Japan - Expansionism, Imperialism, Militarism

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Itō’s assassination in 1909 led to Korea’s annexation by Japan the following year. Korean liberties and resistance were crushed. By 1912, when the Meiji emperor died, Japan had not only achieved equality with the West but also had become the strongest imperialist power in East Asia. 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Korean opposition to Japanese “reforms” was no longer tolerated. Itō Hirobumi, sent to Korea as resident general, forced through treaties that gave Korea little more than protectorate status and ordered the abdication of the Korean king. Itō’s assassination in 1909 led to Korea’s annexation by Japan the following year. Korean liberties and resistance were crushed. By 1912, when the Meiji emperor died, Japan had not only achieved equality with the West but also had become the strongest imperialist power in East Asia. Japan had abundant opportunity"/> <meta property="og:type" content="ARTICLE"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Japan - Expansionism, Imperialism, Militarism | Britannica"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Japan - Expansionism, Imperialism, Militarism: After the conclusion of the war, Japanese leaders gained a free hand in Korea. Korean opposition to Japanese “reforms” was no longer tolerated. Itō Hirobumi, sent to Korea as resident general, forced through treaties that gave Korea little more than protectorate status and ordered the abdication of the Korean king. Itō’s assassination in 1909 led to Korea’s annexation by Japan the following year. Korean liberties and resistance were crushed. By 1912, when the Meiji emperor died, Japan had not only achieved equality with the West but also had become the strongest imperialist power in East Asia. 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class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <main> <div class="md-page-wrapper"> <div id="content" class="md-content"> <div class="md-article-container template-desktop infinite-pagination"> <div class="infinite-scroll-container article last"> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="300531"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan">Japan</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/Japan">Introduction & Quick Facts</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref23230"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan#ref23230">Land</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23231"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan#ref23231">Relief</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23232"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Geologic-framework">Geologic framework</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23233"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Geologic-framework#ref23233">The major physiographic regions</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23234"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Geologic-framework#ref23234">Drainage and soils</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23235"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Geologic-framework#ref23235">Drainage</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23236"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils">Soils</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23237"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23237">Climate</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23238"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23238">Temperature</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23239"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23239">Precipitation</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23240"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23240">Plant and animal life</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23241"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23241">Flora</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23242"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23242">Fauna</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23243"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Soils#ref23243">The environment</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref23248"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/People">People</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23249"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/People#ref23249">Ethnic groups</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23251"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/People#ref23251">Languages</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23252"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religion">Religion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref282061"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religion#ref282061">Settlement patterns</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282062"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religion#ref282062">Traditional regions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282063"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religion#ref282063">Rural settlement</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282064"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religion#ref282064">Urban settlement</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23253"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Demographic-trends">Demographic trends</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref23254"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Demographic-trends#ref23254">Economy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23255"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Demographic-trends#ref23255">General considerations</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282051"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Demographic-trends#ref282051">Background</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23256"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-role-of-government">The role of government</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23263"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-role-of-government#ref23263">Agriculture, forestry, and fishing</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23264"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-role-of-government#ref23264">Agriculture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282052"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-role-of-government#ref282052">Forestry and fishing</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23259"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Resources-and-power">Resources and power</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23260"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Resources-and-power#ref23260">Minerals</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23267"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Resources-and-power#ref23267">Mining and quarrying</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23268"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Resources-and-power#ref23268">Power</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23269"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Resources-and-power#ref23269">Manufacturing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23270"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Finance">Finance</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23271"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Finance#ref23271">Banking</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23272"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Finance#ref23272">Securities</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23273"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade">Trade</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23274" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23274">External trade</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23275"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23275">Exports</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23276"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23276">Imports</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23277"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23277">Internal trade</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref282053"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref282053">Labor and taxation</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23258"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23258">Trade unions and employers’ associations</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23257"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23257">Taxation</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23278"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23278">Transportation and telecommunications</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23279"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Trade#ref23279">Roads</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23280"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Railways">Railways</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23281"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Railways#ref23281">Port facilities</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23282"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Railways#ref23282">Air transport</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23283"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Railways#ref23283">Telecommunications</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref23284"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-and-society">Government and society</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23286"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-and-society#ref23286">Constitutional framework</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23287"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-and-society#ref23287">Local government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23291"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-and-society#ref23291">Justice</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23288"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-and-society#ref23288">Political process</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23289"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-and-society#ref23289">Elections</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23290"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties">Political parties</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23292"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23292">Security</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23293"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23293">Armed forces</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23294"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23294">Police</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23301"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23301">Health and welfare</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23302"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23302">Health</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23303"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23303">Welfare</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23304"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23304">Housing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23295"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-parties#ref23295">Education</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23296"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Development-of-the-modern-system">Development of the modern system</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23297" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Development-of-the-modern-system#ref23297">System organization</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23298"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Development-of-the-modern-system#ref23298">Primary and secondary education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23299"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Development-of-the-modern-system#ref23299">Higher education</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23300"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Development-of-the-modern-system#ref23300">Continuing education</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref23305"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Cultural-life">Cultural life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23306"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Cultural-life#ref23306">Cultural milieu</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23307"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Cultural-life#ref23307">Influences</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23308"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Cultural-life#ref23308">Aesthetics</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23309"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-arts">The arts</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23310"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-arts#ref23310">Traditional forms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23311"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-arts#ref23311">Western forms</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23312"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-arts#ref23312">Cultural institutions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23316"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Daily-life-and-social-customs">Daily life and social customs</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23317"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Daily-life-and-social-customs#ref23317">Popular culture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282059"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Daily-life-and-social-customs#ref282059">Cuisine</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23318"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Daily-life-and-social-customs#ref23318">Social customs</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23319"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Daily-life-and-social-customs#ref23319">Sports and recreation</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23313"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Media-and-publishing">Media and publishing</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref282060"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Media-and-publishing#ref282060">Books and magazines</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23314"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Media-and-publishing#ref23314">The press</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23315"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Media-and-publishing#ref23315">Radio and television</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref214442"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/History">History</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23117"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/History#ref23117">Ancient Japan to 1185</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23118" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/History#ref23118">Prehistoric Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23119"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/History#ref23119">Pre-Ceramic culture</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23120"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/History#ref23120">Jōmon culture (c. 10,500 to c. 300 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23121"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Yayoi-period-c-300-bce-c-250-ce">The Yayoi period (c. 300 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>–c. 250 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23122"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Yayoi-period-c-300-bce-c-250-ce#ref23122">Chinese chronicles</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23123" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Yayoi-period-c-300-bce-c-250-ce#ref23123">The Tumulus (Tomb) period (c. 250–552)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23124"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Yayoi-period-c-300-bce-c-250-ce#ref23124">The unification of the nation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23125"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Yayoi-period-c-300-bce-c-250-ce#ref23125">The Yamato court</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23126"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Rise-and-expansion-of-Yamato">Rise and expansion of Yamato</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23127"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Rise-and-expansion-of-Yamato#ref23127">The Yamato polity</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23128"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Rise-and-expansion-of-Yamato#ref23128">Yamato relations with Korean states</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23129"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Yamato-decline-and-the-introduction-of-Buddhism">Yamato decline and the introduction of Buddhism</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23130" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Yamato-decline-and-the-introduction-of-Buddhism#ref23130">The age of reform (552–710)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23131"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Yamato-decline-and-the-introduction-of-Buddhism#ref23131">The idealized government of Prince Shōtoku</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23132"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Taika-reforms">The Taika reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23133"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Taika-reforms#ref23133">The <em><strong>ritsuryō</strong></em> system</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23134" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Nara-period-710-784">The Nara period (710–784)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23135"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Nara-period-710-784#ref23135">Beginning of the imperial state</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23136"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Nara-period-710-784#ref23136">Culture in the Nara period</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23137" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Heian-period-794-1185">The Heian period (794–1185)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23138"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Heian-period-794-1185#ref23138">Changes in ritsuryō government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23139"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Heian-period-794-1185#ref23139">Aristocratic government at its peak</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23140"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-by-cloistered-emperors">Government by cloistered emperors</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23141"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Government-by-cloistered-emperors#ref23141">The rise of the warrior class</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23142"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Medieval-Japan">Medieval Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23143" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Medieval-Japan#ref23143">The Kamakura period (1192–1333)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23144"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Medieval-Japan#ref23144">The establishment of warrior government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23145"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Medieval-Japan#ref23145">The Hōjō regency</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23146"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Medieval-Japan#ref23146">The Mongol invasions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23147"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Samurai-groups-and-farming-villages">Samurai groups and farming villages</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23148"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Samurai-groups-and-farming-villages#ref23148">Kamakura culture: the new Buddhism and its influence</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23149"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Samurai-groups-and-farming-villages#ref23149">Decline of Kamakura society</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23150" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Muromachi-or-Ashikaga-period-1338-1573">The Muromachi (or Ashikaga) period (1338–1573)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23151"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Muromachi-or-Ashikaga-period-1338-1573#ref23151">The Kemmu Restoration and the dual dynasties</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23152"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Muromachi-or-Ashikaga-period-1338-1573#ref23152">The establishment of the Muromachi <em>bakufu</em></a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23153"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Muromachi-or-Ashikaga-period-1338-1573#ref23153">Muromachi government structure</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23154"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Muromachi-or-Ashikaga-period-1338-1573#ref23154">The growth of local autonomy</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23155"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Muromachi-or-Ashikaga-period-1338-1573#ref23155">Trade between China and Japan</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23156"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Onin-War-1467-77">The Ōnin War (1467–77)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23157"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Onin-War-1467-77#ref23157">The Sengoku (“Warring States”) period</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23158"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Onin-War-1467-77#ref23158">The emergence of new forces.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23159"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Onin-War-1467-77#ref23159">The arrival of the Europeans</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23160"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-establishment-of-warrior-culture">The establishment of warrior culture</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23161"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Early-modern-Japan-1550-1850">Early modern Japan (1550–1850)</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23162" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Early-modern-Japan-1550-1850#ref23162">Unification</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23163"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Early-modern-Japan-1550-1850#ref23163">The Oda regime</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23164"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Early-modern-Japan-1550-1850#ref23164">The Hideyoshi regime</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23165"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Early-modern-Japan-1550-1850#ref23165">Azuchi-Momoyama culture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23166" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-bakuhan-system">The bakuhan system</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23167"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-bakuhan-system#ref23167">The establishment of the system</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23168"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-bakuhan-system#ref23168">The enforcement of national seclusion</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23169"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Tokugawa-status-system">The Tokugawa status system</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23170"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Tokugawa-status-system#ref23170">Commerce, cities, and culture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23171" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-Tokugawa-status-system#ref23171">The weakening of the <em>bakuhan</em> system</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23172"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-reform-in-the-bakufu-and-the-han">Political reform in the <em>bakufu</em> and the <em>han</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23173"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-reform-in-the-bakufu-and-the-han#ref23173">The growth of the northern problem</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23174"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-reform-in-the-bakufu-and-the-han#ref23174">New learning and thought</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23175"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-reform-in-the-bakufu-and-the-han#ref23175">Heterodox Confucian schools</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23176"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Shinto-and-kokugaku">Shintō and <em>kokugaku</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23177"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Shinto-and-kokugaku#ref23177">Western studies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23178"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Shinto-and-kokugaku#ref23178">Growth of popular knowledge</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23179"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religious-attitudes">Religious attitudes</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23180"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religious-attitudes#ref23180">The maturity of Edo culture</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23181" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religious-attitudes#ref23181">The last years of the <em>bakuhan</em></a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23182"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Religious-attitudes#ref23182">The Tempō reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23183"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-opening-of-Japan">The opening of Japan</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref23184"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-opening-of-Japan#ref23184">Japan from 1850 to 1945</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23185" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-opening-of-Japan#ref23185">The Meiji restoration</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23186"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-fall-of-the-Tokugawa">The fall of the Tokugawa</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23187"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-fall-of-the-Tokugawa#ref23187">From feudal to modern state</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23188"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-fall-of-the-Tokugawa#ref23188">Abolition of feudalism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23189"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-fall-of-the-Tokugawa#ref23189">Constitutional movement</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23190" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-emergence-of-imperial-Japan">The emergence of imperial Japan</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23191"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-emergence-of-imperial-Japan#ref23191">Foreign affairs</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23192"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-emergence-of-imperial-Japan#ref23192">The Sino-Japanese War</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23193"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-emergence-of-imperial-Japan#ref23193">The Russo-Japanese War</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23194"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Japanese-expansionism">Japanese expansionism</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23195"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Japanese-expansionism#ref23195">Constitutional government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23196"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Japanese-expansionism#ref23196">Social change</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23197" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-rise-of-the-militarists">The rise of the militarists</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23198"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-rise-of-the-militarists#ref23198">The weakening of party government</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23199"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-rise-of-the-militarists#ref23199">Aggression in Manchuria</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23200"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-road-to-World-War-II">The road to World War II</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23201"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-road-to-World-War-II#ref23201">Events in China</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23202"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/The-road-to-World-War-II#ref23202">Foreign relations</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23203" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/World-War-II-and-defeat">World War II and defeat</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23204"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/World-War-II-and-defeat#ref23204">Prologue to war</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23205"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/World-War-II-and-defeat#ref23205">Early successes</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23206"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/World-War-II-and-defeat#ref23206">Japan on the defensive</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23207"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/World-War-II-and-defeat#ref23207">The end of the war</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref236922"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Japan-since-1945">Japan since 1945</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23208" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Japan-since-1945#ref23208">The early 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link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Japan-since-1945#ref23214">The era of rapid growth</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23215"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Economic-transformation">Economic transformation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23216"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Economic-transformation#ref23216">Social change</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23217"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Economic-transformation#ref23217">Political developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h5"><li data-target="#ref23218"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/International-relations">International relations</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref23219" class="has-children"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/International-relations#ref23219">The late 20th and early 21st centuries</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23220"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/International-relations#ref23220">Economic change</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23221"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-developments">Political developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23222"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-developments#ref23222">Social change</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref23223"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Japan/Political-developments#ref23223">International relations</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref276895"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" 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Editor of <em>Atlas Tokyo.</em></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Yasuo Masai</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Akira-Watanabe/3121" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Akira Watanabe</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Chairman, Department of Geography, Ochanomizu Women's University, Tokyo. Editor of <i>Gazetteer of Japan.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Akira Watanabe</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-26T00:00:00CST" >Nov 26, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/300531/932f970544b216da249e33d8c0491ac8" rel="nofollow">Stock market today: Wall Street hangs near its records despite tariff talk</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 26, 2024, 2:46 PM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/300531/c58b6bd86941f916bb5fb873c645c519" rel="nofollow">The engine of Japan's flagship new small rocket explodes during a test for a second time</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 26, 2024, 8:28 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/300531/fdbe52e496877317718e0bc5deaff858" rel="nofollow">South Korea holds memorial for forced laborers in Japan after boycotting Japanese event</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 26, 2024, 12:00 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/300531/0218064869fb4a1270dad471432b9c46" rel="nofollow">Japan holds first memorial for 'all workers' at Sado gold mines but blurs WWII atrocity. Why?</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 25, 2024, 9:01 PM ET (AP) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/300531/c87df6f1a69f73675e302b09d014b09b" rel="nofollow">Stolen shoe mystery solved at Japanese kindergarten when security camera catches weasel in the act</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 25, 2024, 12:38 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="3"><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="4"><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="5" id="ref23194">  <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="conclusion" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/conclusion" data-type="EB">conclusion</a> of the war, Japanese leaders gained a free hand in <span id="ref1173742"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Korea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Korea</a>. Korean opposition to Japanese “reforms” was no longer tolerated. <span id="ref319669"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ito-Hirobumi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Itō Hirobumi</a>, sent to Korea as resident general, forced through treaties that gave Korea little more than protectorate status and ordered the abdication of the Korean king. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ito" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Itō’s</a> assassination in 1909 led to Korea’s annexation by Japan the following year. Korean liberties and resistance were crushed. By 1912, when the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Meiji" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Meiji</a> emperor died, Japan had not only achieved equality with the West but also had become the strongest imperialist power in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/East-Asia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">East Asia</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Japan had abundant opportunity to use its new power in the years that followed. During <span id="ref319670"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War I</a> it fought on the Allied side but limited its activities to seizing German possessions in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">China</a> and the Pacific. When China sought the return of former German holdings in Shantung province, Japan responded with the so-called <span id="ref319671"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Twenty-one-Demands" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Twenty-one Demands</a>, issued in 1915, that tried to pressure China into widespread <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="concessions" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concessions" data-type="MW">concessions</a> ranging from extended leases in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Manchuria" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Manchuria</a> and joint control of China’s coal and iron resources to policy matters regarding harbors and the policing of Chinese cities. While giving in on a number of specific issues, the Chinese resisted the most extreme Japanese demands that would have turned China into a Japanese ward. Despite its economic gains, Japan’s World War I China policy left behind a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="legacy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legacy" data-type="MW">legacy</a> of ill feeling and distrust, both in China and in the West. The rapaciousness of Japanese demands and China’s <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="chagrin" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chagrin" data-type="MW">chagrin</a> at its failure to recover its losses in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Versailles-1919" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Treaty of Versailles</a> (1919) cost Japan any hope of Chinese friendship. Subsequent Japanese sponsorship of corrupt warlord regimes in Manchuria and North China helped to confirm the anti-Japanese nature of modern Chinese <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="nationalism" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nationalism" data-type="MW">nationalism</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The part played by Japan in the Allied intervention in Siberia following the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/October-Revolution-Russian-history" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Bolshevik Revolution</a> of 1918 caused further concerns about Japanese expansion. One of the principal reasons for the disarmament conference held in <span id="ref319672"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Washington-Conference-1921-1922" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Washington</a>, D.C., in 1921–22, was to reduce Japanese influence. A network of treaties was designed to place restraints on Japanese ambitions while guaranteeing Japanese security. These treaties included a <span id="ref319673"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Four-Power-Pact-East-Asia-and-Pacific-1921" class="md-crosslink ">Four-Power Pact</a>, between Japan, Great Britain, the United States, and <span id="ref1173769"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">France</a>, that replaced the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anglo-Japanese-Alliance" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Anglo-Japanese Alliance</a>, and a <span id="ref319674"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Five-Power-Naval-Limitation-Treaty" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty</a> (with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Italy</a>) that set limits for battleships at a ratio of five for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Britain-island-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Great Britain</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">United States</a> to three for Japan. An agreement on the fortification of Pacific island bases was intended to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="assure" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/assure" data-type="EB">assure</a> Japan of security in its home waters. Finally a Nine-Power Pact would, it was hoped, protect China from further unilateral demands. Japan subsequently agreed to retire from Shantung, and, shortly thereafter, Japanese armies withdrew from Siberia and northern Sakhalin. In 1925 a treaty with the Soviet Union extended recognition to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">U.S.S.R.</a> and ended active hostilities.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Thus, by the mid-1920s Japan’s great surge forward in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Asia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Asia</a> and the Pacific had ended. This brought hope that a new quality of moderation and reasonableness, based on the absence of irritating reminders of inferiority and weakness, might characterize Japanese policy.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section> <section data-level="4" id="ref23195"> <h2 class="h4">Constitutional government</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The inauguration of parliament in 1890 was accompanied by a vigorous and often obstreperous opposition in the lower house, and it was only a general determination to convince Western skeptics that <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/constitutionalism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">constitutional government</a> could work in Japan that forced party and government leaders to cooperate. The first cabinets, led by Yamagata Aritomo, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Matsukata-Masayoshi" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Matsukata Masayoshi</a>, and Itō, maintained the principle that the government, which represented the emperor, must be aloof from parties and that the lower house should approve government requests. This policy failed because the parties tried to increase their power and patronage and therefore sought cabinets responsible to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diet-Japanese-government" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Diet</a>. Only the Sino-Japanese War produced the kind of unity the constitution’s makers had <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="envisaged" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/envisaged" data-type="MW">envisaged</a>. Thereafter, the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="oligarchs" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchs" data-type="MW">oligarchs</a> formed alliances with the two parties, usually exchanging cabinet seats for support in the lower house. These arrangements proved unsatisfactory, however, when party leaders raised their sights. In 1898 <span id="ref319675"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hakushaku-Itagaki-Taisuke" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Itagaki</a> and <span id="ref319676"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Okuma-Shigenobu" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ōkuma</a> combined forces to form a single party, the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Constitutional" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Constitutional" data-type="MW">Constitutional</a> Party (<span id="ref319677"></span>Kenseitō), and were allowed to form a government. But their alliance was brittle as long-standing <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="animosities" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animosities" data-type="MW">animosities</a> and jealousies enabled antiparty forces among the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bureaucracy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucracy" data-type="MW">bureaucracy</a> and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="oligarchy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchy" data-type="MW">oligarchy</a> to force their resignation within a few months.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A discernible division developed among the dwindling group of Meiji leaders. <span id="ref319678"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yamagata-Aritomo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yamagata Aritomo</a> dominated the army and much of the bureaucracy. In power for two years after the Kenseitō cabinet, he strengthened legal and institutional safeguards against rule by political parties and secured an imperial ordinance that service ministers should be career officers on active duty; this gave the army and navy power to break cabinets. Meanwhile, <span id="ref319679"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ito-Hirobumi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Itō Hirobumi</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="endorsed" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endorsed" data-type="MW">endorsed</a> the party trend by forming the Friends of Constitutional Government Party (<span id="ref319680"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rikken-Seiyukai" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rikken Seiyūkai</a>) in 1900, which enlisted most of the former followers of Itagaki’s Jiyūtō. Thereafter, practical political goals of power and patronage softened the hostility between oligarchs and politicians.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After 1901 both Itō and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Yamagata-prefecture-Japan" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Yamagata</a> retired from active participation in politics, and until 1913 cabinets were led by their protégés Saionji Kimmochi and Katsura Tarō. Basic decisions on politics and policy, however, continued to be made by the elder statesmen, who advised the emperor on all important matters and selected prime ministers by rotating power between the two principal factions. <span id="ref319681"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saionji-Kimmochi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Saionji</a> was the last leader recruited into this extraconstitutional body.</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With the death or enfeeblement of the first generation of oligarchs, the pattern of political manipulation changed. No subsequent group could match the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="prestige" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prestige" data-type="MW">prestige</a> of the Meiji leaders. The Meiji emperor died in 1912 and was succeeded by a son who took the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nianhao" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">reign name</a> <span id="ref319682"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Taisho" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Taishō</a> (“Great Righteousness”; reigned 1912–26); but <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mental-disorder" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">mental illness</a> prevented him from approximating his father’s fame. The growing prestige and power of businessmen found expression in their control of the political parties and resulted in an increasing role for professional party politicians. The <em>genrō</em>’s last attempt to seat Katsura in 1912 ended in failure, while his successor, Admiral Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, was discredited by scandals in naval procurement. Ōkuma Shigenobu emerged from retirement to head a cabinet during World War I and was succeeded by a military cabinet under General <span id="ref319683"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Count-Terauchi-Masatake" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Terauchi Masatake</a>. In 1918, however, discontent with Terauchi’s reactionary posture and administrative incompetence combined with the rising power of the party professionals to bring about the appointment of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hara-Takashi" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Hara Takashi</a> (Hara Kei) as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/prime-minister" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">prime minister</a>. Hara was the first nontitled person to hold that office, and his appointment marked the first party cabinet. His assassination in 1921 cut short his cautious efforts to rein in military and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bureaucratic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucratic" data-type="MW">bureaucratic</a> power and extend the franchise. After several short-lived cabinets, a successful party cabinet was organized by <span id="ref319684"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kato-Takaaki" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Katō Takaaki</a> in 1924. The army was reduced in size, moderate social legislation was enacted, and universal manhood suffrage extended the franchise to some 14 million voters. Meanwhile, Japan avoided stronger involvement in the civil war in China and pursued a conciliatory course with the Soviet Union, despite demands from nationalists, who utilized <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="alleged" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alleged" data-type="MW">alleged</a> outrages in China and the discriminatory U.S. Immigration Act of 1924 to warn of the futility of cooperating with Western countries.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">But, as the parties grew in power, they tended to look to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bureaucrats" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucrats" data-type="MW">bureaucrats</a> for leadership. The businessmen who supported the parties and the bureaucrats who led them shared a fear of the social movements that followed industrialization and the importation of foreign ideas. A growing labor movement already had been checked by a special police law introduced in 1900. This was strengthened under Katō in 1925 as <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="conservatives" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conservatives" data-type="MW">conservatives</a> generally began to fear subversion in labor and tenant movements. Their anxieties mounted after the <span id="ref319685"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Japanese-Communist-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Japan Communist Party</a> (JCP) was organized in 1922, and interest in Marxism expanded in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="intellectual" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectual" data-type="MW">intellectual</a> circles. Under the Meiji constitution, party cabinets had to make peace with the military, the House of Peers, and the conservatives close to the throne. Therefore, they needed to work out their ideas for reform with utmost caution. The Diet often found itself virtually powerless, which led to disorder and corruption that did little to win popular support for representative government. The Meiji constitution was so <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="ambiguous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambiguous" data-type="MW">ambiguous</a> in assigning executive power that without institutional reform the party prime ministers could do little but compromise with forces antagonistic to democratic government.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="4" id="ref23196"> <h2 class="h4">Social change</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Social and intellectual changes taking place in Japan were as important as those in politics. Many were closely related to the growth and development of industry. After the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Shimonoseki" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Treaty of Shimonoseki</a> the government used the Chinese indemnity to subsidize the <span id="ref319686"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yawata-Iron-and-Steel-Co-Ltd" class="md-crosslink ">Yawata Iron and Steel Works</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Northern-Kyushu" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">northern Kyushu</a>, which came into production in 1901 and greatly expanded Japan’s heavy industrial sector. At the same time, textile and other consumer-goods industries expanded to meet Japanese needs and to earn <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="credits" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/credits" data-type="EB">credits</a> required for the import of raw materials. Heavy industry was encouraged by government-controlled banks, which provided needed capital. Strategic industries, notably steel and the principal rail lines, were in state hands, but most new growth was in the private sector.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">By 1900 Japan’s population had expanded to nearly 45 million from a late Tokugawa base of about 30 million. Increasing numbers of Japanese were attracted to urban industrial centers. At the same time, domestic food production was hard-pressed to stay abreast of population increases. Agricultural productivity, after early improvements, slowed and stagnated, and it became necessary to import food.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The enlarged urban population produced movements of social inquiry and protest. In 1895 the industrial labor force numbered about 400,000, the majority of which were women employed in the textile mills. Several efforts to organize socialist movements met with police repression. Peace-preservation laws were passed in 1900 and 1925 to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="inhibit" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhibit" data-type="MW">inhibit</a> labor organization, and in 1928 it became a capital crime to agitate against private property or the Japanese “national polity” (<em>kokutai</em>). In 1903 a small group organized the <em><span id="ref319687"></span>Heimin shimbun</em> (“Commoner’s Newspaper”); it published <em>The Communist Manifesto</em> and opposed the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Russo-Japanese-War" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Russo-Japanese War</a> before being forced to cease publication. The socialist movement gained strength after World War I, but its program was often theoretical and doctrinaire, and its leaders found it difficult to make contact with workers. Police repression and the difficulties of organizing a labor movement among large numbers of women workers (who worked under three-year contracts before leaving to get married) and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="diverse" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diverse" data-type="MW">diverse</a> industrial empires such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi also hampered union organizers. Meanwhile, the increasing confidence and power of management came to influence, and at times control, the political parties.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the countryside the principal reflection of Japan’s growing involvement in the world economy was the increased production of silkworms, which augmented farm income. At the same time, rural Japan provided the bulk of the laborers for the new industries, and daughters from farming families were found in many textile plants. But the early 20th century was not a time of agricultural prosperity. Colonial competition tended to depress domestic agricultural prices. Farmers also were handicapped by growing fragmentation of holdings and increasing tenancy. The rising number of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="tenants" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/tenants" data-type="EB">tenants</a> resulted in an expansion of tenant organizations, especially during and after World War I. Government efforts to address the situation resulted in little more than a law in 1924 that called for mediation of landlord-tenant disputes. A financial panic in 1927 aggravated rural conditions and indebtedness, even before the collapse of the American silk <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/market" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">market</a> in 1929 spelled disaster for farmers and workers alike. In social terms, the countryside remained poor, traditional, and largely undeveloped.</p><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The most lasting social changes were found in the great metropolitan centers, where a growing labor force and new middle class were concentrated. The Tokyo-Yokohama area was devastated by the great Kantō earthquake of September 1923, and the region’s reconstruction as a modern metropolis symbolized the growth of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/urban-culture" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">urban society</a>. Cultural interests during and after World War I were uniformly international and largely American in inspiration. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Western music</a>, dancing, and sports became popular, and rising urban <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/standard-of-living" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">living standards</a> and expectations produced the need for more and better <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/higher-education" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">higher education</a>. The participation of women in office work and other new occupations, and the rise of a feminist movement, however unsuccessful, marked the beginning of changes in the family system.</p><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD15 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The educated class grew in size and vigour. Currents of thought included Western-style <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="democracy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy" data-type="MW">democracy</a> and the new radicalism of the Soviet Union; the Marxist influence went far beyond the ranks of the struggling Communist Party—which, in any event, was soon crushed by the police. Political liberalism was championed by the educator and politician <span id="ref319688"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yoshino-Sakuzo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yoshino Sakuzō</a>, who formed a group of students and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="intellectuals" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectuals" data-type="MW">intellectuals</a> into the New Peoples Association (Shinjinkai), which represented a self-conscious break with tradition. <span id="ref319689"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Minobe-Tatsukichi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Minobe Tatsukichi</a>, a distinguished constitutional theorist, introduced the idea that the emperor was an organ of the state and not the sole source of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="sovereignty" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereignty" data-type="MW">sovereignty</a>. Such men faced sharp <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="criticism" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criticism" data-type="MW">criticism</a> and, in time, were forced to resign their positions, but they had great influence, both symbolizing and stimulating the world of advanced ideas.</p><span class="marker MOD15 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD16 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The base for these new currents, however, was precarious. Politically and institutionally, no advances—beyond the suffrage act of 1925—were made, while the peace-preservation laws of 1928 established a special police corps to ferret out “dangerous thoughts.” The economic well-being of the urban classes depended on the continued expansion of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/international-trade" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">international trade</a>. When the worldwide financial collapse at the end of the decade wrecked Japan’s foreign markets and removed the possibility of villagers augmenting their meagre incomes from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/rice" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">rice</a> farming with silk production, and when the venality, irresponsibility, and occasional corruption of Diet representatives was contrasted to the poverty found in many parts of Japan, numerous Japanese were prepared to listen to charges that the political-party government, dominated by selfish <em>zaibatsu</em> interests, had neglected Japan’s markets in China, imperiled <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="morality" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morality" data-type="MW">morality</a> and decency at home, and allowed subversive trends to flourish, while politicians reaped personal fortunes.</p><span class="marker MOD16 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":41,"pagesTotal":49,"pageId":300531,"pageLength":2333,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"COUNTRY_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":41,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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