The Meiji Restoration Of S. C. M Paine's The Japanese Empire

Prior to Pearl Harbor, Japan started to create an empire that especially did not want to be manipulated by the United States. Steven Hook, the author of “U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,” mentions that “With French and Dutch colonies in East Asia up for grabs, Japanese leaders knew that only the United States stood in the way of their plan to create a Japanese-led ‘co-prosperity

Why did the Japanese create the Meiji restoration? They decided this because they began to realize that if they did not modernize, and keep up with the world it would

Japan believed they were the fountain of the Yamato race and believed they were superior to any other asian race (Document A). Japan also thought that America would crumble and become “Old Orders” (Document A). Japan's expansion into Asia caused them to go after the bigger countries.

This changed quickly during Emperor Meiji’s rule, but these changes also helped to create an intense superiority complex within Japan, a social change. They felt superior to all Western countries, no matter the fact that they were adamantly attempting to copy the revolutions of the West. The Japanese government and peoples were angered by the under-representation in world issues and world treaties, such as the Treaty of Versaille after World War I, and in the League of Nations. Rightfully so, but they demanded payment of the territory they lost after the Treaty of Versaille, which they were not involved in, was signed and

After the world war I allied countries had signed the treaty of Versailles. Japan had felt left out because it wanted to include a part about racial equality. They felt that they weren't being treated equally. So Japan had started to take control and conquer land in southeast Asian countries. They wanted to spread their rule and race. The U.S. didn’t agree with Japan’s action and over the years tension has developed between the two countries. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because of their nationalist mindset, America’s embargo of oil, and the fear of being attacked by the United States because of its growth.

Japan was a very nationalistic country in which the purpose of the civilians was to fight until death for their emperor. This was evident in the fact that they had practiced an extremely nationalistic concept of Bushido. This concept made surrender unacceptable for all Japanese people and they lived to die for the emperor. There nationalism was fueled by the fact that they won 2 large battles (Sino Japanese War and Russo Japanese war) against larger countries. Along with this, the Japanese also had Kamikaze pilots who suicide by deliberately crashing planes into American warship as a tactic of fighting. This extreme nationalism shows that they could not be fought with regular weapons and so posed a threat for the whole world.

Japan wanted to remain isolated from Great Britain and British colonies, including America. They did this because

These "unequal treaties" granted foreign nations more rights than Japan. This also helped to overthrow the Shogun. Japan became more westernized. Some samurai leaders began to demand a change in leadership because the leading shogun seemed to do nothing about the problems of foreign trade.

Japan’s decision to isolate themselves from the world created the conflict. Their decision however, was greatly influenced by the Europeans, who constantly tried to take advantage of the

For starters, Japan’s imperialistic interests could be due to multiple reasons such as their beliefs and fears. As a matter of fact, according to Doc. A,”The ideals of Japan… are represented by the principle that the

Japan was affected because America's trade was vital to Japan's survival. Trade with America became limited and Japans economic prosperity was at risk. Japan needed more imports. The army decided on a militaristic option and seized Manchuria, as it had rich supplies of raw materials such as coal, iron ore, timber and rice. They believed that by expanding, Japan could become more powerful.

The growing tension between Japan and the west stemmed from a conflict of autonomy and responsibility. Japan saw its actions as part of a national quest for autonomy, self-sufficiency, and European rivalry. The United States and Europe, however, saw Japanese expansion as irresponsible. From their perspective Japanese imperialism violated treaties, which set down the acceptable code of conduct of nations. The United States in particular saw Japanese occupation of East Asian countries as a violation of those countries’ own rights to autonomous leadership and self rule.

Secondly, Westernization Movement reformed fewer things than and Meiji Restoration. The Meiji revolution took innovative measures related to national systems, social culture, industrial technology, education, military, transportation, justice, religion, etc., covering almost every corner of the country. The main items of the Westernization Movement involved only ordnance, shipbuilding, iron making and translation.

Before the war with America, the Japanese economy was going in the opposite of the American. This meaning that during this time the Japanese economy was becoming so powerful that it needed to expand onto the mainland of Asia just to meet

Between 1968 and 1912, Japan was going through a reformation called Meiji Restoration in order make the country strong as western countries. It had caused changes in many parts of Japan such as society, government, military, etc. Some of these changes still can be seen in the Japanese society today such as emperors are honored by Japanese citizens and seen as a special figure. Since this reformation had a great impact on development of Japan, it can be consider as a very important part of Japanese history.This study will seek to answer the question: To what extent did the Meiji Restoration succeeded to reform and strengthen Japan? In order to answer the question, the investigation will analyze military reform and economic reform caused by