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The Meiji Restoration: A Crucial Moment in the History of Japan

Decent Essays

Japan is considered at this moment one of the most important countries in the world in terms of political power and the third largest national economy after the United States and China as per the 2011 figures. The development of the Japanese economy to reach such a status happened in time and especially after the Restoration of the Meji Dynasty in 1868. Since then, Japan was in constant contact with the western world especially with the United States.
The Meji Restoration was a crucial moment in the history of the Japanese state and its culture because it provided the historical breakaway from the Shogun period and opened the way to a new type of modernization, with transformation form the Shogunat to an Empire. This change marked the end of the feudal period and the beginning of the modern history of Japan. The westernization of the Japanese state took place as a result of the vivid interest the United States took for the strategic position of Japan as well as its important assets in terms of economic power and potential. One of the most important issues was related to the aspects of democracy largely due to the fact that the Japanese state had been run until that point by a preponderant military leadership in order to maintain eventual subversive forces under control. This aspect was in contradiction with the way in which the United States saw the issues of political rule. Therefore, the Meji Constitution came into force in 1890 and included several new aspects

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