Chapter 7 — Paths to Modernisation

In 1868, a movement forcibly removed the shogun from power and brought the Emperor to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo ('eastern capital'). This ended the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867) and launched Japan's era of rapid modernisation under the Meiji government.

'Fukoku kyohei', meaning 'rich country, strong army'. The Meiji government realised it needed to develop the economy and build a strong army to avoid colonisation, and to transform subjects into citizens.

Perry (1794–1858) was sent by the USA to Japan in 1853 to demand the government sign a treaty permitting trade and diplomatic relations, which Japan did the following year. At the time, only Holland traded with Japan. His arrival triggered a political crisis that contributed to the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Japan's first railway line ran between Tokyo and the port of Yokohama and was built in 1870–72, as part of the Meiji government's economic modernisation drive.

Zaibatsu were large business organisations controlled by individual families that dominated the Japanese economy until after the Second World War. Companies like Mitsubishi and Sumitomo were helped through subsidies and tax benefits to become major shipbuilders, ensuring Japanese trade was carried in Japanese ships.

Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles were: nationalism (overthrowing the Manchu dynasty and other foreign imperialists), democracy (establishing democratic government), and socialism (regulating capital and equalising landholdings). He is unanimously regarded as the founder of modern China.

On 4 May 1919, an angry demonstration was held in Beijing protesting that despite China being an ally of the victorious side in World War I, it did not get back territories seized from it at the post-war peace conference. The protest became a movement galvanising a whole generation to demand modern science, democracy, and nationalism.

The Long March (1934–35) was a 6,000-mile march by the CCP to Shanxi after the Guomindang blockaded their Soviet base in Jiangxi. At their new base in Yanan, the Communists developed their programme to end warlordism, carry out land reforms, and fight foreign imperialism, winning a strong social base that helped them defeat the Guomindang.

The Great Leap Forward was a policy launched in 1958 to rapidly industrialise China. People were encouraged to set up steel furnaces in their backyards and people's communes (collectively owned and cultivated land) were established. By 1958, there were 26,000 communes covering 98 per cent of the farm population. However, the backyard steel produced was unusable industrially.

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was launched in 1965 by Mao Zedong to counter critics who favoured expertise over ideology. Red Guards (mainly students and army) campaigned against old culture, old customs, and old habits; students and professionals were sent to the countryside. It weakened the Party and severely disrupted the economy and educational system.

In 1978, the Party under Deng Xiaoping declared its goal as the Four Modernisations: to develop science, industry, agriculture, and defence. Debate was allowed as long as the Party itself was not questioned. This began China's economic liberalisation and introduction of a socialist market economy.

Korea dealt with the 1997 crisis through emergency financial support from the IMF. Citizens also actively participated in the Gold Collection Movement, contributing gold towards foreign loan repayment. In December 1997, opposition leader Kim Dae-jung was elected president, marking a peaceful transfer of power.

Introduced in 1970, the New Village (Saemaul) Movement aimed to encourage and mobilise the rural population to modernise the agricultural sector. It sought to reform the spirit of the people from passive and disheartened to active and hopeful, empowering rural communities to improve their own living conditions. It was later expanded to urban and industrial areas.

Women made up over half of those employed in modern factories in Japan, and it was women who organised the first modern strike in 1886. Even after 1900, when men began entering factories in greater numbers, male workers only began to outnumber women in the 1930s.

Under the US-led Occupation (1946–52), Japan was demilitarised and a new democratic constitution introduced. This included Article 9, the 'no war clause', renouncing war as an instrument of state policy. Agrarian reforms were carried out, trade unions re-established, and attempts made to dismantle the zaibatsu. The first post-war elections were held in 1946, when women voted for the first time.

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