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Evaluate the Consequences of Modernization for Japan

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Evaluate the Consequences of Modernization for Japan
Evaluate the consequences of modernization for Japan

The modernisation of Japan was an all or none matter. Either every aspect of the country had to be modernized to some extent, or no single aspect could be modernized. The four main aspects of Japan’s modernisation were industrialisation, political modernisation, education reform and military development. These four aspects had severe political, economic and social consequences on Japan. Some of the main political, economic and social consequences derived from the four main aspects of modernisation of Japan were westernisation, the abolition of the class system, nationalism, growth of authoritarian and militarist traditions, demand for more political rights in society, abolition of feudalism, the destruction of Japan’s traditional agricultural economy, the destruction of localism and the increased political consciousness of the people.

The Industrialisation of the traditional Japanese economy was a vital step in the modernisation of Japan that had severe political, economic and social consequences for Japan. For instance in the long run, industrialisation destroyed Japan’s traditional agricultural economy. As the local economically self-sufficient village society was replaced by increased agricultural commercialization and specialization.

Industrialisation brought about greater circulation of goods, capital and even labour, localism of the village society broken down; and nationalism developed, a sense that the village people belonged not only to their village but also to the nation as a whole. Some of the political consequences of industrialisation were, that it laid the necessary foundation of a modern state and since, the Meiji government had a strong modern economy to rely on, the scope of government power was enlarged and its efficiency increased. This rapid industrialisation in addition strengthened the Meiji state’s undemocratic rule, as it provided new instruments of power concentration. So that the

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