. In the 1870s, the samurai class was abolished and a draft was created to produce a new army.

Meiji leaders traveled abroad to study economic organization, political institutions, and technological advances. The bureaucracy was reorganized and opened to men of talent through the civil service exams. In 1889, a new constitution was issued based on German prototype. It recognized the supremacy of the emperor, but limited the powers for the lower house of Diet. Under the constitution, the emperor commanded the military and chose his own ministers. The Diet had power to pass law and budget if both sides agreed. Voting rights were determined by the amount of property owned; leaving the majority of the population the inability to vote. Japan's government was centralized and authoritarian, but incorporated business leaders into its governing structure.

Economic change due to industrialization in the 1860s produced a modification of foreign policy. Japan entered the race for colonies. Japan became imperialist after 1890 due to the need to pay the new army, search for raw materials and new resources, and avoid Western intrusion of Japan's possessions. Japan quickly defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 gaining territory in northern China. In 1902, Japan allied itself with Britain, demonstrating the arrival of Japan as an equal to the Western powers. In 1904, Japan won the Russo-Japanese war on account of its superior navy. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea. Economically, Korea was economically exploited.

The Great depression called for radical measures, which included military aggression. Japanese military played a major role in setting diplomatic policy. The military was separate from the bureaucracy and adhered to the emperor. The military saw Japan's liberalism as a threat to traditional Japanese values and customs and the military's position in the government. In 1931, the military captured Manchuria without government approval. In 1932, several military officials assassinated the prime minister. As a result, a mildly military government was created as militaristic prime ministers presided. The militaristic prime ministers called for expansion in Asia to create an empire. The demand for wider conquests by the military drove Japan to enter WWII.

After WWII, Japan was devastated by war, but the aid of the U.S. allowed them to recover quickly. The Japanese military was destroyed and never recovered its prewar prominence. The U.S. introduced democratic forms of government. A new constitution was developed, making the parliament the supreme governing body, thus making the emperor nothing more than a figurehead. After the war the Liberal Democratic Party emerged providing political stability between 1955 and 1993.

By the 1860s, Japan had established a modern navy with the aid of Western advisors, laying the foundations for industrialization. Land reforms created individual ownership, which helped stimulate expansion of production and the introduction of new fertilizers and equipment. Old restrictions were done away with to create a national market; these included the abolishment of internal road tax and guilds. Due to the lack of capital, the government was directly involved in setting the conditions for industrialization by funding

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