East Asian Civilization: Japan - Essay Example

East Asian Civilization: Japan The rise and decline of the Japanese empire has become one of the most violent stories of the first half of the twentieth century. The main reasons for the Japan’s rise to power occurred due to good strategies adopted by its elite especially during and after the Meji restoration. Other factors that led to the rise of the Japanese empire were due to the defeat they caused to the Russians. Russia was a major power in Europe (Nayar and Paul 40). During the World War 2, Japan was defeated.

It therefore adopted a trading strategy, giving priority to economic growth over unilateral military build up. Consequently, Japan accepted a constitutional ban on building up armed forces for offensive operations in return for the US security umbrella. Japan is solely responsible for its fall and the consequent rise of other powers such as India. Japan’s rise was opposed by established powers that posed a great threat to the Japanese supremacy in the material wealth. Due to the increasing powers of countries such as India, Japan then decided to start a bloody war, which led to its total defeat in the world’s first and only atomic attacks.

Following its defeat, the Japan was then occupied by the US which led to the transformation of Japan into a liberal democracy. The collapse of Japanese was predictable since its case is important for illustrating the mistakes that status quo powers need to avoid in relation to other rising powers. After the defeat, Japan was to forgo all its territorial order and the consequent adoption of an economic-first strategy (Nayar and Paul 41). Works Cited Baldev Raj Nayar and T.V. Paul (2003). India in the world order: searching for major power status.

Cambridge University Press. Pp 40-41.