Japan and China: Paths Toward the World Community

The 19th century marked the arrival of Japan and China, two of the most influential and nationalistic nations in East Asia, at fateful crossroads in the respective histories. Japan, a historically isolated nation now confronted by a crumbling domestic order and the pressures of an expanding world market, was forced to make monumental decisions to shift their national policy toward a successful entry into the world community. From political upheavals to militaristic expansion and from undergoing an economic miracle to overhauling their social system, Japan took dramatic steps to construct a…