Historically, Japan was either a small dependent country of China or a student of China. However, it is such a real projectile land that has become a world power at the end of the 19th century, opening the road of no return for military expansion and hegemony in East Asia.
Do not underestimate Japan, the first country in the world to modernize its industry was not Britain, but the island country of this projectile land - Japan.
Today, even after 30 years of economic decline, Japan has had an important impact on the world's politics, economy, and military.
First, Japan was forced to rise.
Before Japan's rise, it practiced a policy of isolation for more than two centuries, maintaining the appearance of a backward feudal agricultural country, and at the same time the West carried out a earth-shaking industrial revolution. Japan, along with the Qing dynasty, lagged far behind the West.
What woke up Japan's dream was the Opium War, the four black ships of the United States that opened Japan's doors, and the Treaty of Amity between Japan and the United States, which was forced to sign.
Japan deserves to be a good student and began to seriously study the Western powers.
At the beginning of 1868, Japanese visionaries seeking reform ended the shogunate that had ruled Japan for more than 700 years through the war. Paved the way for the rise of Japan.
On September 8, 1868, the Japanese government changed its name to "Meiji", beginning the history of the "Meiji Restoration". Moreover, the reform of the feudal shogunate system was basically completed in only about 10 years, which was not complete, but laid a good foundation for the rise of Japan.
Second, learn from the West from top to bottom.
1. Learn from the West.
With the West as the teacher, we have comprehensively and thoroughly reformed education, thinking, concepts and even living habits. The success of modern education was the greatest achievement of the Meiji government. For example, in 1908, Japan's elementary school enrollment rate reached 97.8%, which alone shows the importance Japan attaches to education.
The primary school enrollment rate is only one aspect, and the real innovation at the level of ideology and civilization has been comprehensively rolled out, which has greatly improved the overall cultural level of the Japanese people, and this has become the talent base and social foundation for Japan to come later.
2. Investment attraction.
From 1868 to 1885, the Meiji government spent more than 20% of its finances on attracting investment every year. In particular, between 1875 and 1880, more than 80% of the fiscal revenue was allocated to support the development of private enterprises, which is unprecedented in strength and boldness. It is precisely with the strong intervention and support of the state that Japan has produced large enterprises such as Mitsubishi and Mitsui.
In the mid-90s of the 19th century, Japan first industrialized light industry. By the time of the Sino-Japanese War, Japan was already a capitalist industrial country.
3. Enrich the country and strengthen the army.
The country is open to the great powers, and the country is open to become a great power. The ultimate goal of learning from the West and attracting investment is to enrich the country and strengthen the army.
Coupled with the constraints of small countries themselves, military expansion must become another major engine for ultimately maintaining economic development.
The strong desire for expansion gave birth to militaristic ideas, and a strong economy helped to build a strong military.
In the 20s of the 19th century, Japan entered the stage of imperialism, which was strongly military feudal and brought profound war disasters to the world, especially China.
3. Reflection.
Feudal Japan, like the Qing Dynasty, was a country opened by Western force and was equally backward, but it is worth pondering that Japan was able to innovate the revolution in time to change its own destiny, while the Qing government at that time could not do it.
Japan has indeed played a good role as a student, and the rise of modern Japan is inseparable from the Japanese nation's adaptability and sense of change; especially when it is invaded by foreign enemies, it is worth learning from the top down to innovate and eliminate shortcomings and accept new things.
Mr. Chen Xiaolu commented on the rise of Japan as follows: the pressure for change comes from outside, not the inevitable result of the country's own development; Change is lost by elites and takes place from the top down; State power has played a key role in the change.