What challenges did society face after the transition?

Foreign Relations, Sovereignty, and Imperialism

Japan’s imperialistic expansion into Asia after the Meiji Restoration was presented domestically as a sign of national strength and modernization. However, these conquests had severe drawbacks:

• Morally, they created deep moral contradictions: in seeking to avoid colonization by Western powers, Japan adopted many of the same imperialist behaviours it had once condemned.
• Socio-Economically, the military-industrial complex swallowed up vast sums of wealth that could have been used for domestic reforms.
• Politically, public life grew increasingly dominated by military values such as obedience, sacrifice, and aggression. This shift eroded democratic development, and politicians who expressed concern were condemned as being ‘unpatriotic’.
• Diplomatically, Japan’s growing aggression created long-term tensions with major powers – particularly Russia, Britain, and later the United States. Rather than securing stability, Japan’s aggressive policies therefore contributed to a cycle of confrontation that would eventually lead to wars in the 1930s and 1940s.

Part of the full scheme of work on the Meiji Restoration