This Open Access book includes chapters on the key turning points in modern Japanese history from the Meiji Restoration to Japan-China diplomatic normalization in the 1970s and beyond. The topics covered include the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First and Second World Wars, the Manchurian Crisis, the US Occupation, postwar Japan-China relations, and postwar decolonization. Readers will learn how new research by Japanese historians has led to the revision of conventional views on the turbulent history of Japan, once the enemy of the United States in the war in the Asia-Pacific and now the US’s closest ally in the region.
Historical research on the modern history of Japan has been constantly updated. From the Meiji Restoration to the present day, Japan has experienced the effects of modernization and globalization. Recent historical inquiries in Japan tend to focus on the merging of modern history with global history. During the past 150 years, Japan has never been separated from events in international affairs. Scholars and general readers will appreciate the new factual details and philosophical perspectives that this volume provides drawing on the work of fourteen authors who are recognized leaders in their fields.
Yuichi Hosoya is Professor of International Politics at Keio University. Masayuki Yamauchi is Specially Appointed Professor at the Musashino University Institute for Global Affairs and Professor Emeritus, the University of Tokyo.
Author(s): Masayuki Yamauchi, Yuichi Hosoya
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 215
City: Singapore
Introduction
History as an ``Enormously Rich Resource´´
A History Book That Changed World History
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Translation Notes
Acknowledgments
Contents
Editors and Contributors
Chapter 1: The Meiji Restoration as a Constitutional Revolution
The Meiji Restoration in World History
Public Discourse: The Precondition for Introducing a Constitutional System
The Iwakura Mission and Constitution Considerations: Kido Takayoshi and Okubo Toshimichi
Ito Hirobumi and Enacting the Meiji Constitution
The Meiji Constitutional System as World History Heritage
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 2: The First Sino-Japanese War and East Asia
From Three Maps
The Korean Peninsula at the Center
Watershed in World History
The Road to War
After the Fight
Unchanging Essence
Insufficient Understanding of History
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 3: The Russo-Japanese War and Modern International Society
The Russo-Japanese War in World History
Twentieth-Century Geopolitical Framework
Japan´s Victory as a Racial Menace
World War Zero
The Tsesarevich´s Visit to the Far East
The Era of the Great Game
The Beginning of the Russo-Japanese War
The Portsmouth Peace Treaty
What Was the Russo-Japanese War?
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 4: World War I and the Origin of Sino-Japanese Conflict
The Difficulty of Evaluating the War Historically
The Twenty-One Demands as the Source of Sino-Japanese Conflict
The Manchuria Question: The Source of the Twenty-One Demands
Outbreak of World War I and the Twenty-One Demands
How to Consider the Twenty-One Demands
Could Japan-China Conflict Have Been Avoided?
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 5: Transformational Period in Japan-China Modern Relations (1910s to 1930s)
Reversal of the Power Balance in Japan-China Relations
From Equal to Unequal
The Boxer Rebellion and Great Power Cooperation
The Formation of Chinese Nationalism
The Russo-Japanese War and South Manchuria Interests
Situation at the Time of the Xinhai Revolution
Turning Point: The Twenty-One Demands
China and World War I
What Was the Twenty-One Demands?
Why Was the Twenty-One Demands a Turning Point?
The Problem of Yuan Shikai´s Diplomacy
China Enters World War I
The Merits of Entering the War
The Washington System and Its Problems: The Chinese Perspective
China and the Nine-Power Treaty
China and the Washington System
The Northern Expedition and Revolutionary Diplomacy
Nationalist Government in Nanjing
The Manchurian Incident and the Collapse of Great Power Cooperation
Second Sino-Japanese War and ``The Fourteen-Year War´´
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 6: The Manchurian Incident and Party Cabinets
Historical Background
The Shandong Expedition and the Assassination of Zhang Zuolin
The Hamaguchi Cabinet´s New China Policy
``Economic Diplomacy´´ Hits a Dead End
Political Leadership in Flux
Politicization of the Imperial Japanese Army
The Formation of Linked Crises: Korea, Manchuria, North China, Shanghai
How the Manchurian Incident Came About and Played Out
The True Status of the Kwantung Army
Policy of Non-expansion and ``Peace Keeping´´ Deployments
The Movement Toward Forming a Political Majority: October Incident and the Movement to Cooperate with the Cabinet
The Kwantung Army, Boxed In: The Exercise of Supreme Command Authority and the Depletion of Military Force
Reversal: Foreign Minister Shidehara´s Infringement on Supreme Command Authority
The Inukai Cabinet´s Secret Negotiations with China
Harbin Deployment: Shifting Political Mood Over Supreme Command Authority
Outbreak of (First) Shanghai Incident
The Founding of Manchukuo
In Conclusion
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 7: Disarmament Conferences and a Crisis of Diplomacy in the Interwar Period: The Road to World War II
Introduction
Post-WWI International System
Disarmament Conferences: Successes and Setbacks
A Crisis of Diplomacy
The Outbreak of World War II
In Conclusion
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 8: The Southward Advance and Going to War with the United States: The Road to World War II
Japan and Rapid Changes in the European Front
Stationing Troops in Northern French Indochina and the Tripartite Pact
Adjusting the Faltering Concept of the Southward Advance
Concluding the Japanese-Soviet Neutrality Pact and the Start of Japan-US Talks
The Argument for Stationing Troops in Southern French Indochina and Foreign Minister Matsuoka
The Start of War Between Germany and the Soviet Union and Japan´s Response
The Start of the Kwantung Army´s Special Exercises
Foreign Minister Matsuoka´s Reluctance and His Dismissal from the Cabinet
The Third Konoe Cabinet and Stationing Troops in Southern French Indochina
Full Embargo and Japan-US Summit
Outline for Executing the Imperial National Policy and the Fall of the Konoe Cabinet
Tojo Cabinet and Reexamination of the National Policy
Outlook on the War Situation and Rationale for the Choice
Losing the War: Results and Lessons
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 9: US Policy for the Occupation of Japan and Changes to It
Introduction
``American´´ Occupation
Process of Occupation Reforms
``Reverse Course´´?
Assessing the Occupation of Japan
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 10: Law and Politics in the Tokyo Trial
What Are Class A War Criminals?
The Establishment of New War Crimes
Activities of the Allied Prosecutors
The Process for Drafting Judgments
What Were the Grounds for a Death Sentence?
The San Francisco Peace Treaty and Release of the War Criminals
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 11: Japanese Colonial Rule and the Issue of Perceptions of History
Was Japanese Colonial Rule an Exception?
The Errors in Both the Affirmative and Negative Schools of Thought
What Is a Colony?
The Simplification of Regional Differences and Era Differences
The Issues Left Over from Colonial Rule
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 12: Postwar Japan-China Relations
The Path to Normalizing Relations
``Abnormal´´ Japan-China Relations
Security Treaty Issue and the Taiwan Question
Normalization of Japan-China Relations
The Era of Japan-China Amity
From Revolution to Economic Development
Formation of Special Relations Between Japan and China
The Issue of Perceptions of History
The Origin of the Perceptions of History Issue
Japan-China Relations in the Post-Cold War Era
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Chapter 13: The Issue of Historical Perspective from the Post-Heisei Era: Looking Back at Meiji from the Postwar Period, and L...
What Is Meant by Historical Perspective
Selecting the Regime in the Immediate Postwar
Formation of the ``Postwar´´ Consciousness in the 1960s
Success and Challenges of an Economic Power
Post-Cold War Meanderings
The Task of a Historical Perspective Looking to the Future
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Additional Bibliography
Correction to: The First Sino-Japanese War and East Asia
Correction to: Chapter 2 in: M. Yamauchi, Y. Hosoya (eds.), Modern Japan´s Place in World History, https://doi.org/10.1007/978...
Afterword
Japan´s Modern History: A Reiwa Era Perspective-From the Malice of Herodotus to the Impartiality of Liu Zhiji
The Structure of Change: History and Time
A ``1000-Year Grudge´´ and the Perfect Omelet
Where Is the Starting Point for Japan 1.0?
Pax Tokugawa and Japan 1.0
A Century After World War I: Japan 2.0 Totters
Japan 3.0: After the Empire´s Fall and Dissolution
Bibliography: For Further Reading
Chronology of Key Events
Index
