East Asia Past and Present - Essay Example

Similarly, historical assessment and analysis from the perspective of a specific nation requires recognizing major events which occurred in the country’s history. Therefore, by identifying the key historical events which occurred in Japan between the period of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, this paper highlights how these events contributed to the challenges posed by the modern Western world in order to examine the mechanism through which Japan responded to these challenges and why it chose to do so.

The challenges posed by the modern Western world during the period of the late 19th century while, progressing towards the 20th century was characterized by the acquisition of superior military prowess and alliance. The influence of this factor meant that the political scenario during the period was dominated by Western powers. This aspect of the analysis aims to incorporate the political and militia factors which contributed towards the shaping of world affairs during the time and the manner in which they posed challenges.

Most importantly, during the early 20th century Japan combated against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The implications of this war transpired in a positive fashion for Japan as it military skills and techniques enabled the country to hold a superior position amongst Asian nations. Similarly, Holcombe states that Japan’s military prowess intriguingly did not coincide with widespread economic or technological progress, for example, the nation was only able to initiate significant infrastructure developments in 1872 with the launch of the railways yet, the military strength of the country was rising despite of these claims (227).

In the period between 1880 and 1905, Japan achieved three critical military milestones, the production of locally produced rifles in 1880, becoming a