MODERN JAPAN'S PLACE IN WORLD HISTORY : from meiji to reiwa

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. 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