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Period: to
Japanese Imperialism
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Meiji Restoration
A group of samurai overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate. They returned the emperor to power. The samurai had grew tired with Japan's old ways. They wanted a government and social system more like those in the West. They convinced the Meiji government to make serious changes. -
Factory Strike
Nearly 100 factory girls march out of the Amamiya Silk Reeling Company filature in Kofu. This was Japan’s first organized industrial strike. Grievances concerned management’s plan to reduce wages, lengthen the workday, apply heavy fines for failing to comply with the new schedule, and institute restrictions against moving to another mill. The employees return to work on June 16 after management settles most of their grievances. -
Farmer Attack
Over 10,000 farmers in Chichibu attack local government offices and sack the homes of moneylenders in the largest of many peasant protests in the region. Reduced agricultural prices due to deflationary government policies had been pressing agricultural incomes for several years. In restoring order, government troops arrested more than 3,000 peasants, five were hanged the following year. -
Start of Japanese Imperialism
Japan had began to modernize. They feared the imperialists in Asia. This fear lead to them becoming imperialist themselves. The area they were most interested in was Korea, which had been a dependent colony of China. China did not allow other countries to eneter Korea. Russia, France and the U.S were all interested in trading here. Japana did not want any western countries to have control of any countries near them. -
Sino Japanese War
A rebellion soon broke out in Korea. The rebels wanted their people to be free from Chinese Control. Both Japan and China sent armed forces to Korea. Foreigners thought this would be an easy win for China. Japanese troops scored quick victories on both land and sea. In a short time, Japan defeated ChIna. -
Treaty of Shimonoseki
This treaty ended the Sino Japanese War. China was forced to give Korea its independence. Japan gained control of Taiwan and some other small islands next to it. Also, Japan gained control of an area along the coast of Manchuria. Lastly, they won the right to trade in China. This marked the beginning of Japan as a world power. -
Industrialization
Japan was the first country in Asia to industrialize. The government sent students and leaders to western countries to learn about western ideas. Cities were linked by railroads and telephones. Factories were producing and selling goods to other countries. They brought in iron ore and crude oil. They built ships made of steel. -
Russo-Japanese War
Following the Russian rejection of a Japanese plan to divide Manchuria and Korea into spheres of influence, Japan launched a surprise naval attack against Port Arthur, a Russian naval base in China. The Russian fleet was completly destroyed. The war gave Japan a small foothold in Manchuria. Japan became the first modern non-Western world power and set its sights on greater imperial expansion. -
Treaty of Portsmouth
Treaty of Portsmouth ended the Russo-Japanese War. Protest march against the treaty erupted in Hibiya Park, marking what many consider the take off point of a period of increasing political protest and political participation by the broader society. It also marked the emergence of a new era of diplomatic negotiations, multi-track diplomacy. -
Japan and World War I
Japan was an ally of Britain and declared war on Germany. The war gave Japan an opportunity to enlarge its empire slightly. More importantly it gave Japan an economic advantage in India and the rest of Asia. As Western nations were preoccupied with the war in Europe, they stopped their investment and trade in the East. Japanese exporters and manufacturers took that opportunity to move into Indian and other Asian markets. Japan's economic boomed.
