|
 |
| Japan
History |
 |
|
The earliest recorded
history of Japan dates to the reign of the emperor Jimmu
in the sixth century BC. Japan was under strong
Chinese and Korean influence thereafter, but was not able
to create a strong centralised State based on the Chinese model.
Economic and political power was held by a group of noble dynasties
which operated on a mainly feudal basis. The 12th century
AD experienced the emergence of the shogun,
a military governor from one of the great families, who lead with
the consent of the others, however most of their energies were dedicated
to internecine warfare. Only an external threat, such as the attempted
Mongol invasions during the late 13th century, brought together
the various families against the common enemy. This helped build
a latent national consciousness which gradually developed over the
next 300 years.
The actual unification of Japan started during
the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), during this time
a national administrative hierarchy was formed from the family structures
of the ruling class. During this period the shogun maintained supreme
executive power. Among the hallmarks of this period from an outsider’s
view was Japan’s unyielding resistance to foreign
influence; in spite of its powerful status in the region,
which brought it into association with the European imperial powers,
Japan promoted a kind of anti-foreign policy. In
the late 19th century, as the Tokugawa regime gradually declined
into inertia and profligacy, a new group of rulers gained power
and embarked on a programme of rapid industrialisation, as well
as creating a Western-style system of administration.
The military was the primary power behind this process. However,
formal executive power was held by the
Emperor, who inherited his position and was regarded by
the majority of his subjects as a demi-god – all-powerful
and remote. Japan’s imperial aspirations in the Far East developed
during this time, amplified by the occupation of Korea in 1905 after
the defeat of its primary imperial rival, Russia, in a war that
had started the previous year. The Japanese took little
active role in World War I, in spite of a formal declaration
of war on Germany, however Japanese factories manufactured munitions
and supplies for the Allies throughout. During the 1920s and 1930s,
Japan continued its expansionist regional policies (in spite of
economic problems caused by the global recession) with China as
the primary target. Japan’s subsequent collision with the
British, who had great political and economic interests in China,
contributed to her alliance with Germany in World
War II.
Japan’s forces occupied
China and South-East Asia between 1938 and 1941
and ousted the British from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. At
its zenith, the Japanese empire, which used the Orwellian title
‘Co-Prosperity Zone’, reached as far south
as Indonesia and eastwards far into the Pacific. The American participation
in the war in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
changed the balance against the Japanese, who were gradually
pushed back during the following 4 years, finally surrendering after
the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Japan was under occupation by American troops, and in 1946, the
Americans imposed the constitution that still governs Japan today.
From 1950 to 1990 a period of exceptional
economic growth carried Japan from the brink of annihilation
to the 2nd most powerful economy in the world (please see the Business
section). This amazing achievement was not matched, however, in
the political arena, where the government’s domestic policies
were often self-serving and border line corrupt. Foreign
policy, however, was all but non-existent until the demands
of international trade forced Japan to address the outside
world. All through the East Asian region – much of which was
occupied by the Japanese during the 1930's and 1940's, there was
still great resentment, particularly in China and the Koreas, of
Japan’s horrible treatment of its subject populations. This
was further compounded by the fact that, in stark contrast to the
de-nazification process which changed post-war Germany, Japan was
(and, to some extent, still is) in denial concerning this period
of its history.
Japan’s primary postwar political party has
been the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP,
or Jiyu Minshu-to) which was created in
1955 from a coalition of centre-right groups. It maintained a continuous
grip on political power from up to 1993. What defines the LDP is
its factional make-up. Most modern political parties are broad alliances
of groups which might differ on specific policies or methods but
subscribe to the same overall objectives promoted by the party leadership.
In the LDP, by contrast, the greater interests of the party were
second to the interests of the factions. Therefore the factional
leaders of the LDP have often enjoyed more power than senior ministers.
Successive Japanese governments have often been beholden to the
whims of these faction leaders.
The latest phase of Japan’s political growth dates approximately
from 1989. In that year, Japan acquired a new
Emperor when Akihito succeeded
his father, Hirohito. The status and role of the Emperor
is still a sensitive issue. While Hirohito was never completely
rehabilitated due to his knowledge of Japanese war crimes, Akihito
symbolizes a new generation of Emperor because he has adopted
the more personable style of European monarchs, rather
than assume the inaccessible demi-god status of his predecessors.
The accession of Akihito coincided with the 1st signs that the Japanese
economic expansion was declining (see Business Profile section).
The 1990s brought other significant changes as Japan was assuming
a more substantial foreign policy in line with its economic muscle.
A modification to the constitution in 1992 permitted
Japanese troops to be stationed overseas, albeit in a peacekeeping
role only. Ten years later, this is still a controversial subject:
the Koizumi government (see below)
plan to send Japanese peacekeepers to Iraq caused furious national
debate (as of November 2003, the plan had been halted pending a
review of security in Iraq).
More generally, Japan now enjoys great influence throughout Asia
and Australia due to its investments and aid programmes. As a member
of the G8 group of the world’s most powerful states,
Japan began to exert substantial influence on the world stage. Relations
with most of its neighbours and trading partners have experienced
some improvement, however there have been regular trade disputes,
particularly with the European Union and the United States of America.
The only huge territorial dispute is with the Russian Federation
over the Kurile Islands located
off the coast of Hokkaido: this still is not resolved.
In July 1993, the LDP lost control of the
Diet for the 1st time since 1955. It found itself in opposition
to a 7-party coalition made up of leftists, centrists and LDP defectors
lead by Morihiro Hosakawa, head of the Nihon
Shinto (New Japan Party). The unwieldy
coalition collapsed after one year, permitting the LDP to recover
power. The LDP was now led by
ex-finance minister Ryutaro Hashimoto who had earned
his name as a tough and effective trade negotiator. At the next
general election held in October 1996, the LDP was reconfirmed as
the party of government.
The 1997 Asian currency crisis revealed deep structural
and administrative difficulties in Japan. 6 years later, in spite
of the abundant evidence of Japan’s continuing financial malaise,
the problems still haven't t been properly addressed by the successive
government. In the immediate aftermath of the crisis, LDP faction
leaders turned on Hashimoto (who was also very
unpopular in the country) and he was ignominiously
forced out of office. 2transitional leaders, ex-Foreign
Minister Keizo Obuchi and faction leader Yoshiro
Mori, then held the premiership in quick progression. After
the November 2000 general election, the LDP was ready to recall
Hashimoto when an unlikely would-be saviour appeared in the form
of Junichiro Koizumi, a former minister with a
large popular following by virtue of his flamboyant personal style
and evident desire and determination to break with the past. The
LDP’s overwhelming victory in upper house parliamentary elections
in July 2001 ensured d his position.
In October 2002, the Koizumi government
finally unveiled plans to work on the country’s
financial crisis. Barring unemployment,
which has is now an unprecedented 6 %, the programme had begun to
reap results by late 2003 as government measures started to take
effect. This was the primary reason for Koizumi’s successful
re-election campaign which saw the LDP returned as the majority
party. The LDP now governs in alliance with Komeito,
a nominally religious party which runs its campaigns on an anti-corruption
platform. |
| |
|
|
|
