How about some Japanese history!

       When Japan began to modernize in 1848, the West was aware of their attempt at modernization however no one took them seriously until they defeated both China and Russia.  The Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese wars can be viewed as turning points because they produce victorious outcomes for Japan, elevating their international status.  After the Sino-Japanese war Japan becomes a colonial empire and after the Russo-Japanese war Japan becomes a world power. 

In the eyes of the Japanese, their victory over China was evidence that they were successful in their attempt to be the first non-white, non-Christian, non-Western power to modernize. This would put them on the road to imperialism changing political policies both internally and externally. The victory over Russia was viewed as impressive because they were able to defeat the largest land power and managed to reclaim territory and power that they were forced to give up earlier. The outcomes of these wars justified Japanese expansionism and imperialism. The elite preferred to conform rather than take a principled stand on new policies and personality became more important than character. The road to China and Russia make the road to Pearl Harbor much easier.

       Japan’s government was dominated by the military who was hell bent an establishing an autonomous empire. They embarked on the project of building an empire and the Meiji Restoration that began in 1868 helped pave the way for these goals. China saw Japan heading towards modernization and they feared that if they didn’t befriend their neighbors then Japan might side with the West. China’s unwillingness to change moral, institutional, political, familial and intellectual authority patterns would only hinder modernization in China and fueled Japan’s belief that if their Asian neighbors didn’t join them in modernization they would be colonized. China’s inability to modernize was due to many factors some being the lack of effective leadership, political weakness and corruption and no stability economically, setting the stage for rebellion and setting up the climate for war. 

Japan’s real interest lay in China’s tributary, Korea. Japanese policymakers, in both wars, believed that dominance over the Korean Peninsula would ensure their national security. Although Japan was considered a  “little weak country” and China a “big strong country” the Japanese were able to achieve success due to position, preparation and the “dash and willingness of the commanders to take risks.”  Japan’s victory over China did not earn them first class membership in the concert of powers but they were recognized as a rising world power. Their days of being colonized were over and they took the position of territorial imperialists.

        Japan’s modernization brought sweeping changes through the country. The overthrow of Tokugawa feudalism gave way to new institutional changes on the basis international example and national tradition. Unlike their predecessors, the Meiji leaders had no problem in reaching out to the West and felt that learning had to be sought “throughout the world” and not just limited to China. Japan sent many government leaders to Europe, Russia and the United States to learn the ways of the West. What they saw and experienced while they were abroad solidified their belief that they had a long way to go before the West would even considering revising their position on the unequal treaties that plagued Japan. 

This motivated Japan to speed up its process of modernization where they implemented campaigns for the expansion of the military, universal education, nationalism, and political participation from the masses. A Meiji Constitution in 1889 was the finishing touch to the institutional reforms sweeping Imperial Japan. All of these reforms changed the political climate in Japan, who were trying to maintain Japanese spirit with Western technology. Even with all the blatant evidence of change that Japan displayed to West, it still was not enough to force the West to budge of the unequal treaties, making Japan’s eastern neighbors the outlet for their frustrations, which led to Japanese expansionism in East Asia.

      Although the Sino-Japanese war helped Japan expand their overseas empire by acquiring Taiwan and the Liaotung Peninsula, Russia, Germany and France forced them to give back Southern Manchuria to the Chinese, “for the sake of the peace of Asia.”  This infuriated the Japanese but also made them more determined to not back down from the challenge of the West.  When Russia began to menace Northeastern China and Korea, Japan saw this as a way to take back their territory and power they felt was taken from them years before. When Japan went to war with Russia in 1904 they still hadn’t gained full membership in the inner circle of world powers but they desperately wanted to be. It’s safe to say that most people saw a Russian victory so when Japan defeated Russia, it sent a sensation across the world. Japan had finally grabbed the attention at the world stage and achieved equal status with the West. A non-white nations defeat over a Western nation was shocking to the West. 

Japan was determined to never feel the humiliation they felt in 1895 at the Triple Intervention and this probably motivated them for a swift victory over Russia, it was a narrow defeat however. Japan was able to regain power and territory, first from China and now from Russia, expanding her Northern borders and leading the way for Japanese control over Korea, without interference from the West. Although Japan wouldn’t be free of the unequal treaties till 1911, the victory over China and Russia was pivotal in shifting the world’s view of Japan as well as Japan’s view of itself.  The defeat over Russia also gave Japan a huge boost of confidence in the power of their nation’s capabilities but also to power of their military. It seems Japan became a bit overconfident and “too big for their britches” so to speak paving the way to Pearl Harbor.