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 The Japanese got the message. The Japanese government of the Tokugawa realised that their country was in no position to defend itself against a foreign power, and Japan could not keep its policy of isolation without risking war.
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Intimidated by Perry’s ‘Black Ships’, and mindful of what had happened to China when it resisted the West and was forced to sign a series of humiliating treaties, The Tokugawa shogunate finally agreed to the Treaty of Kanagawa in March 1854, which opened up two of Japan’s ports to US trade and granted the US the position of ‘most-favoured-nation’.

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Thus, Japan’s policy of isolation, which had lasted for over 200 years, was finally ended. The US followed up the 1854 treaty with other treaties further opening up Japan to US trade. In 1858, Japan’s government signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the US. Japan was gradually pressured into signing similar treaties with other Western nations. Following the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, similar treaties were soon signed with Britain, France and Russia. These soon became known as the ‘unequal treaties’ – in particular, as they granted extraterritorial rights to the citizens of the countries signing the treaties.
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These led to much nationalist unhappiness in Japan.

 

 

 One of the main aims of the new government was to preserve its independence and prevent a repeat of its encounter with the United States or to be in the same position as several other Asian nations that came even further under the control of Western powers. European nations had seized huge territories across Asia, which they ruled as colonies. The once-mighty empire of China was forced to offer European powers special trade privileges.

 

 Japan's rulers were determined to keep their country from becoming a colony of the West. The best way to do this, they believed, was to adopt Western science and technology and to make Japan strong. It needed to catch up with the rest of the world after more than 200 years of isolation. In 1871, the Meiji government sent academics and other officials to the United States and Europe to learn how the Western nations ran their governments, economies, and armed forces.

 

By the 1930s, the four-leading zaibatsu in Japan were Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and Yasuda. These leading zaibatsu grew to become so rich and powerful that they were able to influence politics in Japan and even the military.

 

Japan also began to open up. It engaged in foreign trade and started to export (sell overseas) goods to the rest of the world, mainly textiles such as silk.

 

The impact of these modernisation and industrialisation efforts was that on the eve of the first world war, Japan had won a colonial empire through military conquest, adopted the gold standard, and flooded world markets with merchandise carried by domestic-built steamships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The education system and media reinforced Japanese loyalty to the Emperor, the state, family and community. It also encouraged nationalistic feelings among the Japanese.

 

Some of the ideas taught included:

 

Imperialism means seeking to expand a nation's power and influence over other territories by acquiring colonies or exerting control over foreign lands.

 

Japan’s first target was Korea.

 

 

 

 

In 1905, Russia accepted the offer of the US – which had its own interests in the region – to mediate peace. This was a spectacular victory for Japan, for it was the first time an Asian power defeated a major European power.

 

The Russians were forced to accept the Treaty of Portsmouth:

 

 

 

 

 

The Taisho era began with the Taisho political crisis from 1912 to 1913 over whether the military or political parties should dominate the cabinet. During this time, Japan experienced political instability and changes. The Japanese people desired increased democracy and a greater role in government decision-making. This desire for a more active voice challenged the authority of the Genro, who had been the traditional rulers during the previous Meiji period.

 

During this period, urban (town) society was particularly influenced by Western culture and customs. Sophisticated city residents disliked rural (countryside) residents who were considered to be ignorant and poor people. Equally, the rural residents disliked the city residents who were thought to be corrupt and disrespectful of Japanese culture and traditions. Although literacy was improving across both rural and urban groups because of compulsory elementary education (primary school), those who lived in towns and cities had better access to secondary and higher education.

 

In the countryside, the richest landlords, who made up about 2 to 3% of the Japanese population, did not work on the farms themselves but lived on rent collected from tenant farmers. These landlords lived in luxury and engaged in leisure activities, such as visiting hot spring inns, which was in sharp contrast to the poverty of the tenant farmers.

 

When farmers and workers tried to organise themselves politically, they were crushed by the police. This increased dissatisfaction with a political system that seemed to be closely associated with the zaibatsu and the landlords.

 

Later in the 1930s, ultranationalists found support in the countryside whose conservative and highly traditional residents rejected Western cultural and political influences