Notes for World History
JAPAN BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR
- Japan’s close contact with the West dated back to 1853 when Japan signed trade treaties with several Western countries.
- These treaties were imperialist in nature and signing of these treaties was regarded by the Japanese as a great national humiliation.
- Gradually a determination to modernize and strengthen the country developed.
- Beginning in 1868 with the restoration of the Meiji emperor, the Japanese embarked on a policy of modernization.
- The govt decided that the best way to prevent western powers from treating Japan in the same way as China was to occupy neighboring territories; first Korea and then Manchuria were colonized; but this caused two wars, first with China and then with Russia
- Japan was victorious in both the wars; in the case of Russia, this was the first time that an Asian country had defeated one of the European great powers. It meant that Japan was now the dominant power in the Far East.
- Japan entered the first world war on the side of Britain. Japan was represented at the Versailles peace conference, became a member of League of Nations and officially recognized as one of the ‘Big Five’ world powers.
- Japan had also benefited economically from the First World War, while the European states were busy fighting each other.
- The course seemed set fair for democracy when in 1925 all adult males were given the right to vote. However, at the beginning of 1930s the army assumed control of the govt.
WHY DID JAPAN BECAME A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP?
- Influential elite groups began to oppose democracy.
- Many politicians were corrupt and the prestige of parliament suffered.
- The great trading bloom of the war years lasted only until the middle of 1921, when Europe began to revive and recover lost markets.
- The world economic crisis of 1929 affected Japan severely.
- In 1931, the situation in Manchuria led army to invade and occupy Manchuria without permission from the govt.
JAPAN RECOVERS (1)
- At the end of the Second World War the Japanese were defeated ; their economy was in ruins.
- Until 1952, the country was occupied by Allied troops, mostly American.
- The Americans aimed to make sure the Japanese could never again start a war – they were forbidden to have armed forces and were given a democratic constitution. The Americans did not at this stage seem concerned to restore the Japanese economy.
- During 1948 the American attitude gradually changed : as the Cold War developed in Europe and the Kuomintang crumbled in China, they felt the need for a strong ally in south-east Asia and began to encourage Japanese economic recovery.
