Japanese Imperialism
By: Gracie, Jayda, Luke, John
The Story of Japanese Imperialism
In 1853, U.S. wanted to end Japan's isolation and bring them into trade. Western nations went into Japan, and in 1868 emperor Mutsushito was restored to the throne. He wanted to adopt the western ways. Western technology was adopted, and Japan fully industrialized in less than 50 years. Japan went out to practice imperialism themselves. In 1894-95 the japanese and chinese engaged in the Sino-Japanese War because Japan sought natural resources also trading rights in Asia. Japan dominated its Asian neighbors. By 1980s Japan was compared to the U.S. as one of the great economic powers of the world.
Japan had many things that they could use for imperial expansion. They were closer to areas of imperial interest, China, Manchuria, and Korea. They also believed that their land was favored by the Gods. Just like the Europeans, Japan thought that they were superior. They decided to share this opinion with Korea, but because Korea rejected the announcement, Japan got irritated. In the 1870s Japan threatened and attacked Korea’s port city. After six years they signed a treaty. In the following years Japanese merchants were encouraged to do business in Korea, allowing Japan to purchase rice, soybeans, cattle hides, and alluvial gold at low prices. This helped towards their dearth of raw materials.