Japanese Imperialism Following Western Precedents - Essay Example

Japanese Imperialism Following Western Precedents Every world power had unique motivations for expansion of its territorial control during the imperials-infested era, but certain patterns of commonality explain adoption of some tactics applied amongst the imperial powers. This implies that while the national need for overseas territories may have arisen from unique challenges facing each of the territory hungry empires, the means to exploit the opportunity were almost similar across the globe. As an illustration, the Western powers had relatively different motivation from that of the Pacific political giants of the time to indulge in the territorial treasures hunt (Dower 45-50). For instance, Japan’s motivation to move across the region to gather territorial muscle may not have been political as it was with Britain. There was a stronger economic push from the Japanese as they aimed for a stable economy to surpass the region’s powers (Lecture slide 5/20 Motivations for Imperialism). However, the distinction of the approach is remotely demonstrated from the account of the expansion events that characterized the search of the territorial muscle. In the end, the Western pressure on international affairs forced Japan to follow suit with the same approach that the West did; force (Beasley, 198). Japan was the only non-European force to indulge in the creation of an overseas empire to protect its interests. While the structure of internal affairs in the Pacific was entirely different from that in Europe, there were certain missing links in the operations that Japan needed to roll out in the expedition. Firstly, there was lack of a regional player with whom it could compete and borrow ideas for the tasks that needed to be taken care of. Secondly, the rift between the Asian countries and the Europeans following colonial experiences was not likely to present a supportive cooperation such as an alliance in the venture. Japan had to come up with a better approach to launch the little known adventure in the region, which had unique challenges from the rest of the world. Industrialization enjoyed in Japan than in any of the Pacific countries as well as in many of the Western countries presented a rare opportunity to support any choice of course of action for this project. The account of the developments that went on in the newly acquired imperial territories demonstrates that the techniques applied by the Western imperialists were also adopted by Japan in the quest of territorial advantage. While Japan had little intention of creating a political dynasty across the globe, it is not clear whether desisting from political techniques to achieve the target was ever considered. One of the main factors that could have facilitated the apparent adoption of the Western techniques could be explained by the relative timing of the pursuit. Generally, the Western powers had created a precedent of enforcing their mainly politically motivated imperialism around the world thus offering sufficient information of how any form of empire would appear. Having spent long spells of the pacific dynasties such as the ancient Chinese format, expansion to overseas territories in the version brought by the Europeans introduced a different picture to the Japanese in confirmation of how a larger territorial possession would be acquired and sustained. Despite the motivation of Social Darwinism which had momentous ground in Japan by the time of imperial ambitions, the application of a different approach from the West did not entirely change the course of the developments. Japan’s imperial ambitions were fueled largely by the need to keep the unique internal pressures under control which was vaguely the reason from Europe, which fell prey to greed for political power. Alternatively, racism played a very important role in the motivation of Japanese imperial exercise in the Pacific. The formulation of the global policy with the Yamato race as the strongest front on overseas interests accounts for the Japanese conscious approach against the racist West (Dower, 262). After colonization, the Japanese found out that there was sufficient ground to feel discriminated against on racial fronts and needed to correct this by angrily launching ruthless protection of its interests that almost crossed with those of the Western powers (Beasley, 122). One striking similarity between the Japanese imperialism and the Western account is the use of force to impose the national values on the subdued territory (Lecture slide 19/20 Economic mobilization). Despite the little political greed for regional power in Japan’s imperial project, the use of force as applied by the Western imperialists seemed fashionable in the venture and it was easily adopted. There were several accounts of forceful takeovers of overseas territories by the West in the creation of their empires and Japan found insights from such events. By attaching the importance of success of the establishment of the imperial territory to national survival, Japan managed to roll out a plan to counter any threat that stood in the way of its venture like its Western counterparts (Lecture slide 20/20 Repression of Dissent). Coincidentally, there was a growing spirit of nationalism in Japan which was the case in the European version of the venture. This implies that the Western account of forging ahead with the territorial ambitions was in several respects replicated in Japan for the success in establishing imperial presence in the Pacific. Just like Belgium’s King Leopold II sought to expand his territory through the acquisition of Congo did Japan seek to expand its territory to satisfy its internal needs (Hochschild 72). King Leopold however was mainly driven by greed and envy as he beheld how the larger nations exploited their colonies according to Hoschild. Although King Leopold II extensively engaged complicated contracts in his endeavor to acquire more land in Congo (Hochschild 72) this may not have been the case with Japan. Just as the Western powers, Japan gave national pride a lot of importance in the pursuit of new territories. Other competitors were regarded as very serious enemies to the development of Japan as an industrial power that would give it a global outlook. According to Dower (235), the rest of the imperial powers would only spell doom to Japan’s success and the authorities took all measures to ensure that the threat was taken care of using all might. In terms of the commitment that the country invested during the World War II, the desire to ward off competition from anyone of any stature is reminiscent of the desire that Japan had to protect its interests overseas (Beasley, 102; Lecture slide 17/20 Japan in the War). The author refers the commitment that Japan invested as the demonization of the competitor to warrant enough logic of deploying all national resources against such threats to territorial possession. The same can be demonstrated with the commitment that the Russo-Japanese War attracted from Japan. Similarly, by threatening a global power such as Russia which had interests in China amounted to a serious threat to Japan’s integrity and the Liaodong Peninsula as an important territory Japan demonstrate urge to match up with the rest of global powers. Japan had to appear that strong since the Western powers had set the yardstick for international success (Beasley, 72). Works Cited Beasley, W. G. Japanese imperialism, 1894-1945 Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1987. Print. Dower, John W. War without mercy: race and power in the Pacific. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 1986. Print. Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold’s ghost. Boston. Mariner Books. 1998. Print. Lecture Slides Read More