Japanese Westernization & Empirical Expansion

The central theme of the assigned readings this week primarily concern Japan’s rise as an imperialist global power, with a specific focus on its dynamic relationship to other countries for both Asia and Western nations. The first reading by Iriye opened with an exploration into Japan’s strategy toward expansion; the Japanese adopted an amalgamation of Western technologies and the ingenuity of its own people to perpetuate imperialism onto her Asian neighbors. Japan sent scholars and diplomats to observe the most modern developments in Western nations, bringing back blueprints of different systems and technologies to be built in the mainland. For instance, the Japanese replicated German and French models of transportation– which allowed them to develop sophisticated railway systems. Moreover, Japan attempted to establish different “spheres of influence” in other Asian countries to become one of the major stakeholders in “the game of power politics in the world area” (11, Iriye). Thus, it was interesting to see Japanese imperialism take on a form where there is the physical integration of Asian countries, in addition to the ideological, cultural, and technological incorporation of Western elements. 

Higuchi further expounds upon the imperial expansion of the Japanese empire, and its shifting dynamics with other global forces through an agricultural lens. He characterizes Japan as an ‘organic’ empire that imported fish meal and soybean cake “from northern territories and spheres of influence” (142, Higuchi). This caused its commercial nitrogen fertilizers to remain predominantly plant and animal based until the early 19th century. The heavy exportation of Hokkaido’s herring fish and Manchuria’s soybean cake into mainland Japan implies that the imperial core aggressively exploited its peripheral regions– not only for minerals and fossil fuel, but also for plant and animal based products such as food, fiber, and fertilizer. Japan’s reliance on organic materials stands in stark contrast to the West, which uses only 2% of commercial nitrogen fertilizers that come from vegetable and animal sources– compared to 70% used in Japan (146, Higuchi). The nitrogen extraction from herring and soybean is a paragon illustration of how the Japanese followed western practices en suite, and were able to transform it into something entirely of their own making.

However, Japan’s unforeseen rise to becoming a formidable contender on the world’s political-economic platform also came with unprecedented complications– as discussed in Cumings and Shigenobu’s pieces. Even though the US was eager to keep Japan as a trade partner in the cooperative trilateral policy, they also viewed Japan as a threat due to its status as a rising global power. Determined to remain the central hegemonic power, the US set forth a series of orders against Japan in an attempt to stump the country’s new progress. Such restrictions included Nixon’s New Economic Policy in 1971, Japanese immigration ban laws, and ultimately the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The purpose of such stipulations was so that the US could continue to unilaterally influence and manage the world’s economy, with other Western nations following closely in favor. According to Cumings, “Japan’s problem was that it had upset the balance of the world system,” as the only Asian country who was able to break into the Western dominated game of imperial conquest– threatening to supersede the original players at an alarming rate. Thus, Western powers attempted to keep the Japanese and other Asian forces ‘in their place’ through a variety of means, including economic control, political intimidation, racism, and more. This was further reinforced by Shigenobu’s personal account of racist treatment from Westerners. Shigenobu calls for universal equality, and yet claims that the “white are obsessed with the mistaken theory that they are superior to all other races” (1, Shigenobu). The author laments the unfair treatment from Westerners towards Asiatic races, with terms such as the ‘yellow peril’ being used to describe Asians. Sanctimoniously, Shigenobu criticizes the US and modern Europe for utilizing slaves, but what is hypocritical about his account can be seen in imperial Japan’s brutal treatment towards its subjects. Racism was employed by the West as an instrument to control Japan’s role in the hierarchy of imperialist nations, and also reinforce their inferiority compared to the superiority of whites.

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