The impact of World War 1 on Japanese development in the early 20th century
'Assess the impact of World War 1 on Japanese development in the early 20th century.'"World War 1 and its' aftermath, together with the great Tokyo earthquake of 1923, brought profound changes in social, intellectual, and urban consciousness." (Jansen 496)World War 1 caused many changes in the nation of Japan, both positive and negative. The whole infrastructure of the country altered immensely during the early 20th century, even when compared to the drastic modernisation of the Meiji Restoration. In the first quarter of the 20th century Japan had no less than 3 different emperors, and subsequently experienced 3 different historical eras. July 1912 saw the death of the much exulted Emperor Meiji, his successor (called the Taisho Emperor) was succeeded in turn by his son Hirohito (Showa Emperor) after only 10 years. This was largely due to mental illness. Despite the Taisho era lasting only 14 years in total (Hirohito was only acting as regent from 1922 until his father's death in 1926), due to the First World War a tremendous number of changes came in to place during this time. Not least the impact of the First World War on the Japanese Economy.
Before the war broke out in 1914 Japan was already miles ahead of any of the other Asian nations in the process of modernisation. Between 1900 and 1913 Japan's share of total world manufacturing output grew from 2.0 to 2.7%. (Brown 99) This was a substantial amount considering that the exports were still largely traditional products. This was possible mainly due to trade agreements with the United States and Great Britain. These agreements meant that Japan had more options on how to import the raw materials required for heavy industry. When the war began in 1914 Japanese industry suffered greatly as it's financial and commercial matters (many of which had been settled via London) were sent into disarray. The foreign trade slumped up until early 1915. Soon after this had taken effect it became apparent that the war-forced
Before the war broke out in 1914 Japan was already miles ahead of any of the other Asian nations in the process of modernisation. Between 1900 and 1913 Japan's share of total world manufacturing output grew from 2.0 to 2.7%. (Brown 99) This was a substantial amount considering that the exports were still largely traditional products. This was possible mainly due to trade agreements with the United States and Great Britain. These agreements meant that Japan had more options on how to import the raw materials required for heavy industry. When the war began in 1914 Japanese industry suffered greatly as it's financial and commercial matters (many of which had been settled via London) were sent into disarray. The foreign trade slumped up until early 1915. Soon after this had taken effect it became apparent that the war-forced
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