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During the Meiji emperor was restored as head of Japan in 1868, the country was a militarily weak and largely agricultural. Japan was less developed in the technological perspective. The country was controlled by hundreds of semi-independent feudal lords. The Western powers, Europe and the United States (US) had forced Japan to sign the agreements that controlled its control over the foreign trade. When the Meiji period ended in 1912, Japan had a highly centralized, bureaucratic government, constitution, and well-established telecommunication system. Japan had educed complete control of its foreign trade and legal system, by fighting and winning the war. This recognized full independence and equality in international affairs (Beasley, 1972). During this period, Japan had exceeded its goals, and had changed its whole society by adopting reasonable procedures. Success of Japan at the helm of modernization has created wonderful interest that Japan was able to encirclement the Western political, social, and economic institutional changes in few years. The Meiji Restoration as a political revolution reinstated the emperor as authority, who did not rule the era directly. He was expected to receive the advice of the group that had toppled the Shogunate. A small number of aspiring, able, and patriotic young men from the lower ranks of the samurai appeared to take control and establish the new political system. At first, their only strength was that the emperor acknowledged the advice. They enthused speedily, however, to build their own military and economic control in spite. In July 1869, the feudal lords had been demanded to give up their territories, and in 1871 these areas were obliterated and transformed into the prefectures of a unified central state (Jansen and Gilbert, 1986). The new socio-political setup started dominating the class and culture of Japan in the late 1890s. Feudal lords and the samurai class were offered yearly allowance, which was later changed to as one-time payment in government bonds. The samurai lost their class rights when the government declared all classes should be equal. In 1876, the government banned the wearing of swords by samurai and asked them to join occupations in business and careers. The armed forces of each domain were parted, and a Japanese national army based on enlistment, founded in 1872, required military service for three years from all men. Land reform was introduced, and a national land tax system was formed, which required the payments in the form of money in its place of rice (Beasley, 1972). This helped in stabilizing the budget and helped the government to spend the money to build up the strength of Japan. While such changes were made by the order of emperor, the loss of rights of aristocrats caused some opposition and revolt. When the top government official left for Europe and to the US to study Western ways of working institutes in 1872, fundamentalist groups contended that Japan should reply to refusal of Korea to revise a century old treaty with an aggression. This would help nationalistic samurai to reclaim their reputation. However, the government officials quickly returned from Europe and restored their control, arguing that Japan should concentrate on its own modernization and not to engage in such foreign unfamiliar activities. The next two decades of 1870s and 1880s, prioritized domestic reforms aimed at changing social and economic institutions of Japan along with the lines of standard offered by the influential Western nations. The final turn towards fundamentalist samurai appeared in the year 1877, during the Satsuma revolt (Beasley, 1995). The newly recruited army of the government, skilled in Western infantry with high techniques and armed with modern guns, defeated the last battle of the traditional samurai warriors. Except for these few samurai incidences, domestic transformation of Japan took place with remarkable stride, energy, and the cooperation of the people. This phenomenon is one of the major characteristics of modern Japanese socio-political changes factually.

Several research work in the form of book and articles deals with the Japanese history since Meiji restoration and later years. Here the review of these is as follows:

1. William G. Beasley wrote Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850 published in 1995 converse the idea that Meiji in Japan has played a major role in modernity in Japan after Tokugawa period. Meiji sent their team to West to study the political and economic process which could be utilized in Japan. This helped Japan to develop its technologies and governing system. Beasley points out the remarkable rise of Japan, a society which flew from the feudal to early industrial forms of organization. Book examines the instability of governance in 1930s and an empire won and lost between 1937 and 1945 during the World War II, book also explores the major changes after 1945 including the overwhelming economic progress that has been attained since the 1950 in Japan.

2. Modern History of Japan (2003), book by Andrew Gordon is much more related to history rather than dealing specifically the Meiji era, nonetheless Chapter 7 of the book brings the ideas on Social, Economic, Environmental and Cultural Transformation that took place during the Meiji rule in 1868, Meiji constitution based on German structure helped to build the political economic part significantly. He mentions the economic advancement of Japan in Chapter 9, where the history turns into modernity and advance social changes.

3. Book by Marius B. Jansen titled Making of Modern Japan published in year 2000 discusses the shogunate which appeared in seventeenth century and focus on Japanese change after World War II where MacArthur imposed post war occupational changes in Japan. He argues that the Meiji restoration ended the shogunate (family based military rulers) and set the emperor back at the center of authority and drove Japan into the European-controlled system. Jansen textures social and political history together while narrating the course of events in descriptive way.

4. Book on contemporary changes and historical background written in 2013 by Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez deals with the incorporating events in Japan i.e., political, social, economic, and technological advancement rooted in history after Meiji era. Advanced Japan presents a reasonable and trustworthy evaluation of Japanese history. An outline of early history of Japan, accentuating establishments and systems which manipulated Japanese society, delivers a comprehensive introduction in this book, which focuses from the Tokugawa rule to Showa era.

5. Modern Japan: A Social and Political History published in 2008 written by Elise K. Titon, a Professor of Japanese Studies in Australia, focusses on short and interesting introduction to the social, cultural, and political history of modern Japan. She writes from the Tokugawa era to modern days, which deals with the evolution of Japan into a modified, economic, and political world power. In her chapters from 3^rd to 7, she mentions the major historical development took place in Japan since 1868 and talks about defining Japanese identity. She too discusses the Japanese social development after second world war and talks about women issues, minorities, and popular culture, and says that technology influences the sense of the involvedness and assortment of modern Japan.

Socio-Political Change during Modernization:

An attempt to unite the Japanese nation in response to the Western contest, the Meiji leaders created a civic philosophy positioned with emperor. While the emperor flaunted no political power with him, he had long been viewed as a symbol of Japanese culture and historical steadiness. He was the head of the Shinto religion, the native religion of Japanese people. Among other beliefs, Shinto holds that the emperor is sprung from the sun goddess and the gods, who created Japan and therefore is divine. Westerners knew that the emperor is mainly a traditional figure. The Meiji reformers brought the emperor and Shinto to a national eminence, suppressing the Buddhism as the national religion for political and ideological purposes.

Japanese people occasionally seen the emperor, hitherto they were to carry out his commands without question in honor to him and for the nation building, which he represented as Japanese emperor. Actually, the emperor did not rule in the Meiji era. It was his consultants the small group of men who exercised political control, that organized and carried out the reform program in the name of the emperor (Gordon, 2003). The eradication of feudalism made promising massive socio-political changes. Millions of people were quickly free to choose their profession and move without limitations. After providing a new environment of political and financial security, the authority made potential capital expenditure in the newly formed industries and technologies.

Japanese society got modernized and developed quickly in the Meiji period, and this resulted due to the exposure of Japan to the West. In 1871, Tomomi Iwakura, minister from the Meiji authority, left Japan as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on a diplomatic journey known as the ‘Iwakura Mission’ generally (Jansen, 2000). He was accompanied by hundreds of top government officials, intellectuals, young students, and his team spent over a year traveling through the US and various countries of Europe. The Iwakura mission was observed and recorded in the various aspects of American and European societies i.e., politics, industry, commerce and even agriculture. Through observations by the mission, it came to realize that the military power of the West lies in their industrial effect. Not long after the mission returned to Japan, the country started completely focus on the introduction of strategies aimed to augment the nation demand through modernization, industrialization, and education. 

The authority of Meiji period, led the way in building railway and shipping lines, telegraph and advance communication systems, the shipyards, mines and artillery work, and several consumer industries for producing sugar, textiles, cement, glass, chemicals, and other imperative products. This was very costly, nevertheless stretched government finances. Then in 1880, the government agreed to sell most of these industries to private investors. Subsequently, fostering such activity all through financial assistance and other enticements. Few samurai and vendors, who developed these industries, later established as a major corporate conglomerate called zaibatsu, which controlled much of the modern industrial sector in Japan.

The introduction of the national educational system was certainly a great initiative by the government and the formation of a constitution in 1889 along with an elected parliament called the Diet. A new constitution for Japan promulgated in 1890, formed a constitutional monarchy and lawfully ended the feudalism, demolished the old bureaucratic institutions, banned samurai, and guaranteed the individual rights. A Western style parliamentary government and legal code were launched. Many Japanese elements were inspired by Germany, under the authoritarian leader Otto von Bismarck.

Japanese provided a favorable environment for national growth and won the respect of the Westerners to build support for the modern state. In the Tokugawa period, the popular education system speeded up promptly, and in 1872, government established a national system to educate the entire population. By the end of the Meiji period, almost every person attended free public schools for at least for six years. The government closely monitored the schools, making sure that in addition to skills like mathematics and reading, all students must study moral training, which stressed the importance of their duty to the emperor, to Japan and their families.

The Meiji Constitution was a major breakthrough in the making of the modern Japanese state and in drive to become one of the world advance and civilized powers (Gordon, 2003). Drafted by Ito Hirobumi, a group of other government leaders, and several Western legal scholars, the document was deliberated on the Japanese people by the emperor Meiji. The Diet’s member of the lower house was based on election process. Ito and his associates depicted broadly on Western models, and particularly the conservative traditions of Prussia, in designing a constitution that reserved almost unlimited power for the emperor, even though authorizing the creation of democratic institutions in Japan.

In the of 1890, the Diet members were elected, while only the wealthiest person as one percent of the population was allowed to vote in elections. In 1925, the rule was changed to allow all men (excluding women) to vote during elections. To win the admiration of the Western authorities and convince them to change the unbalanced treaties which Japanese had been forced to sign in the 1850s, Japan changed its complete legal system, adopting a new criminal and civil code modeled after the France and Germany (Jansen, 2000). The Western nations lastly agreed to revise the accords in 1894, acknowledging Japan as an equal in principle, though not as an international power. In 1894, Japan engaged in a war against China over its advantage in Korea, which China claimed as a vassal state. The Korean peninsula is located closer to Japan, less than 100 miles by sea, and the Japanese were concerned that the Russians could gain control of Korea. Japan won the war and gained control over Korea and Taiwan as a colony. Surprising, crucial victory of Japan over the China amazed the international community and infuriated the European countries.

The European countries demanded the special rights over China; French, with its colony in Indochina (present day of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), was involved in South China; the British claimed special rights in South China, near Hong Kong, and later the whole Yangtze valley as well.  Russians build a railway line from Siberia and Manchuria, was interested in North China. Japan contracted with China after victory over it to offer Japan a special right on Liaotung peninsula of China and an addition to the control of Taiwan. Russia took the same Liaotung peninsula that Japan had, was enforced to return.

The government of Japan was incensed on this occurrence and drew the lesson that Japan to preserve its independence and receive equal treatment in international relationships, it was then much necessary to improve its military beyond expectations. In the year 1904, when the Russians again frightened Japan to establish control over Korea, Japan was much stronger in comparison to last deal. Japan attacked Russia using all its intensity, won the war in 1905. Japan consequently accomplished supremacy over Korea and recognized itself a colonial power in East Asia.

The economic progress during the late Meiji period was notable. Economic development associated with the geographic and organizational economies, became increasingly more important in the late nineteenth century in Japan. The expansion of the zaibatsu (big multinationals), which steadily progressed into the distinguished industrial combines tied together through central holding companies. In the 1910s, zaibatsu had advanced into highly varied organizations, binding together businesses of banking, insurance, trading, textiles, iron steel plants, mining and machinery assemblies. Controlling profits from older businesses into new lines of activity linked to electrical machinery manufacturing, the zaibatsu as a body, produced scale economies in finance, trade, and manufacturing (Craig, 1961). This procedure become the major successful model in all over Japan and example and for West to manage large industries and gain higher profit.

Chart: Economic development in Japan, 1903-1935

Source: K. Ohkawa and M. Shinohara, Patterns of Japanese Economic Development: A Quantitative Appraisal (UK: Yale Univ. Press, 1979).

The Modernization and Strength of Japan:

The Meiji reforms supported a great change both within the Japan and in the international affairs. Japan strengthened itself satisfactorily to continue as sovereign entity in front of Western powers. Japanese strength comprises it as a colonizing power for self. During the Taisho period (July 1912-December 1926), Japanese citizens started campaigning for more voice in the government and more social freedom. Throughout the last three decades from 1890s, Japanese society and the political system were significantly more open than the way they existed earlier including economic activities. The period has often been called the phase of Taisho democracy (Craig, 1961). It was a liberal and democratic inclination throughout the political, economic, and cultural arenas in Japan that began crudely after the victory of Japan over Russia and continued till the end of the period in the year 1926. 

Prior to the World War I, Japan comprehended the record-breaking economic prosperity. The Japanese people had more capital to spend, more vacation, and fine education, supplemented by the advance of the mass media. Progressively they lived in cities, where people come across with broader influence from a foreign country, nevertheless, where the traditional influence of the stretched family was less prominent. Industrialization destabilized the traditional values, accentuated efficiency, individual freedom, independence, and acquisitiveness. Through these years, Japan witnessed the development of a mass society (Caprio and Sugita, 2007). During these years, the Japanese people started to call for universal manhood suffrage which they earnt in 1925 as well. The national based party emerged as Jiyuto (Liberal party) in 1881 and other smaller parties furthered their impact, fully-fledged to be more powerful enough to choose their own prime ministers between 1918 and 1931.

Later, Japan entered a severe economic depression after the end of the World War I. The bright, confident atmosphere of the Taisho period gradually distressed. Political party-based government was stained by corrupt activities (Gordon, 2003). Accordingly, the government and military grew stronger and Diet turned out to be less powerful. The erudite industrial sector gradually gains controlled by a few giant businesses, the zaibatsu. Additionally, international relations of Japan were troubled by the trade pressures. However, the success in competing with the European powers in East Asia strengthened the idea that Japan could further expand its influence in the Asian interior by the military force.

Determined by economic destitutions during the depression era, military of Japan stifled the democratic government at home, occupied China, and kindled the Pacific side of World War II. After the end of the World War II, the victorious American-led Allied Occupation forces enforced another upheaval on Japan, aiming to restore its institutions for productive, peaceful, and affluent pro-American (US) ally in the Pacific region. Setback demolished the Japanese popular confidence in their Imperial system and its military leaders, and left people astoundingly open to democratic reforms. The new Constitution replaced the old Meiji Constitution in May 1947, enforced by the Allies, introduced a popular sovereignty, liberal democracy with fundamental democratic rights, renounced the right to wage war (Article 9), and reduced the status of the emperor to a symbol of state only. It legitimated the unions, opposition parties and granted women the vote (Constitution of Japan, May 1947). 

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