The Political And Social Change In Imperial Japan (From Mid Nineteenth Century To World War Two In Asia)

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The Political and Social Change in Imperial Japan (From Mid Nineteenth Century to World War Two in Asia)
Introduction
The 19th century saw Japan realize a dramatic shift in a political sense. It moved from an isolationist, conservative shogun policies during the Endo period in which all efforts were geared towards modernization of Japan just like the West and the world in general, which marked the restoration of the Meiji. There were cases of social and fiscal disruptions in the first half of the 19th century. This was brought about by the monetary systems that were complex by then, since the economy of Japan, was still depended on agriculture (metmuseum.org). What made the economy even weaker was the fact that agriculture was meant to support the classes that were privileged by then, the Tokugawa regime and the samurai and yet still support farming (Lu 51). This paper seeks to categorically discuss about the events that took place in Japan during the 19th century and how they impact the modern international standing of Japan on the social and economic front.
The leadership of Japan in the 19th century faced immense pressure from the Western powers to the front for the disbandment of the seclusion policy which had affected Japan’s ability to participate well in the world trade and also limited its advancement in technology (Lu 351). In 1837, armed with this knowledge of what the country was missing out, the war lords also known as the Daimyo pooled together their resource to overthrow the rule of Shogun Yoshinobu. They successfully did so and replaced him with Emperor Mutsuhito who reigned from 1852 to 1913. It is during this period that Meiji was established. Meiji stood for enlightened rule. There was a need for civilization which was to abolish the old convention (Yukichi 351). So much has taken place with the advent of the new convention that has a new dawn rise in Japan and its history.
It is during the Meiji reign that Japan saw major changes in their governance. They also changed socially and economically through a series of decrees. Japan had its borders open for business and it is from this angle that the leadership of japan had to organize special delegations to go abroad and also at the same time offer invitations to advisers from abroad such as engineers, educators, painters, architects and scientists. All this effort was geared towards enabling the Japanese absorb the much-needed Western knowledge for the sake of their development and technological know-how. The Japanese did not change their isolationist approach because they wanted to take advantage of the education, but still maintain their approach of handling issues in order to safeguard their norms and more so culture. The Meiji regime was categorical on what it intended to happen. At one point in time, they pressed for some changes to be effected in the treaty. This was presented by the Iwakura mission that travelled all the way to Europe and the US in 1871. After several attempts to reach a fair playing ground regarding extraterritorial policy, they were able to amend the treaty in 1894 (Yukichi 352).
The Sino-Japanese war
China had amassed enough influence and com...