The small island of Japan is both unique and rich in culture. Japan has made many advancements in its time. In the topics of history, government, geography, culture, and economy, Japan has a very interesting background and future.
The earliest known period in Japan was the Jomon period, which lasted from 13000 BC to 300 BC. This period included mostly fisherman and hunters. During the Yayoi period, agriculture was introduced and social classes began to form. In the mid 500’s, Buddhism was introduced to Japan, mostly due to influence from the mainland’s. Japanese society began to grow and become more advanced. The Emperor was technically the leader of Japan, but he had little actual power. Regents, court nobles, and shoguns usually ruled. During the 17th century, traders from some European countries such as Portugal and Spain and Christian missionaries were banned from Japan, because the shogonate suspected that they were part of a military conquest. Japan also banned relations with the outside world, except for Dutch and Chinese merchants. Japan’s isolation from the rest of the world lasted for 251 years, until Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to bring a stop to the isolation and open Japan to the west. Contact with the west changed the country greatly. Power was restored to the emperor and the shogun was forced to resign. Many western organizations such as government, economy, and military
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were instated. This reform made Japan a world power. Japan soon developed an expansionist military which led to many wars.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into WWII. Pearl Harbor remains one of the most tragic days in U.S. history. After a ver...
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...he world. This is mostly a result to a large export of technology and automobiles to countries such as the United States, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea. Japan also imports a large amount of raw materials, such as wood, food, and oil from the United States, china, and Indonesia. The major industries include Construction, manufacturing, distribution, real estate and communication. There are roughly 66.5 million workers. The currency is called Yen, which in comparison to the U.S dollar, one Yen is worth much less than the U.S. dollar. One dollar is worth around 90 Yen.
In conclusion, the small island of Japan has transformed from a small nation of hunters and gathers to the national powerhouse it is today. Japan has had a huge impact on the rest of the world. Its culture and history is taught all around the world, because of its uniqueness and growth.
Japan led a ruthless assault in the Pacific for fifteen years. This small island was able to spread imperialism and terror to neighboring countries through means of force and brutality. Japan even attempted to combat and overcome European and Western countries such as Russia and the United States. Even with an extreme militaristic government, Japan was unable to achieve the glory it was promised and hoped for. The Pacific War analyzes Japan’s part in the war and what the country could have done to prevent such a tragedy.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.
In 1900 Britain was in many respects the world’s leading nation, enjoying a large share of world trade, a dominant position in the international money market, and possessing a far flung empire supported by the world’s most powerful navy. Japan was a complete contrast, sharing with Britain only the fact that it too was a nation of Islands lying off the shore of a major continent. Until the 1860s it had possessed a social and economic structure more akin to that of feudal, rather than twentieth century, Europe. By the 1990s, the positions were almost reversed. This paper sets out to examine the contrasting democratic political systems of the two nations and to explore the social and democratic consequences of the changes that have occurred.
...954. However, once Japan began to flourish, it has now become the world’s 14th richest country – having a GDP per capita of $32,640 (2006). Despite a major stock market crash in 1990, from which the country is recovering gradually, Japan remains a global economic power today and is now bidding for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
December 7th, 1941, as president, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said is “a date that will live in infamy”. He spoke the truth but for reasons that are not as clear as some. It will live in infamy not only for reasons such as the tragic deaths of many people, but likewise for the obscure reasons. The day Pearl Harbor could have been prevented if only the US had not been so blind to the implications. Evidently, the United States had an abundance of indications forewarning them of the attack, nevertheless they let their guard down and were ignorant in a time of world wide war and were therefore in a vulnerable position to be surprised by the Japanese.
After World War 1 Japan had a hard time adjusting to the new world. “While its economy was still primarily agricultural, rapid population growth (to over 80 million) had diminished the amount of land suitable for farming. Many people lived in small houses, lacking running water. In a nation about the size of California, only one of every six acres was farmland. This put great pressure on Japanese government to find more space and land for its people.” (America Enters World War II page 12). Japan attempted to change its agricultural-based economic system to an industrial based system. “But the international system of trade barriers and tariffs, established by the United States and other industrial powers to protect domestic manufacturing, hindered Japan’s industrial expansion.” (America Enters World War II page 13). Many of the materials Japan needed were found in neighboring countries that were controlled by European powers. Japan began to question it’s right to Asian markets and raw materials. “J...
Japan has moved on since then. They now have become one of the world's wealthiest countries and one of the United States' most powerful allies. Although Japan was hurting for a while, they overcame their struggles which is testament to how strong the people of Japan are, just ask Tamiko Tamonaga and Sachie Tashima. Word Count: 888
The Meiji Restoration refers to the time when the western technology was adopted by the Japanese which in turn allowed them to fully industrialize which took less than fifty years. The great general “Tokugawa Shogun” ruled Japan in the feudal years and he lost his power and the Meiji emperor took over. When the Meiji emperor was made the head of the Japanese in 1868, the country was a militarily vulnerable region, was mostly farming, as well as got small technical development. It absolutely was handled by many semi-independent feudal lords. The Western forces — European Union as well as the US got Japan to sign treaties that confined its control over the foreign trade that was and also made sure that any law breakers who were not Japanese were not tried in Japanese courts but in the western courts. By the time the Meiji restoration was over the Japanese was in no fear whatsoever that it would be imperialized, instead they sort out to practice imperialism themselves in order to gain power and acquire the natural resources. Japan in turn emerged as one of the world class power using the western technology and its methods while still maintaining the cultural traditional values of the local people in Japan
December 17th, 1941 was a day that will forever “live in infamy”, as it was the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a US naval base in Hawaii. After two waves of attacks on Pearl Harbor, more than two thousand American soldiers and sailors, and another one thousand were wounded. The Japanese destroyed about twenty American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. It has commonly been wondered whether this attack could’ve been prevented, and after much examination, it is clear that this attack could’ve never occurred. In his “Day of Infamy speech”, Roosevelt himself said, “It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago.” There were many causes for the attack on Pearl Harbor, stemming from bad relations between Japan and the United States. Prior to the attack, the United States treated Japan disrespectfully in many ways, creating tension and discomfort between the two countries. Countless warnings and clues were interpreted of an upcoming attack, but were not taken as serious of a threat as they were, and weren’t sent to any naval bases. On the day of the assault, no one was prepared to defend themselves or fight. There were many events that provoked Japan to attack Pearl Harbor, and the whole event could have been prevented, if it hadn’t been for many actions of the US.
The inception of the Tokugawa Shogunate around 1600 would reduce the impact of foreign relations throughout Japanese society. This bulwark helped resist change and development in Japan, although it continued throughout the western world. Following two hundred years of self imposed seclusion from the rest of the world, the forceful re-entry of the foreigner brought about considerable change in Japan. While managing the foreign threat, there was also an imbalance of power in the current feudal system of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This imbalance created uncertainty for Japan and the imperialistic foreigners. This imbalance and uncertainty would lead to the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the emergence of the Meiji Restoration. However, to understand the transition between the current Shogunate government and the modernization through the Meiji Restoration, it is imperative to realize not only the necessity of modernization but also difficulties modernizing presented. To achieve modernization, Japan would have to abandon or modify various traditional cultural institutions and ideologies which were weakening the Japanese Nation.
During the Meiji Restoration, Japan transformed into a strong industrialized nation by adopting the Western political, cultural, and technological ideas. Japan was the “only non-Western country to industrialize in the nineteenth century and that, moreover, she did so in an extremely short time” (Sugiyama 1). Japan’s social, political, and economic aspects were all affected by the Western technologies to transform Japan into an industrialized nation (Wittner 1). By adopting the Western ideas during the Meiji Restoration, Japan has turned into a powerful industrialized nation by becoming an “international political player in the 1880s” (Wittner 1).
1) Japan still has the largest foreign currency reserves in the world even after years
Japan: A Unique Country. Weebly, 2 June 2013. Web. The Web. The Web.
Throughout its history, Japan has striven to define its national identity not by its own means, but by those predefined by foreign, and most recently, Western powers. Despite legends of the island archipelago being created by the sun goddess Amaterasu, Japan seems to have consistently maintained a indecisive self-image with respect to its neighbors. In the past, China had represented the pinnacle of culture and technology and had tremendously influenced other surrounding countries in Asia and in the world. Indeed, Japan owes its written language to imported and adapted Chinese characters. Without question, China remained for a long time the most influential force upon Japan. However, island nation maintained a rather precarious self-identity: How could a country like Japan, which was supposedly created by the gods and therefore a divine nation, consider itself the apex of the world, given China’s tremendous influence and power? Could Japan truly consider itself the greatest land in the world if China, or Chugoku in Japanese, literally meant “the central country?” For this reason, Japan never truly accepted a position of “belonging” to Asia. That is, despite a considerable amount of imported culture, Japan was still somehow inherently different from other Asian countries.
Japan is a large island off to the east of China it is a great country that has a rich culture. The Japanese religion is based off of two main beliefs, the belief in Shinto and Buddhism many Japanese people believe consider themselves both. The Japanese people were known to be around as early as 4,500 B.C. They have constructed their government style to a constitutional monarchy where they do in fact have an emperor, but he has limited power within the country. The main power of the country is held by the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is made up of many islands that extend along the Pacific coast of Asia. The land area is made up of a lot of forest and mountainous area that cannot be used for agricultural, industrial or residential use. Japan also has one of the largest and growing economies in the world. They are growing every day and it is all because the people of Japan work very hard in order for their economy to flourish as it has.