Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Restoration, 1868-2000

Description

Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Restoration, 1868-2000 explores, through a combination of narrative and analysis, the changes in the political process which lay behind Japan's transformation into a modern nation state; its successive turn toward militarism, fascism, and the Pacific War; and the imposition of a fully democratic constitution. Sims examines closely such central topics as the Meiji renovation, samurai modernisers, the rise of liberal political parties, the Meiji constitution, 'Taisho democracy', the wartime changes in the political system, postwar reforms and the 'reverse course', four decades of Liberal Democratic rule, and the shake-up of Japanese politics during the 1990s. No other book has covered Japanese political history over the entire period since 1868 in such detail, and the present volume aims to fill the gap between the various general histories of modern Japan and the ever-increasing monographic literature. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiv The Meiji Renovation (Richard Sims)....Pages 1-39 The Consolidation of the Meiji State and the Growth of Political Opposition, 1878–90 (Richard Sims)....Pages 40-68 The Constitutional Experiment and the Beginning of Compromise Politics, 1890–1905 (Richard Sims)....Pages 69-92 Political Party Consolidation, Oligarchic Reaction and the Emergence of New Forces, 1905–18 (Richard Sims)....Pages 93-122 Party Cabinets, Radical Movements and the Collapse of Taisho Democracy, 1918–32 (Richard Sims)....Pages 123-178 The Pursuit of Greater National Unity and the War State, 1932–45 (Richard Sims)....Pages 179-237 The Post-War Reshaping of Japanese Politics, 1945–52 (Richard Sims)....Pages 238-265 The ‘1955 System’ and the Era of L. D. P. Dominance, 1952–93 (Richard Sims)....Pages 266-343 The Shake-Up of Japanese Politics, 1993–2000 (Richard Sims)....Pages 344-365 Back Matter ....Pages 366-395