PS 135

Tokugawa Era

"Sakoku"= closed country (based on the Sakoku Edict of 1635). This was a self-imposed isolationist policy Why? A fear of Christianity and foreign invasion Fragmentation of loyalties—shogun vs emperor; there was no political center Society ostensibly had four ranks: •1. samurai •2.farmers (gave half their rice to samurai) •3.artisans •4.merchants (scorned under confucianism)

US President Truman broadcasts a message on the formal surrender of Japan

"Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT....The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold.... It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe." In this way, on this day, President Truman informed the press, and the world, that America's war against fascism—with victory over Germany already in hand—had culminated in exploding a revolutionary new weapon over a Japanese target.

Japanese expansion continues 1937-41

*Japan controls most of coastal China and Korea *Continues to advance throughout the Pacific for land and raw materials to fuel the war machine and the economy Lying at the juncture of the Chinese, Japanese and Russian spheres of influence, Manchuria has been an area of conflict since the late 19th century

The Rape of Nanjing Dec 1937

*Japanese troops killed hundreds of thousands of civilians *Women were raped and killed *Children were bayoneted *Men were rounded up and beheaded. *Why?

Japan Invades China...

*July 1937 border dispute prompts full scale invasion *Japanese army out numbered by one million strong Chinese Army *Chinese army was poorly equipped and was not fully modern *Japan crushed Chinese resistance initially *By the end of 1937 Japan had captured Bijing and Nanjing (the capital) *Chinese army retreated to the south.

The Sino-Japanese war over Korea, 1894-95

*The Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 - 17 April 1895) was fought between Qing dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. * •When political turmoil in Korea raised the prospect of Chinese intervention in 1894, the Japanese were stronger and not amenable to another negotiated solution with China or Korea. •War with China came when the Japanese poured thousands of troops into Korea—in the name, as the propagandists would have it, of protecting Korea against intrigues by China. *After more than six months of unbroken successes by the Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the Chinese port of Weihai the Qing leadership sued for peace in February 1895. The victory of "small" Japan over "large" China. During the war, Russia has been watching from the sidelines with its own plan.

How was it initially justified?

*vengeance for Pearl Harbor *enemy had rejected Potsdam Ultimatum calling for "unconditional surrender" *Americans should be grateful that they had the bomb and not the enemy (thus it is morally acceptable to use?) C. Saving American Lives? Nowhere is it mentioned that the bomb had saved American lives---but this became the central point after the fact.

What did the emperor promise?

-1881 Emperor promises drafting the constitution within 9 years. -Fukoku Kyohei: "Enrich the country and strengthen the military" -Emperor promises to institute political and social reforms and work to strengthen the nation.

The Meihi Restoration was a samurai led revolution.

-The samurai class consistently supplied leaders, but it also disbanded itself. The Meiji leaders came mainly from the lower-middle rank of the samurai class. They had experienced both the corrupt Tokugawa federal rule and the pressure of Western imperialism. -Distinction between leaders and supporting elites was unclear. The same people often migrated between these categories. But all were elites. -As a group, they shared a common social background and political experience - they agreed that modernization was the only way to save the country. •Non-samurais had very limited political roles in late Edo to early Meiji . But: -rich farmers (1877-early 1880s only); - academics such as Fukuzawa Yukichi; -Tokugawa bakufu elites and scholars. ...these people were important •No mass participation in politics (poor farmers, workers), except rebellions with no clear political message.

Official narrative vs. Historical narrative

1) Truman and his advisers knew a mainland invasion of Japan was "an unlikely possibility" given Japan's dire military situation in late-July 1945. If there had been an invasion the highest projected casualty estimates for US forces were not "over a million" like Stimson and Truman later claimed, but between 30,000 and 50,000. 2) The claims that Truman and advisers used the bombs on military bases, and 3) after careful consideration of alternatives, have both been proven false; . According to historian Barton Bernstein, "it was not a carefully weighed decision but the implementation of an assumption." More importantly, prior to August 1945 Truman and his advisers had considered it possible that the war would end without either the atomic bombs or a mainland invasion by US forces [4]. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were major population centers, not military targets, and high-level officials later admitted that the bombs had been used hastily. US officials clearly knew beforehand that the bombings would result in massive civilian deaths in both cities, but as J. Samuel Walker notes, that realization made little impact on US leaders given the long-established strategy of targeting civilian populations . Once the bombs were developed, it was assumed they would be used.

The Emperor "Announces" the New Constitution:

1) increasing power of the bureaucratic state 2) modeled after Otto Von Bismark's state in Prussia The emperor bestows on subjects. Not citizens the Meiji Constitution was founded on the principle that sovereignty resided in person of the Emperor, by virtue of his divine ancestry "unbroken for ages eternal", rather than in the people. Article 4 states that the "Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in himself the rights of sovereignty". The Emperor, nominally at least, united within himself all three branches (executive, legislative and judiciary) of government, although legislation (article 5) and the budget (article 64) were subject to the "consent of the Imperial Diet". Laws were issued and justice administered by the courts "in the name of the Emperor". NOT HOW ITS SUPPOSED TO WORK

The emperor "announces" the New Constitution

1) increasing power of the bureaucratic state 2) modeled after Otto Von Bismark's state in Prussia The emperor bestows on subjects..not citizens the Meiji Constitution was founded on the principle that sovereignty resided in person of the Emperor, by virtue of his divine ancestry "unbroken for ages eternal", rather than in the people. Article 4 states that the "Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in himself the rights of sovereignty". The Emperor, nominally at least, united within himself all three branches (executive, legislative and judiciary) of government, although legislation (article 5) and the budget (article 64) were subject to the "consent of the Imperial Diet". Laws were issued and justice administered by the courts "in the name of the Emperor".

Japan's revoultion from above... what were the two main modernization goals?

1) political: centralized power, land reform, military conscription 2) economic-military: build an economy to match the West. "Fukoku Kyohei" rich country, strong army. The phrase "enrich the country, strengthen the armed forces" was Japan's national slogan during the Meiji period.

Important Legacies of the Meiji Revoultion/Restoration

1. Nationalsim 3. Rising importance of military affairs in national life 4. Imperialist designs and desires, especially in Asia. *Nationalism; Militarism; Modernization; Imperialism Japan used expansion and nationalism as distractions to the problems created by industrialization. Japan had few basic raw materials (like coal & oil) so there was great pressure to expand outward to acquire these resources. Japan scored a quick victory over China in a quarrel for influence in Korea (1894-95). This demonstrated Japan's new superiority over other Asian powers.

The two important documents that shaped politics and society in important yet different ways?

1. The Japanese constitutions 1899 2. The imperial rescript on education (1890)

BBC News Asia: 4 Feb 2014

A governor of Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, denied that the Nanjing massacre took place, days after a row over Tokyo's use of war-time sex slaves engulfed the new NHK chief., Katsuto Momii Mr. Momiji said that the Japanese military's use of sex slaves during World War Two was a practice common in any country at war. "Such women could be found in any nation that was at war, including France and Germany," he said, describing international anger as "puzzling". But he later apologized, saying: "It is my lack of discretion in that I didn't understand the various rules. I think it was very inappropriate that I made the comments at such places."

Japan now? After the war...

A rising imperialist (territory gained by 1905).

PM Abe Shinzo visits the shrine.

Abe said the visit had been misinterpreted as paying homage to war criminals, and that he did he intend to offend the people of Korea or China. The Yasukuni Shrine, in Tokyo Controversial Tokyo shrine honors 14 Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals, straining relations with neighbors in China and the two Koreas,

Tokugawa Yoshinobu (Japan's Last Shogun)

After a number of battles between different groups in Japan, eventually the side promoting the end of Tokugawa shogunate rule, and the return or restoration of the emperor won. (Thereafter, the recovery of national status and strength became an overarching priority for Japan.) It was soon after that, that Japan enters a period of dramatic and revolutionary political, social, and economic change..known as the Meiji Revolution.

Summarize the Meiji Restoration:

After the Meiji emperor dies in 1912, Japan had made a rapid transformation in its politics, economy, and society. Their changes: A highly centralized, bureaucratic government A constitution establishing an elected parliament A highly educated population free of feudal class restrictions A well-developed transport and communication system An established and rapidly growing industrial sector based on the latest technology (Western technology was adopted which allowed the Japanese to fully industrialize in less than 50 years. By the end of the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese no longer feared that they would be colonized by imperialists. Rather, they set out to practice imperialism themselves to obtain power and natural resources. Japan was quickly emerging as a world-class power using western technology and methods while still maintaining its traditional cultural values. 1.the march to modernity. -mass society emerges; -industrial takeoff/urban society: newspapers; dept. stores; treated water; beer halls, commoners take part in political life, etc. Somewhere between 1885 and 1895 Japan reached what economists call the take of stage of modern industrial grow---sharp upturns in factory production levels, Manufacturing companies mushroomed, The growth of the population and spread of literacy laid the groundwork for an industrial revolution carried out by private initiative (though initially the state started some of the industries) By the turn of the century Japan was already establishing itself as the first non-Western industrial capitalist nation.) A powerful army and navy {derived from slogan "Enrich the Country and strengthen the military}

Japan and US public opinion today?

Akira Yamada, a professor of modern Japanese history at Tokyo's Meiji University, said both Japanese and Americans tend not to focus on facts "inconvenient" for themselves in remembering and discussing the conflict. For example, many Japanese ignore details about the war crimes committed by the Japanese military during the war with China and during the Pacific War, he said. On the other hand, American people tend to pay less attention to the inhumane nature of the use of nuclear weapons and the massive indiscriminate U.S. air raids during the Pacific War, which killed many Japanese noncombatants across the country, Yamada said. The 1946 U.S. bombing survey estimated that the total number of civilian casualties in Japan as a result of nine months of air attacks was 806,000. Of these, about 330,000 were fatalities, according to the report. Some Japanese historians put the number of fatalities much higher, at around 600,000 to 700,000. An air raid carried out on the night of March 10, 1945, was alone estimated to have killed about 100,000 people in Tokyo, based on records of cremations by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. "Indiscriminate attacks on general citizens are prohibited by international law. One of the most serious cases of this is use of a nuclear weapon," Yamada maintained. Yamada, however, quickly added that the Japanese military likewise carried out many massive air raids on Chinese cities, including Chongqing, in the southwest, and committed many war atrocities. Alex Wellerstein, a nuclear historian at the Stevens Institute of Technology, said that although countries that were invaded by Japan were very much in favor of the atomic bomb, Europe generally takes a dim view. "They find it completely shocking that a majority of Americans still think Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified and morally correct."

CHANGE IN TIMELINE: Why were each of the Magazines were so important? (Atomic bombings)

America put a ban on photos from Nagasaki and Hiroshima. So, the American public (prior) was unaware of the true devastation. So, here we have two counter pieces that are trying to tell the truth- one being more accurate than the others.

Japan would later use Korea as a "stepping stone" to Manchuria...in the 1930s...

By 1910, Japan annexes Korea as a colony and takes control over indigenous Korean modernization efforts. In 1931, Japan takes control of Manchuria and establishes the puppet state of "Manchukuo"; In 1937, Japan invades the rest of China.

More on Western imperialism in Japan:

Cheap foreign goods, like English textiles, poured into Japan and ruined native Japanese handicraft industries Japan suffered from an unfavorable balance of payments (i.e. imports far exceeding exports). Loans were extended to Japan by Westerners; in return, Westerners received more privileges. Moreover, since gold was cheaper in Japan than in other places of the world (less than half the world price), foreigners bought from Japan vast quantities of gold. This outflow of gold, together with the economic imperialism of foreign imports, caused social miseries in the country. KEY***To counter the economic threats of imperialism, Japan had to be economically powerful. To counter the political threats of imperialism, Japan had to be militarily strengthened. Thus "rich country and strong army" (fukoku kyohei) was the slogan of Meiji modernization. The final objective was to establish strong political rule in Japan, so that she would at last be able to get rid of the unequal treaties imposed by the Western powers.

Who forced Japan to Open to the West?

Commodore Matthew Perry. In 1853 Perry sailed to Japan demanding the opening of trade. Perry used the threat of naval war ships to convince the Japanese government, who had generally been unreceptive to the west, to open its relations with the US. Shortly after several other western countries followed suit and signed trade agreements with Japan. The arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry and the black ships, or kuro fune, to Japan's Uraga Harbor on July 14, 1853, effectively led to the end of Japan's isolation policy that lasted for over 250 years.

The Meiji Restoration, was this a revoultion?? or a restoration??

IT WAS A "RESTORATION" IN THE SENSE THAT THE EMPEROR WAS "RESTORED" AND GIVEN GREATER POWER... BUT IN MANY REGARDS THE CHANGES PUT IN PLACE WERE NOTHING LESS THAN REVOLUTIONARY The last leader of the Tokugawa family did not lose his head, and general bloodshed was minimal. So, it was an Aristocratic revolution lead by disgruntled members of the old ruling class. These revolutionaries used traditional language and traditional slogans --- the restoration of imperial rule - to justify their actions. From the day the teen-aged Mutsuhito claimed power on January 3, 1868 in a relatively tranquil coup called the "Meiji Restoration" (after his reign name) until his death forty-five years later, Japan experienced an evolution so rapid that one Tokyo expatriate said he felt as if he had been alive for 400 years. But it was soon to become clear that behind this apparently conservative goal was to emerge a fundamental commitment by the new imperial government to reshape Japan from top to bottom. Still, An isolated, feudalistic island state in 1850, Japan had become a powerful colonial power with the most modern of institutions when Meiji's son, the Taisho emperor, took the throne in 1912. Under his name Japan gains a constitution, a parliament, a national compulsory education system, a modern army and navy, roads, trains, and telegraph — in less than 50 years. Both the sources of these changes and the way in which they made Japan "modern" provide the material for one of human history's more dramatic stories. They also laid the groundwork for the turbulence of Japan's twentieth century and the 15 year war with China and the pacific war with the US.. The emperor's effective power remains the same, but the reformers use the imperial symbol to rally public support and national sentiment for rapid modernization.

Where others fail (the West) in Korea, Japan succeeds! How? Ironically...

In the end, the country was forced to open up not by the West, but by Japan itself.. The United States and major European countries soon followed with their own treaties of trade and diplomacy with Korea. The Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876, also known as the Japan-Korea Treaty of Amity in Japanese, or Treaty of Ganghwa Island in Korean, was made between representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Joseon Kingdom in 1876. Negotiations were concluded on February 26, 1876. The treaty gave Japan special trading rights and other privileges in Korea that were not reciprocated for Koreans in Japan. The United States and major European countries soon followed with their own treaties of trade and diplomacy with Korea. *An "Unequal Treaty": •The 1876 Treaty of Kanghwa between Japan and Korea, named after the island off the west coast of Korea where it was signed, was a classic "unequal treaty" of the kind Western powers were imposing on Asian countries, including China and Japan, in the nineteenth century. •The treaty gave Japan: • special trading rights and other privileges in Korea that were not reciprocated for Koreans in Japan.

Sakoku Edict

Key points: 1. The Japanese were to be kept within Japan's own boundaries (Japanese would face penalty of death if they tried to leave. Europeans that entered Japan illegally would face the death penalty as well) 2. Catholicism was strictly forbidden (Those found practicing the Christian faith were subject to investigation, and anyone associated with Catholicism would be punished. No missionaries allowed) 3. Trade restrictions (and strict limitations on goods were set to limit the ports open to trade, and the merchants who would be allowed to engage in trade. Relations with the Portuguese were cut off ; Chinese merchants and those of the Dutch East India Company were restricted to enclaves in Nagasaki)

Changes during the Meiji restoration

Major changes: -abolished feudalism -eliminated samurai armies and established military conscription (disbanded itself) -created a centralized government and encouraged loyalty to the emperor -opened up trade- ended isolation -adopted western technology -reformed education 1890 -Japan's first western style constitution (1899 under strong emperor -1889- followed by the Country's- and Asia's- first elected Diet parlament)

What was Japan's official narrative?

Need to Consider the Context of Japanese knowledge: • •*Occupation censorship—no information about the physical and human damage inflicted by the bombings •*Most Japanese outside Hiroshima and Nagasaki had little or no knowledge of what an atomic bomb was—including radiation effects •*Japanese Newspapers referred to it as a "new -type weapon" without specification •*For some Japanese the thought may have been: "Why should Hiroshima and Nagasaki be singled out when all of Japan was destroyed?"

Datsu-A ron : 脱亜論 attributed to Fukuzawa Yukichi, 1885 === more on Japan's own xenophobic ideology

ONE OF THE POPULAR IDEAS SUPPORTED NATIONALISM WAS THE IDEA OF DATSUARON The title "Datsu-A Ron" has been translated in a variety of ways, including "Good-bye Asia," "De-Asianization," "Shedding Asia," and "Leaving Asia." "Datsu-A Ron is an editorial published in the Japanese newspaper Jiji Shimpo on March 16, 1885 arguing that Meiji Japan should abandon the conservative governments of Qing China and Joseon Korea and align itself with the West. Who was Fukuzawa? Fukuzawa is regarded as one of the founders of modern Japan. , and as reforms began, Fukuzawa, whose fame was already unquestionable, began production of Jiji Shinpo, which received wide circulation, encouraging the people to enlighten themselves and to adopt a moderate political attitude towards the change that was being engineered within the social and political structures of Japan. He translated many books and journals into Japanese on a wide variety of subjects, including chemistry, the arts military and society, and published many books (in multiple volumes) and journals himself describing Western society, his own philosophy and change, etc. By the 1880s, Social Darwinist (survival of the fittest) thinking was not merely accepted as common sense by Japanese policymakers and public commentators. It was concretely applied to the situation in Asia—and more specifically to Japan's position vis-à-vis China, Korea, and Russia. No matter what international law might say, "the Strong eat up the Weak."

Why were the bombs dropped (Hiroshima and Nagasaki)? Potsdam July 26, 1945

Potsdam, 1945; Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin Potsdam Conference from 17 July, to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious Allied leaders (Harry S. Truman Winston Churchill and his successor, Clement Attlee and Joseph Stalin) met to decide the future of Germany and postwar Europe in general. The conference ended with the Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration.

March 2007

Prime Minister Abe's statement about comfort women: •Whatever their complaints, Mr. Abe seemed to suggest last week that the 1993 cabinet secretary's apologia was unnecessary. "There is no evidence to prove there was coercion, nothing to support it," Mr. Abe told reporters last week. That declaration, also offered an apology to the "comfort women," although many of the women have never accepted that apology, because the declaration was issued by a cabinet secretary, and not officially adopted by Parliament. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's unequivocal that the country had forced foreign women — mostly Chinese and Koreans — into sexual slavery during World War II. The assertion flies in the face of a 1993 mea culpa, in which the government famously acknowledged the Japanese military's role in setting up the brothels.

How Russian and Japanese Spheres of Influence clashed...leading to...

Russo-Japanese War 1904-05 (over Korea and Manchuria): The Battle of Tsushima (the results startled and amazed the war). The war strategy??? Admiral Togo had a fleet that was faster and better organized, and he waited for the Russians in Tsushima Strait, between Korea and Japan. The battle of Tsushima (May 27-28, 1905) was the most important naval action since the battle of Trafalgar, a century earlier. By arranging his ships in a classic "crossing the T" formation, so that as many guns as possible could be trained on the Russians, Togo pulled off the most total victory in the history of naval warfare; twenty-one of the thirty-eight Russian ships were sunk, including six of the eight battleships --in 45 minutes

State Religion? Shintoism.

Shintoism was re-emphasised as the state religion and personified in the emperor and a new Shinto shrine for the nation was built in Tokyo - the Yasukuni Jinja. However Japan didn't just copy the West culturally. It based its new nationalism on Western ideas and a revival of its own past. Shintoism was re-emphasised as the state religion and personified in the emperor and a new Shinto shrine for the nation was built in Tokyo - the Yasukuni Jinja. Bushido (Way of the Samurai) was re-invented as the 'Soul of Japan': a new nationalist ideology. See Bushido: The Soul of Japan (1899).

The announcement: the official narrative

The Announcement and the American "Official Narrative": •A. *August 6 1945: a routine press release of 1160 words was handed out to White House journalists by an information officer from the War Department •*provided in a casual atmosphere • *contained many "half truths" à"Hiroshima: "a Japanese army base" àa "revolutionary" weapon but no mention about radiation, etc •Since the late 1940s the common justifications for President Truman's decision to drop two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki have consisted of five basic assertions: •1) that the bombs saved more lives than they took by eliminating the need for a US ground invasion of Japan, • 2) that the bombs were dropped on military targets essential to the Japanese war machine, •3) that the bombs were dropped only after a process of careful deliberation by US leaders, • •4) that those leaders were forced into dropping the bombs because of the Japanese leadership's refusal to surrender, and • •5) that the bombings effectively ended the Pacific war by convincing Japan's leaders to surrender.

Korean Monument 2011

The Japanese government has opposed the monument since its unveiling, arguing that it violates the Vienna Convention's clause 22, article 2, on respect for the dignity of a foreign diplomatic mission. To commemorate the 1,000th weekly demonstration demanding Japan's apology, compensation and punishment of responsible parties, the NGO group of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan opened the Comfort Women Peace Monument on December 14, 2011. The location of the monument was controversial from the beginning, for it is placed in front of the Japanese embassy in the capital city of South Korea, in violation of Korean traffic laws.

Hiroshima after the Atomic bomb

The War's End:"Little Boy", August 6, 1945, Hiroshima "Fat Man" August 9, 1945, Nagasaki On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of "a new and most cruel bomb."

Kuro Fune (Black ships):

The ships were characterized as black due to the dark color of older sailing vessels and the black smoke that was produced from the coal used as fuel for the ships. Prior to Perry's arrival, Japan limited its foreign trade to the Chinese and Dutch through Nagasaki's port. Initially, the Japanese were going to attempt to stop the American fleet of four ships from reaching the capital, but due to the militarily superior weapons and ships possessed by the fleet, the Japanese defenses allowed Perry to deliver his message to Japan requesting foreign trade. From then on, Japan would eliminate it's isolationist policy and strive toward acquiring the technology possessed by the world's superpowers.

'comfort women' memorial statues (2017)

Things flared up again this year over a statue of a young girl known as the "Peace Statue." The small bronze figure depicts a girl sitting in a chair, staring straight ahead with a look of determination. She has cropped hair and wears a hanbok — a traditional Korean dress. She's barefoot. Her fist is clenched. Next to her is an empty chair.

Deshima/Dejima (enclave of Nagasaki)

This was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634 by local merchants. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to constrain foreign traders as part of sakoku, the self-imposed isolationist policy.

Historical periods of Japan? **each era refers to a different emperor; when one dies (or abdicates) they start a new era--

Tokugawa: 1603-1868 "sakoku" = closed country (fear of christianity and foreign invasion" Meiji: 1868-1912 Taisho: 1912-1926 (aka Taisho Democracy) Showa: 1925-1989 (wartime, occupation, and rebuilding) Heisei 1989-2019 April 30th (economic and political changes) Reiwa- May 1 2019 (current, the day on which Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne

Japan's attack was the first real challenge to the League of Nations...

Various countries vigorously protested Japanese actions but they had no real power to enforce sanctions. Japan withdrew form the League in 1933. In September 1931, the Japanese claimed that Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the Manchurian railway which Japan controlled. Japan attacked and by February 1932, had brutally conquered Manchuria. Meanwhile, in January-March 1932, Japan attacked and captured the city of Shanghai in China itself. In March 1932, China appealed to the League of Nations. The League, however, could not agree on sanctions, and Britain and France were not prepared to send an army. Not only did the Japanese stay in Manchuria, but in July 1937 they also invaded China. In April 1932, a League delegation led by Lord Lytton arrived in Manchuria to see what was happening, and in October 1932 it declared that Japan should leave. In February 1933, a special assembly of the League voted against Japan, so the Japanese walked out.

Why western technology?

Western technology was adopted which allowed the Japanese to fully industrialize in less than 50 years. By the end of the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese no longer feared that they would be colonized by imperialists. Rather, they set out to practice imperialism themselves to obtain power and natural resources. Japan was quickly emerging as a world-class power using western technology and methods while still maintaining its traditional cultural values. 1880s to 1905 Implementation Period Repeated "company booms" (creation of joint stock companies, late 1880s-); industrial revolution (1890s) Japan overtakes UK in cotton textile industry (early 20c) Japan wins over China (1894-95) and Russia (1904-05)

The Meiji restoration was a period of...

restructuring the political regime, redefining national goals, and agreeing on their concrete contents, priorities, roadmaps, and implementers.

Confessions of a Japanese Solider: from the film

•"THE JAPANESE ARMY WAS NOT AN ARMY FOR THE PEOPLE. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS NOT A NATIONAL ARMY....IT WAS THE EMPEROR'S ARMY" •SECONDLY, THE ARMY WAS MADE UP OF OBEDIENT SOLIDERS WHO SERVED THE EMPEROR ONLY...SOLDIERS WHO HAD NO OPINION AND BEHAVED LIKE ROBOTS. •ABSOLUTELY OBEY. JUST OBEY ABSOLUTELY. •THE EMPEROR'S ARMY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT HUMANITY..... AS LONG AS SOLIDERS FAITHFULLY OBEYED THE EMPEROR. • •THAT MEANS THAT WHEN YOU ARE AT HOME, YOU ARE A GOOD FATHER, A GOOD BROTHER, A GOOD HUSBAND.... • •BUT ONE MONTH AFTER TRAINING AND FIGHTING IN THE BATTLEFIELD, YOU COULD LEARN HOW TO KILL PEOPLE WITHOUT REMORSE.

Yushukan, the museum affiliated with the Yasukuni shrine

•"There, as we surveyed the exhibits on the Great East Asian War (World War II to much of the rest of the world), we were surprised to learn that Franklin D. Roosevelt had forced Japan to go to war in a calculated effort to lift the U.S. out of the Depression. (This exhibit was recently revised to omit the Depression reference; now it just says the U.S. forced Japan into bombing Pearl Harbor.)" •"Then there's the exhibit that argues that Japan's "entry into" other Asian countries was simply an effort to help them throw off the yoke of Western colonization." • "The museum claims that the Japanese leaders who were tried as war criminals were heroic." •" A tiny section on Nanking makes no mention of atrocities." •From LA Times, Dec. 2013.

Professor Hasegawa's evidence

•"[W]hat decisively changed the views of the Japanese ruling elite was the Soviet entry into the war. • •fear of Soviet influence led the Japanese to accept the Potsdam terms, believing that under the circumstances surrendering to the United States would best assure the preservation of the imperial house and save the emperor." • •In short, surrender to the Soviets would be worse than surrender to the Americans.

The Impact on Korea?

•* Japanese forced Korea's emperor to sign an alliance with Japan. •*Japan promised to safeguard Korea from encroachment by any other foreign power in exchange for its ability to give "advice" to Korea regarding foreign affairs, military matters and police. •*Japan took control of Korea's postal, telegraph and telephone services. • Korea had become a Japanese protectorate. • •What is a protectorate? •In its simplest form, a protectorate is a small country that is protected by a larger one. This larger nation is sovereign, and it generally grants the smaller nation some local autonomy and independence to manage some issues. •Next step is colonization... China is also impressed by Japan's defeat of Russia, a Western power, in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Additional reform efforts follow in China; The examination system, which linked the Chinese Confucian educational system to the civil service, is abolished in 1906.

Imperial rescript on education, 1890 and "moral" education:

•*Provided a basic statement of the social, political and moral values the government wished to encourage •*Lauded Confucian virtues of loyalty, filial piety, harmony between husband and wife, etc •*Practical personal & modern nationalist values such as obedience to the constitution *The *emperor's photo placed in every school and was revered as a sacred object. This was used as a way to promote reverence for the emperor and as the embodiment of the state *copies dispatched to every school *emperor's photo placed in every school and was revered as a sacred object By late 1890s, the schools taught children to be "imperial subjects" & build their patriotism *inculcate belief that the Japanese nation/Japanese people were unique me time...

Imperial rescript on education, 1890 and "moral" education

•*Provided a basic statement of the social, political and moral values the government wished to encourage •*Lauded Confucian virtues of loyalty, filial piety, harmony between husband and wife, etc •*Practical personal & modern nationalist values such as obedience to the constitution -used as way to promote reverence for the emperor and as the embodiment of the state *copies dispatched to every school *emperor's photo placed in every school and was revered as a sacred object By late 1890s, the schools taught children to be "imperial subjects" & build their patriotism *inculcate belief that the Japanese nation/Japanese people were unique me time...

Militarists eventually take control over the Government. Why?

•1) Impact of World Depression...people blame the existing government •2) The military under General Tojo gains support and eventual control •3) More traditional views of government restored •4) Hirohito was largely a figurehead;

Why did Japan want Korea so baldy that it fought China and later Russia?

•1) In the interest of its security—Korea was a "dagger" aimed at the heart of Japan; Japan wanted to block any other power from annexing or dominating Korea •[As Prussian advisor, Major Klemens Meckel, tells the Japanese army, Korea is "a dagger pointed at the heart of Japan".] •2) potential economic benefits of Korea's coal and iron ore deposits for Japan's growing industrial base •3) Korean agricultural exports to •feed the growing Japanese population...

Problems with Japan's Parliamentary system begin to appear in the 1930s

•1)Constitution: •Emperor at the top • Strict limits on Prime Minister and Cabinet • •2)Civilian Government had no control over the military • •3) Military leaders only reported to the emperor, Hirohito

Textbooks, organizations and politicians on this denial??

•1. Coverage of the massacre in Japanese school textbooks also troubles Sino-Japanese relations, as in some textbooks, the massacre is typically only briefly mentioned. •2. The denial of the atrocity is among the key missions of the influential lobby Nippon Kaigi, a revisionist organization that claims 35,000 members, including 15 of the 18 members of the government following the 2014 reshuffle, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself. • •*Yasukuni Shrine Issue... •Yasukuni shrine honors Japan's 2.4 million war dead. •.... but also includes 14 class A war criminals convicted by the international war tribunal after World War II. •**One of these was General Iwane Matsui, the general who led Japanese forces in Nanking.

Textbooks, organizations, and politicians

•1. Coverage of the massacre in Japanese school textbooks also troubles Sino-Japanese relations, as in some textbooks, the massacre is typically only briefly mentioned. •2. The denial of the atrocity is among the key missions of the influential lobby Nippon Kaigi, a revisionist organization that claims 35,000 members, including 15 of the 18 members of the government including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself. These internal conflicts relate to a person's ideal perception of the nation: Japan, as a nation, acknowledges its past and apologizes for its wartime wrongdoings; or... stands firm against foreign pressures and teaches Japanese youth about the benevolent and courageous martyrs who fought a just war to save Asia from Western aggression.

Ultimately, Western Imperialism in Japan took two forms:

•1. Politically, by means of the unequal treaties, the foreign powers had the right to apply their own law to their nationals. This was backed by Western military superiority. Japan's national right was violated; •2.Economically, foreign imports into Japan increased because of the low tariff fixed by the unequal treaties. By 1870, foreign imports reached 70% of all Japanese trade.

Other motives for dropping the bomb, not mentioned by Truman

•1. the desire to assert US power vis-à-vis the Soviet Union, where there was a growing rivalry [Cold War follows] • 2. the political imperative of not appearing soft on Japan • 3.the need to justify the $2 billion spent on the Manhattan Project to develop the bombs; •4.Commitment to successfully ending the war in the earliest possible moment •5.Desire to see if these bombs really worked and with what effect; 6. pervasive anti-Japanese racism and hatred of the Japanese/desire for vengeance that increased US officials' (and the public's) enthusiasm for the bombs' use

Great Depression—and rise of ultranationalism

•1925 vote extended to all males in Japan; but introduction of the Peace Preservation Law made it illegal to advocate any change in Japans national polity or the abolition of private property •1924 US Congress passed legislation preventing immigration by person ineligible for US citizenship—including Japanese •Japanese were insulted; a backlash against western ideals ...Japan slowly descends into the dark valley of war... --the rise of Japanese militarism and failure of parliamentary democracy. Japan's democratic political system continues to evolve under the Meiji constitution, but then is unable to meet the dual challenges of economic depression and the political power of the Japanese military leaders in the 1920s and 1930s.

But what about the remaining two points?

•4) that the US was forced into dropping the bombs because of the Japanese leadership's refusal to surrender, and 5) that the bombings were what effectively ended the Pacific war by convincing Japan's leaders to surrender. •Until recently, most historians agreed with these two points; but now historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa(UCSB former prof) has found otherwise. He said that the U.S. demanded 'unconditional' surrender, knowing Japan would not take it, thus justifying the bomb. First, most scholars have accepted the claim that Japan rejected the Potsdam Proclamation (issued by the Allies on 26 July 1945, calling for the Japanese to surrender unconditionally), and that the rejection of the ultimatum led immediately to the bombs' use. Second, there has been general agreement that the atomic bombs played a central role in forcing Japan to surrender

So, the Meiji Revoultion was a "revolution from above", but what does this mean?

•A "revolution from above" refers to major political and social changes that are IMPOSED BY AN ELITE on the population it dominates. • By contrast, the plain term revolution suggests that pressure from below is a major driving force in events, even if other social groups cooperate with — or ultimately capture —the movement. RARE! In contrast, a "revolution from below" (or just plain revolution) refers to a grassroots campaign against elites as suggested in the previous definitions. A revolution because of power change (end of TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE REGIME KNOWN AS THE BAKUFU, 1867-68) and systemic change (end of class/feudal system, 1871);

October 2016

•A Japanese cabinet minister and dozens of members of parliament have visited the Yasukuni shrine for war dead, seen in China and the two Koreas as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. •Kyodo news agency said Yasuhisa Shiozaki, minister for health, labor and welfare, was among about 80 lawmakers who visited the shrine to mark an autumn festival.

BBC News Asia: 4 Feb 2014

•A governor of Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, has denied that the Nanjing massacre took place, days after a row over Tokyo's use of war-time sex slaves engulfed the new NHK chief., Katsuto Momii • •Mr. Momiji said that the Japanese military's use of sex slaves during World War Two was a practice common in any country at war. •"Such women could be found in any nation that was at war, including France and Germany," he said, describing international anger as "puzzling". • •But he later apologized, saying: "It is my lack of discretion in that I didn't understand the various rules. I think it was very inappropriate that I made the comments at such places."

What is extraterritoriality?

•A treaty clause that provided for the subjugation of foreign residents to the laws of their own consular courts instead of the Japanese legal system. •Referred to as "Unequal Treaties" they curtailed Japanese sovereignty for the first time in its history.

New Territories as an Imperialist Nation: Taiwan, Korea, Northeast China, Manchuria

•By the end of the 1930s, most of Northeast Asia under Japanese domination. •The Kuril Islands (1875, acquired through the signature of a treaty), •Taiwan (1895), •the Southern half of Sakhalin (1905), • the Kwantung Leased Territory (1905), •Korea (1910) and the Pacific islands under Japanese mandate (1919) were integrated into the emerging sphere of Japanese influence.

JAPAN HAD ALREADY GAINED SIGNIFICANT INROADS INTO KOREA BY THE LATE 1870S.

•By the mid-nineteenth century Korea was one of the last Asian holdouts against Western imperialism. •By that time the West had conquered much of southern Asia and was making inroads on China. Western Imperialists Try to Open Korea to Trade Following the successful opening of Japan to trade and diplomacy with the West in 1854 through the "gunboat diplomacy" of Commodore Perry of the US Navy... the British, the French, and the Americans all attempted to open Korea in a similar fashion...(like China/Japan) ...unsuccessfully..

Economic progress under Meiji: the importance of the agricultural sector

•Early in the reign of Emperor Meiji, Japan's government was determined to modernize the country's economy. The economy was primarily agricultural, with only 20 percent of its land suitable for cultivation and tea and silk as major exports. • In 1871, the government freed farmers from restrictions on land use, allowing them to grow whatever they wanted •in 1872 it granted people the right to buy and sell land. • The government invested in agriculture, establishing agricultural colleges, establishing an experimental farm and providing farmers with technical advice * Improvement in seed strains were made and in planting techniques. There was an increase in use of fertilizers, improved pest control and an extension of irrigation systems. (on the other hand, farmers sons could now be conscripted..) The growth of the agricultural sector of the economy helped make possible the growth in Japan's manufacturing, with farmers paying the taxes that created revenues that the government used for investing in industrial development. Japan's government and its industrialists, the zaibatsu, guided the nation economically. Japan was developing its industries at a fast pace, largely because the government wanted to make Japan a significant military power, with its slogan "rich country, strong army." Shipbuilding commenced. Japan's government encouraged the building of railroads across much of the nation and encouraged the creation of a telegraph network and shipping lines. A modern banking system was developed. The textile and silk industries expanded rapidly.

Key points in the film?

•ISSUE OF EDUCATION AND IMPACT OF THE IMPERIAL RESCRIPT ON CREATING OBEDIENT SOLDIERS AND SUBJECTS •THE RAPE OF NANJING ITSELF...AND OF ITS WOMEN •THE CREATION OF "COMFORT STATIONS" WITH "COMFORT WOMEN" RESULTED FROM WORLDWIDE ANGER OVER NANJING

Japan Declares War

•In 1931 Japanese military seizes Manchuria •The Japanese parliament objects but is powerless •The army set up a puppet government in Manchuria •Began to build mines and factories using local raw materials. In Sept. 1931 the renegade Kwantung Army (Japanese army) in Manchuria provoked a crisis by blowing up the Japanese railway line close to Mukden and used the incident as a pretext for attacking Chinese troops--once the commander and chief heard of this he had to either terminate the action or allow the spread of hostilities ---the second could be considered a capital offense as no commander was allowed to move his troops in a foreign country without the emperor's consent--but eventually he agreed The independent action of the Army brought down the Japanese government, the last one in which politicians predominated until after the Second WW. Assassinations of minsters in early 1932 underscored the loss of civilian authority in a country gripped by ultra nationalism Fighting spreads to Shanghai The Japanese created a new state of Manchukuo Manchuria/Manchukuo Economy boomed as a result of Japanese investment By 1932 a Japanese controlled puppet state; Japan condemned ; Japan withdraws from League of Nations

Summarizing the Meiji Restoration...

•In one generation, Meiji leaders transformed Japan from a weak agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse, poised to play a major role in world affairs. •Symbols of Japan's remarkable development were: • the ending of extraterritoriality (1899), •crushing China (1895) and Russia in battle (1905). Japan used expansion and nationalism as distractions to the problems created by industrialization. Japan had few basic raw materials (like coal & oil) so there was great pressure to expand outward to acquire these resources. Japan scored a quick victory over China in a quarrel for influence in Korea (1894-95). This demonstrated Japan's new superiority over other Asian powers. The Japanese carry out this modernization by very deliberate study, borrowing, and adaptation of Western political, military, technological, economic, and social forms — repeating a pattern of deliberate borrowing and adaptation seen previously in the classical period when Japan studied Chinese civilization (particularly in the 7th century to 8th century).

Summarizing the Meiji Restoration...

•In one generation, Meiji leaders transformed Japan from a weak agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse, poised to play a major role in world affairs. •Symbols of Japan's remarkable development were: • the ending of extraterritoriality (1899), •crushing China (1895) and Russia in battle (1905). •By the time the Meiji emperor died in 1912, Japan had: •· a highly centralized, bureaucratic government· a constitution establishing an elected parliament· a well-developed transport and communication system· a highly educated population free of feudal class restrictions· an established and rapidly growing industrial sector based on the latest technology· a powerful army and navy -But on the other hand: Important Legacies of the Meiji Revolution/Restoration= 1. Nationalism. 2.Rising importance of military affairs in national life. 3. the march to modernity. 4. (related to all three above)Imperialist designs and desires.

Korea finally capitulates....and signs an "unequal treaty"....with JAPAN!!! in 1876

•In the end, the country was forced to open up not by the West, but by Japan itself. •During a moment of political instability in Korea, Japan developed a plan to open and exert influence on Korea before a European power could. •But both China and Russia were still very interested. ***Japan was especially concerned about Russia..... The 1876 Treaty of Kanghwa between Japan and Korea, was a classic "unequal treaty" of the kind Western powers were imposing on Asian countries, including China and Japan, in the nineteenth century

Under Japanese Rule:

•Increased integration into the Japanese empire brought rapid industrialization and economic modernization •It was Japanese-dominated and state-led, for strategic military purposes...not for the good of Korea, but for the good of Japan. But much of Korean rice crop exported to Japan By 1943 Koreans could be drafted into the wartime Japanese imperial army;

Catalysts for change in Japan at the end of the Tokugawa Era?

•Internal: -Social stress created by samurai impoverishment -Growth of a market economy -Emergence of new social classes •External: -Foreign threat (U.S., etc.) -China's demise

Japan's Imperialist rise is rapid: China/Japan

•Japan's successful transformation into a modern, (imperialist)military power is demonstrated first in 1894-95 and then in 1905-6. •Japan defeats China, long the preeminent power in East Asia, in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5 over influence in the Korean peninsula. • Japan defeats Russia, a major Western power, in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905-06 over rights in Manchuria and Korea.

If you can't beat them...join them: the Rise of Japanese imperialism

•Japan, which had isolated itself from international politics in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), enters an international system of the late 1800s where imperialism dominates. •Japan rapidly becomes a major participant in this international system and seeks imperialist privileges with its East Asian neighbors, China and Korea, and is willing to fight for these. At this time the European nations were beginning to claim special rights in China--the French, with their colony in Indochina (today's Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), were involved in South China; the British also claimed special rights in South China, near Hong Kong, and later the whole Yangtze valley; and the Russians, who were building a railway through Siberia and Manchuria, and were interested in North China. Japan rapidly becomes a major participant in this international system and seeks particular imperialist privileges with its East Asian neighbors, China and Korea. rising importance of military affairs in national life. In 1894, Japan launched its first major foreign war thrashing China in the Sino-Japanese War and beginning its experience with empire by securing Taiwan as a colony. A decade after that, it defeated Russia the army and navy became central actors in nearly every national decision, major factors in the country's political and economic life.

KOREA: In the Shadows In between Japan, China, and Russia

•Korea had long been a "tributary state" to China...with the arrival of the West, it too, tried to pursue isolationism •Unlike Japan, Korea did not pursue modernization •*Korea was in a vulnerable geographic position

Japanese versus German apologies

•Many people urge Japan to emulate the German model of coming to terms with the past," the remarkable contrition that West Germany began in the mid-1960s. According to this model, Bonn built museums and memorials to the victims of German atrocities; West Germany taught its dark past to its youth in history textbooks; its leaders apologized to Germany's victims frequently, sincerely, and in unflinching detail. •"Because Japan did not conduct a national debate over what went wrong when the memories were still fresh, it is much harder to talk about the collective guilt of the nation today, when most Japanese feel that they have nothing to do with what happened before 1945." •Ayako Doi, Foreign Affairs, September, 2009

Japan's industrial revolution

•Military strengthening was the early hallmark of industrialization •The Meiji government focused efforts on raising financial capital, building railroads, shipping lines to Japan's other islands, eliminating internal tariffs and land reform to increase food production •Government control was central to economic growth in the early period, mainly to keep foreign interventions in check •Private entrepreneurs (zaibatsu) were important in acccumulating financial capital and developing fledgling industries •Still, Japan was largely dependent on the West for resources (coal and machinery), export sales and world economic conditions

Changes in 1890: Rise of Nationalism

•Nationalism showed up in many ways: • •*in the widely-heralded pride over the constitution, • *in the issuance in 1890 of the Imperial Rescript on Education, •*in the increasing public discussions by young writers of Japan's greatness. And, in Japan's own xenophobic ideology... Imperial Rescript: school students regularly recited loyalty to country and emperor; One of the most articulate vehicles for the new nationalism was a journal named simply Nihon (Japan), launched the day the constitution was promulgated, for the express purpose of spreading nationalist spirit

Four months earlier: Tokyo Firebombing

•On the night of 9-10 March ("Operation Meetinghouse"), 334 B-29s took off to raid with 279 of them dropping 1,665 tons of bombs on Tokyo. The bombs were mostly the 500-pound (230 kg) E-46 cluster bomb which released 38 napalm-carrying M-69 incendiary bomblets at an altitude of 2,000-2,500 ft (610-760 m). •Approximately 15.8 square miles (4,090 ha) of the city was destroyed and some 100,000 people are estimated to have died. •The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9/10 March 1945 was the single deadliest air raid of World War II; greater than Dresden,Hiroshima, or Nagasaki as single events. Many different configurations of incendiary bombs and a wide range of filling materials such as isobutyl methacrylate (IM) polymer, napalm, and similar jellied-petroleum formulas were used, many of them developed by the US Chemical Warfare Service. The key development for the bombing of Japan was the B-29 Superfortress strategic bomber, which had an operational range of 3,250 nautical miles (3,740 mi; 6,020 km) and was capable of attacking at high altitude above 30,000 feet (9,100 m) where enemy defenses were very weak. Almost 90% of the bombs dropped on the home islands of Japan were delivered by this type of bomber.

Total modernization?

•Once the Meiji leaders began modernizing certain aspects of Japan, they found it necessary to modernize other aspects as well. • For example, military reform called for the production of weapons, which only economic reform could successfully supply. •On the other hand, to function efficiently, the military establishment needed modern communications. Thus more railways, roads and ships must be built. Armament and transport themselves required the efficient administration and co-ordination of a modern government. •Thus political reform had to be carried out. •To make sure that these political, economic and military reforms would be accepted by the people, and to train the people to carry out these reforms, long-term educational modernization must be developed at the same time.

History Denied: Japan

•Some Japanese politicians, historians and others still deny all or various aspects of this event: - That there were rapes in Nanjing; -That so many were murdered... -That the comfort women existed, or that they were not coerced, etc. Most historians accept the findings of the Tokyo Tribunal with respect to the atrocities committed by the Japanese after the Battle of Nanking. In Japan, however, there has been a heated debate over the extent and nature of the massacre. Relations between Japan and China [and Korea]have been complicated as a result, as denial of the massacre is seen as ...unwillingness ... to admit and apologize for its aggression, or a perceived insensitivity regarding the killings.

History denied...

•Some Japanese politicians, historians and others still deny all or various aspects of this event: • that there were rapes in Nanjing; •That so many were murdered... •That the comfort women existed, or that they were not coerced, etc. Most historians accept the findings of the Tokyo Tribunal with respect to the atrocities committed by the Japanese after the Battle of Nanking. In Japan, however, there has been a heated debate over the extent and nature of the massacre. Relations between Japan and China [and Korea]have been complicated as a result, as denial of the massacre is seen as ...unwillingness ... to admit and apologize for its aggression, or a perceived insensitivity regarding the killings

Global Impact and Significance of the Russo-Japanese war?

•The Japanese victory greatly encouraged nationalism in Asia and Africa. Why? It was the first war in which a non-European nation had defeated a great European power using all the resources of modern technology. Other oppressed people wanted to learn how Japan had done it.

Japanese Nationalism and the Militarists

•The militarists believed they could solve the nation's economic problems through foreign expansion • They planned a Pacific empire rich with raw materials (for industry) and space for agriculture (food) • •They planned to establish a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" •This was a euphemism for Japan's attempt to control East Asia with calls for "Asia for the Asiatics" The term "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" is remembered largely as a front for the Japanese control of occupied countries during World War II, in which puppet governments manipulated local populations and economies for the benefit of Imperial Japan. Japanese propaganda claimed that the Japanese were the liberators of Asia from Western colonialism. While the appalling conduct of the Japanese Army in China and elsewhere put the lie to this claim, there were significant numbers of Asians who were willing to take seriously the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (Daitoa Kyoeiken). As a result, the Japanese were able to establish collaborationist governments in most of the conquered territories. Origins of the concept. The notion and terminology went back at least as far as 1 August 1940, when Matsuoka Yosuke, the Japanese Foreign Minister, declared that Japan's policy was to establish a Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere that would include French Indochina and the Netherlands East Indies. On 24 January 1941, Prince Konoye, the Japanese Prime Minister, stated that: I am convinced that the firm establishment of a Mutual Prosperity Sphere in Greater East Asia is absolutely essential to the continued existence of this country. The Yomiuri, a prominent Japanese newspaper stated that: Japan must remove all elements in East Asia which will interfered with its plans. Britain, the United States, France and the Netherlands must be forced out of the Far East. Asia is the territory of the Asiatics... On 27 January 1941 Matsuoka gave a speech in which he said: The Co-Prosperity Sphere in the Far East is based on the spirit of Hakko Ichiu, or the Eight Corners of the Universe under One Roof.... We must control the western Pacific.... We must request United States reconsideration, not only for the sake of Japan but for the world's sake. And if this request is not heard, there is no hope for Japanese-American relations (All quotes from Prange 1981.) Central to the concept of the Co-Prosperity Sphere was that it would be an economically self-sufficient yen block. With Japan in control of sufficient resources to feed her population and provide for all her military requirements, she would thereafter have considerable freedom of action, freed from Western interference with whatever policies she chose to pursue. While some Japanese pan-Asians, such as the diplomat Shigemitsu Mamoru, Foreign Minister Togo Shigenori, and possibly even Prime Minister Tojo Hideki, were sincere in their motives, most Japanese leaders believed the Japanese were racially superior to other Asians, and they viewed the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere as simply a euphemism for the Japanese Empire. This became increasingly clear as the war turned against the Japanese and the Japanese, in turn, began making greater demands upon the resources of the conquered areas. By the time the war ended, "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" had become a pejorative throughout Asia, and even the most ardent Asian nationalists, such as those in the Netherlands East Indies, had turned against the Japanese. Thus Japan in Asia, like Germany in Russia, squandered a valuable political opportunity because it contradicted a defining racist ideology.

Meiji constitution, 1890

•The process of creating a new constitution began in the early 1870s with the visit by a Japanese delegation to the United States, Britain and Germany. •Ian Buruma wrote that •"Japanese democracy, as defined by the Meiji Constitution, was a sickly child from the beginning." •" The spirit of the Constitution was a mixture of German and traditional Japanese authoritarianism. But the greatest danger, in the long run, lay in its vagueness. " •"For the emperor was expected to stand above the worldly affairs, while a bureaucratic elite made political decisions in his name. • At the same time, Japan's armed services vowed their loyalty only to the monarch and not the civilian government." -Japan was the first Asian democracy: "Japanese democracy, as defined by the Meiji Constitution, was a sickly child from the beginning." -" The spirit of the Constitution was a mixture of German and traditional Japanese authoritarianism. -But the greatest danger, in the long run, lay in its vagueness. " -"For the emperor was expected to stand above the worldly affairs, while a bureaucratic elite made political decisions in his name. At the same time, Japan's armed services vowed their loyalty only to the monarch and not the civilian government." -Followed until the end of World War II

A few facts about the constitution:

•The spirit of the Constitution was a mixture of German and traditional Japanese authoritarianism. •Those who had worked to create it in the decade before had made sure that the actions of the Diet would be moderate: • •the Diet [Japanese parliament] was bicameral, In order to check the rash impulses of a popularly elected House of Representatives, the constitution provided also for a house of peers dominated by the newly created hereditary aristocracy on whose consent was required on both the budget and other legislation • •--The Diet session was limited to three months a year---not enough time to allow it to dominate the business of government (the Diet was bicameral, In order to check the rash impulses of a popularly elected House of Representatives, the constitution provided also for a house of peers dominated by the newly created hereditary aristocracy on whose consent was required on both the budget and other legislation --The diet session was limited to three months a year---not enough time to allow it to dominate the business of government) •--the House of Representatives could be dissolved at the order of the emperor. •suffrage was limited; excluded all but the 1% of the population in 1890 (or about 400,000 people eligible) (the House of representatives could be dissolved at the order of the emperor. To be sure that only sound, stable and respectible elments would be elected to the House of Represenatives, suffrage was limited to those who paid over fifteen hundred yen in direction national taxes; this excluded all but the 1% of the population in 1890 (or about 400,000 people eligible) Similar restrictions places on candidates for the diet—they had to come for these wealth 1-percenters Moreover, sihe ballot was open, not secret- the "oligarchs" hoped to exclude extremist or radical elments But the greatest danger, in the long run, lay in its vagueness. ") •Similar restrictions places on candidates for the Diet •the ballot was open, not secret •But the greatest danger, in the long run, lay in its vagueness: the emperor was expected to stand above the worldly affairs, while a bureaucratic elite made political decisions in his name. Japan's military loyalty to the monarch, not the civilian government." • This constitution was followed until the end of World War II...

Conflicting views with Japan.

•These internal conflicts relate to a person's ideal perception of the nation: • Japan, as a nation, acknowledges its past and apologizes for its wartime wrongdoings; •or... stands firm against foreign pressures and teaches Japanese youth about the benevolent and courageous martyrs who fought a just war to save Asia from Western aggression."

Japan's first Unequal Treaty 1858

•Treaty of Amity and Commerce, also called the Harris Treaty, between the United States and Japan, was signed on the deck of the U.S.S. Powhatan in Edo (now Tokyo) Bay on July 29, 1858. - It opened the ports of Kanagawa and four other Japanese cities to American trade and granted extraterritoriality to foreigners, among a number of trading stipulations.

Korea's Formal Connection to China Ended...

•ended Joseon's (Korea)status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty •opened three ports to Japanese trade. • granted Japanese many of the same rights in Korea that Westerners enjoyed in Japan, such as extraterritoriality • •The articles of the treaty were as follows: •Article 1 stated that Korea was a free nation, "...an independent state enjoying the same sovereign rights as does Japan." •Under Article 3, Japan would use the Japanese and Chinese languages in diplomatic communiques, while Korea would use only Chinese. *Japan employed gunboat diplomacy to press Korea to sign this unequal treaty.The pact opened up Korea, as Commodore Matthew Perry's fleet of Black Ships had opened up Japan in 1853. Just 25 years later!! The Japanese statement is in an attempt to detach Korea once and for all from its traditional tributary relationship with China Wait, what was article one again?...a free nation? Article 1 stated that Korea was a free nation, "...an independent state enjoying the same sovereign rights as does Japan." In addition to the open port of Pusan, Article 5 authorized the search in Kyongsang, Kyonggi, Chungchong, Cholla, and Hamgyung Provinces for two more suitable seaports for Japanese trade to be opened in October 1877. Article 10 granted Japan the right of extraterritoriality, the one feature of previous Western treaties that was most widely resented in Asia. It not only gave foreigners a free rein to commit crimes with relative impunity, but its inclusion implied the grantor nation's system of law was either primitive, unjust, or both.

Kwantung Army

•established in 1919 to protect Japanese interests on the Chinese continent. • • On 18 September 1931, the Kwantung Army sabotaged railway lines owned by the South Manchuria Railway Company and immediately blamed China for the deed.

Changes in 1890: rise of nationalism

•showed up in many ways: •*in the widely-heralded pride over the constitution, • *in the issuance in 1890 of the Imperial Rescript on Education, •*in the increasing public discussions by young writers of Japan's greatness. •Nihon (Japan), launched the day the constitution was promulgated, for the express purpose of reviving the "unique spirit of the Japanese people." -a stirring document in which school students regularly recited their loyalty to country and emperor, in the increasing public discussions by young writers of Japan's greatness. One of the most articulate vehicles for the new nationalism was a journal named simply Nihon (Japan), launched the day the constitution was promulgated, for the express purpose of spreading nationalist spirit

Potsdamn Declaration July 26, 1945

•the elimination "for all time [of] the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest" •the occupation of "points in Japanese territory to be designated by the Allies" •"Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku "The Japanese military forces shall be completely disarmed" •"stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, •"The occupying forces of the Allies shall be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished The only mention of "unconditional surrender" came at the end of the declaration: •"We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction." (In fact, the emperor is retained) • •Why were "conditions" an issue?