Research Paper
Introduction: Japan and History
The impact Japan has had on the modern world is enormous. It occupies less than one three hundredth of the planet’s land area, yet wields one sixth of the planet’s economic might. There would be few homes and offices that do not rely on at least some Japanese technology. Japanese cars rule the roads. Despite recent problems with so called ‘Japanese style management’, many western and Asian managers still try to do things ‘the Japanese way’. Japanese foreign aid props up many a developing country’s economy. Project developers around the world seek Japanese investment. Tourist operators target the large numbers of wealthy Japanese who now travel overseas. Japan itself features as one of the most popular of all ‘places I would like to visit’ in western surveys. The list goes on.
A leading player on the world scene, Japan’s absence from any major international forum would be unthinkable. No modern history of the world could fail to give it very considerable space.
And yet, of all the nations on the planet, Japan has come closest to annihilation. It is the only nation ever to have suffered nuclear attack. Many among its enemies in World War Two genuinely believed the extermination of the Japanese race was necessary for the safety of humankind. Even humanitarians like Franklin Roosevelt seemed to think ‘ethnic cleansing’ might be beneficial all round.
In the end, the Japanese survived. Far from being annihilated, Japan is one of the most powerful nations on earth. Far from being forced into interethnic breeding, the Japanese remain ethnically the most homogeneous of all populations.
Japan’s arrival in the world arena has been dramatic. From a quaint and obscure land of paddy fields and feudal despots just 150 years ago, it rapidly became a major contender among the imperialist powers, a military threat to the world order, and then, its crisis passed, an economic superpower. For many westerners, exotic and patronizing
The impact Japan has had on the modern world is enormous. It occupies less than one three hundredth of the planet’s land area, yet wields one sixth of the planet’s economic might. There would be few homes and offices that do not rely on at least some Japanese technology. Japanese cars rule the roads. Despite recent problems with so called ‘Japanese style management’, many western and Asian managers still try to do things ‘the Japanese way’. Japanese foreign aid props up many a developing country’s economy. Project developers around the world seek Japanese investment. Tourist operators target the large numbers of wealthy Japanese who now travel overseas. Japan itself features as one of the most popular of all ‘places I would like to visit’ in western surveys. The list goes on.
A leading player on the world scene, Japan’s absence from any major international forum would be unthinkable. No modern history of the world could fail to give it very considerable space.
And yet, of all the nations on the planet, Japan has come closest to annihilation. It is the only nation ever to have suffered nuclear attack. Many among its enemies in World War Two genuinely believed the extermination of the Japanese race was necessary for the safety of humankind. Even humanitarians like Franklin Roosevelt seemed to think ‘ethnic cleansing’ might be beneficial all round.
In the end, the Japanese survived. Far from being annihilated, Japan is one of the most powerful nations on earth. Far from being forced into interethnic breeding, the Japanese remain ethnically the most homogeneous of all populations.
Japan’s arrival in the world arena has been dramatic. From a quaint and obscure land of paddy fields and feudal despots just 150 years ago, it rapidly became a major contender among the imperialist powers, a military threat to the world order, and then, its crisis passed, an economic superpower. For many westerners, exotic and patronizing