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1853, July 8: Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan

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1853, July 8: Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan

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USA finally forcefully makes Japan open their doors to trade with the Western powers after Japan's self-isolation of nearly 200 years. Japan had no navy to defend themselves and were still using outdated and primitive methods of living while the rest of the world had modernised and progressed by leaps and bounds.

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1867, Feb 3 Emperor Meiji ascends the throne

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1867, Feb 3 Emperor Meiji ascends the throne

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Emperor Meiji, born Mutsuhito, was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era.

His reign is also known as the Meiji Restoration.

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1868, Jan 3 Emperor Meiji strips Tokugawa Yoshinobu of his power as Shogun and assumes direct rule. Also,  Charter Oath Promulgated, kickstarting the Meiji reformation.

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1868, Jan 3 Emperor Meiji strips Tokugawa Yoshinobu of his power as Shogun and assumes direct rule. Also,  Charter Oath Promulgated, kickstarting the Meiji reformation.

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Emperor Meiji's reign is also known as the Meiji Restoration which came to be identified with the subsequent era of major political, economic, and social change and brought about the modernisation and Westernisation of the country.

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Read this article: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202108/1231431.shtml

Answer the following question in your handouts.
1) As a shrine named "Peaceful Country Shrine", why is the Yasukuni Shrine so controversial?
2) Why did the Chinese netizens think that the Chinese actor was wrong?

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1872 Saigo Takamori proposes invasion of Korea

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1872 Saigo Takamori proposes invasion of Korea

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1874 Japan sends a first expedition to Taiwan

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1874 Japan sends a first expedition to Taiwan

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1876 Japan sends expedition to Korea and forcibly "opens" Korea to Japanese trade

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1876 Japan sends expedition to Korea and forcibly "opens" Korea to Japanese trade

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1877 January - September Satsuma Rebellion

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1877 January - September Satsuma Rebellion

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1882 Japanese troops stationed in Korea in response to anti-foreign mob

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1882 Japanese troops stationed in Korea in response to anti-foreign mob

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1885 Li-Ito Convention of Tianjin signed. Key purpose was to defuse Sino-Japanese tensions over Korea.

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1885 Li-Ito Convention of Tianjin signed. Key purpose was to defuse Sino-Japanese tensions over Korea.

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The Meiji Constitution was presented as a gift from the Emperor to the people. It created with the two Houses - the National Diet with the upper House of Peers (aristocrats) and the lower House of Representatives.

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1894 Tonghak Rebellion takes place in Korea

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1894 Tonghak Rebellion takes place in Korea

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Korean peasant rebellion that sparked the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95). Despite being persecuted for it, impoverished peasants turned increasingly to Tonghak  ("Eastern Learning" - inspired by multiple other religious influences and beliefs) that opposed Western culture and promoted equality of all people. When demonstrations staged by Tonghak followers calling for social reform met with a negative government response, the peasantry united with them in a rebellion that succeeded in defeating government troops in southern Korea. The government called on China for aid; Japan sent in troops without being asked, and China and Japan clashed. The rebels laid down their arms to defuse tensions; nevertheless, the Sino-Japanese War ensued. The leaders of the uprising were executed.

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While the war ended with Japanese victory and China having to cede the island of Taiwan along with portions of Shandong and the Liaodong peninsula and make indemnity payments, the subsequent Triple Intervention (by France, Russia and Germany) forced Japan to give up the territories acquired in China. This made the Japanese unhappy at the double-standards of the Western powers.

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1902 Japan enters the Anglo-Japanese Alliance with Britain

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1902 Japan enters the Anglo-Japanese Alliance with Britain

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1912 Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito) ascends the throne

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1912 Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito) ascends the throne

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Japan enters the war on the side of the Allies as the junior partner of the British in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

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1914 World War 1 in Europe begins with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and soon their Alliances join in, making it the first war to be fought on such a large scale.

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1914 World War 1 in Europe begins with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and soon their Alliances join in, making it the first war to be fought on such a large scale.

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1914 Japan joins World War 1 officially to help secure the sea lanes in the West Pacific and Indian Oceans against the Imperial German Navy as a member of the Allies.  

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1914 Japan joins World War 1 officially to help secure the sea lanes in the West Pacific and Indian Oceans against the Imperial German Navy as a member of the Allies.  

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Japan's military, taking advantage of Germany's focus on fighting in Europe, seized German possessions in the Pacific and East Asia. Foreign Minister Katō Takaaki and Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu wanted to use the opportunity to expand Japanese influence in China. The Imperial Japanese Navy captured Germany's territories of Tsingtao (Shandong, China), and several of Germany's island colonies in the Pacific - the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands. The operation gave the Navy a rationale for enlarging its budget to double the Army budget and expand the fleet. The Navy then gained significant political influence over national and international affairs with the Allies approaching the Japanese Navy for assistance on numerous occasions throughout the course of World War 1.

The Japanese Navy conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids against German-held land targets in Shandong province and ships in Qiaozhou Bay from the seaplane-carrier Wakamiya. The Siege of Tsingtao concluded with the surrender of German colonial forces on 7 November 1914.

With this, Japan gained a foothold in China and added to its empire-building ambitions with the newly-acquired Pacific islands.

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1917 Ishii-Lansing Agreement. (Viscount Ishii Kikujirō, Japanese special envoy, with United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing in Washington, in 1917 for the signing of the Ishii-Lansing Agreement.)

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1917 Ishii-Lansing Agreement. (Viscount Ishii Kikujirō, Japanese special envoy, with United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing in Washington, in 1917 for the signing of the Ishii-Lansing Agreement.)

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The Agreement was a diplomatic note signed in Washington between the United States and the Empire of Japan on 2 November 1917 over their disputes with regards to China. Both parties agreed to respect the independence and territorial integrity of China and to follow the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry in that country. The United States recognized Japan had special interests in certain areas, especially Manchuria. The Chinese objected to the agreement.

At the time, the Agreement was seen as evidence that Japan and the United States had improved Japanese–American relations. However, critics soon realized that the vagueness and the differing possible interpretations of the agreement meant that nothing had really been decided after two months of talks. The agreement was dissolved in April 1923, when it was replaced by the Nine-Power Treaty.

For the Japanese, the Ishii-Lansing Agreement was especially important as it acknowledged Tokyo's special interests in China and recognized that Japan could not easily be ignored in international affairs.

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1920 Stock market and silk market in Japan crashed

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1920 Stock market and silk market in Japan crashed

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There were bank failures, a 40% drop in production output and widespread retrenchments.

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1921 Assassination of Prime Minister Hara

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1921 Assassination of Prime Minister Hara

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1919 Japan at Versailles - the Paris Peace Conference

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1919 Japan at Versailles - the Paris Peace Conference

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For Japan, the Conference really was a confirmation that they have finally gained status as a world power. They joined the “Big Five” at Versailles along with the United States, Britain, France, and Italy. This was due to their contribution to the Allied effort in WW1 with the occupation of German territories in Shandong in North China, as well as taking over German territories in the South Pacific.

Japan came to the Conference with two demands:
1) German former territories in Shandong and the Pacific to remain in Japanese control.

2) The Racial Equality Proposal. This proposal was not intended to create universal racial equality but rather equality among countries that were members of the League of Nations. Despite receiving 7 out of 11 votes to pass the proposal, US President Woodrow Wilson rejected this proposal under the reason that it needed to be an unanimous decision. This would go on to become a sore point for Japan as they had been experiencing anti-immigration laws in California [Alien Land Laws of 1910], Canada, the British dominions in Australia and New Zealand and it contributed to their future foreign policy decisions.

So what's the legacy? Japan lost out on including a Racial Equality clause, but in many ways they could point to 1919 and the 1920s and 1930s, as they further expanded into China and then later into Southeast Asia, of how the United States and Western powers were very hypocritical in their moral principles and international relations. It became fuel for the belief that Japan needs to liberate the rest of Asia from Western dominance, and they can point to 1919 to show how the League of Nations was founded on unjust principles.

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1924, the Kokuhonsha (National Foundations Society) was formed

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1924, the Kokuhonsha (National Foundations Society) was formed

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This was a right-wing organization formed by bureaucrats to oppose democracy which they saw as leading to a decline in traditional values.

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1924 US Imposes Total Prohibition Act on Japanese Immigration

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1924 US Imposes Total Prohibition Act on Japanese Immigration

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The 1924 Immigration Act also included a provision excluding from entry any alien who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship. Existing nationality laws dating from 1790 and 1870 excluded people of Asian lineage from naturalizing. As a result, the 1924 Act meant that even Asians not previously prevented from immigrating – the Japanese in particular – would no longer be admitted to the United States.

Many in Japan were very offended by the new law, which was a violation of the Gentlemen’s Agreement (a previous agreement signed with US). The Japanese government protested, but the law remained, resulting in an increase in existing tensions between the two nations. Despite the increased tensions, it appeared that the U.S. Congress had decided that preserving the racial composition of the country was more important than promoting good ties with Japan.

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Title page of the Peace Preservation Law, 1925.

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1925 April 22nd, Peace Preservation Law passed

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1925 April 22nd, Peace Preservation Law passed

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Anyone who has formed an association with the aim of altering the kokutai or the system of private property, and anyone who has joined such an association with full knowledge of its object, shall be liable to imprisonment with or without hard labor, for a term not exceeding ten years.

By using the highly vague and subjective term kokutai, the law attempted to blend politics and ethics, but the result was that any political opposition could be branded as "altering the kokutai". Thus the government had full freedom to outlaw any form of dissent.

This outdated law made the advocacy of socialist ideas and all criticism of Japan's Kokutai (National essence) illegal. The word "kokutai" vaguely referred to Japan's traditional ruling system and over the next twenty years came to be used constantly as a national unifying symbol / term so anybody seen to be speaking against or offering an alternative to Kokutai could be seen as illegal and more than 70 000 people were arrested over 20 years under this law.

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1928 Japan signs the Kellogg-Briand Pact renouncing war as a way to solve problems

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1928 Japan signs the Kellogg-Briand Pact renouncing war as a way to solve problems

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The Kellogg-Briand Pact (Aug. 27, 1928), was a multilateral agreement attempting to eliminate war as an instrument of national policy. It was the grandest of a series of peacekeeping efforts after World War 1. It began with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aristide Briand proposing a peace pact as a bilateral agreement between the United States and France to outlaw war between them.

The pact was extended to include other nations and was well-received internationally. After the severe losses of the First World War, the idea of declaring war to be illegal was immensely popular in international public opinion. Because the language of the pact established the important point that only wars of aggression - not military acts of self-defense - would be covered under the pact, many nations had no objections to signing it. If the pact served to limit conflicts, then everyone would benefit; if it did not, there were no legal consequences.

In the final version of the pact, they agreed upon two clauses: the first outlawed war as an instrument of national policy and the second called upon signatories to settle their disputes by peaceful means.

On August 27, 1928, fifteen nations signed the pact at Paris. Signatories included France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Italy and Japan. Later, an additional forty-seven nations followed suit, so the pact was eventually signed by most of the established nations in the world.

The first major test of the pact came just a few years later in 1931, when the Mukden Incident led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Though Japan had signed the pact, the combination of the worldwide depression and a limited desire to go to war to preserve China prevented the League of Nations or the United States from taking any action to enforce it. Further threats to the Peace Agreement also came from fellow signatories Germany, Austria and Italy. It soon became clear that there was no way to enforce the pact or sanction those who broke it; it also never fully defined what constituted "self-defense," so there were many ways around its terms.

In the end, the Kellogg-Briand Pact did little to prevent World War 2 or any of the conflicts that followed.

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1928 Assassination of Zhang Zuolin (Manchurian warlord) by Kwantung Army Officers

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1928 Assassination of Zhang Zuolin (Manchurian warlord) by Kwantung Army Officers

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1929 Wall Street Crash, start of Great Depression

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1929 Wall Street Crash, start of Great Depression

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Japan had gone into the conference hoping to increase its spending on large warships to 70% of what the British and Americans spent - 10% more than was allowed under existing treaties. After intense negotiations, the Japanese compromised to maintain the 60% limit on most items. Conservative groups saw this as Japanese diplomats bowing to imperialist bullying.

This led to the assassination of the Prime Minister Hamaguchi in November 1930.

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1931 18 September Mukden Incident led to creation of Manchukuo

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1931 18 September Mukden Incident led to creation of Manchukuo

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1931 October 21 Imperial Colors Incident (October Incident)

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1931 October 21 Imperial Colors Incident (October Incident)

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This was an abortive coup d'etat in October launched by the Sakurakai (Cherry Blossom Society) secret society within the Japanese Imperial Army aided by radical civilians. Plans for the coup were leaked and General Sadao Araki arrested the leaders - Hashimoto Kingoro and Isamu Cho - using the Kempeitai.
The War Minister then publicly excused the planned coup as an excess of patriotic zeal and the light punishments meted out (10 days of house arrest for Hashimoto) only served to more military intervention that culminated in the February 26th Incident.

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The 15th May Incident was another attempted coup launched by reactionary naval officers, cadets in the Imperial Japanese Army and civilian radicals from the ultranatioanlist League of Blood. They assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi but were unsuccessful in getting the military to take over the government. The subsequent trial and popular support of the Japanese population led to extremely light sentences for the assassins, thus strengthening the rising power of Japanese militarism and weakening the rule of law in Japan.

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1933 Japan leaves the League of Nations over criticisms of aggression in Manchuria

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1933 Japan leaves the League of Nations over criticisms of aggression in Manchuria

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On February 26, 1936, some 1400 troops attempted a coup d'etat in Tokyo. When the Young Officers' Movement, a group demanding expansion in China, learned that many of its supporters would be transferred soon to Manchuria, it rose in rebellion. The insurgents took over much of central Tokyo and killed three top officials, including the finance minister. Prime Minister Okada Keisuke escaped only because the rebels confused him with his brother-in-law. The mutineers held parts of the city for two days, demanding, as a condition for giving in, a new cabinet sympathetic to their cause. The authorities refused to budge, however, and the emperor, angry over the murders, demanded that the movement be destroyed. The rebellion collapsed on February 29, and nineteen of its leaders were executed after a secret trial. This episode, while marking the end of political terror, also led to increased military influence in government.

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1937 Minister of Education publishes the Kokutai no hongi (Cardinal Principles of Our National Entity)

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1937 Minister of Education publishes the Kokutai no hongi (Cardinal Principles of Our National Entity)

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This document outlined in classical prose what it meant to be a Japanese citizen. The book's focus is on the inviolability of the imperial family, the uniqueness of Japanese culture, and the need for citizens to sacrifice themselves for the country. Distributed widely to officials and educators, it was intended to guide teachers in inculcating traditional ethics in their students.

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This incident was sparked off by a missing Japanese soldier from his unit. His commander demanded the right to search the town of Wanping for him. When this was refused by the Chinese, both sides were put on alert and eventually the Chinese army fired on the Japanese Army leading to an escalation of the situation. The Japanese then took the opportunity to launch counter-offensives which came to be seen as the start of the second Sino-Japanese war.

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1940 PM Konoe Fumimaro announces creation of a new political order to strengthen Japan and end all political infighting

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1940 PM Konoe Fumimaro announces creation of a new political order to strengthen Japan and end all political infighting

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As a result, all the political parties in the National Diet dissolved themselves.

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1940 Sep 27 Japan signs the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany

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1940 Sep 27 Japan signs the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany

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1940 October Imperial Assistance Rule Association Established

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1940 October Imperial Assistance Rule Association Established

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1941 Ministry of Education publishes the Shinmin no michi (The Way of the Subjects), an ethics and history textbook

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1941 Ministry of Education publishes the Shinmin no michi (The Way of the Subjects), an ethics and history textbook

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1941 July 26 USA, Britain and Denmark imposes total oil embargo on Japan

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1941 July 26 USA, Britain and Denmark imposes total oil embargo on Japan

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1941 Nov 6 Imperial Conference resolution to go to war

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1941 Nov 6 Imperial Conference resolution to go to war