The Meiji Restoration, also known as the Reign of the Meiji Emperor was a massive movement that took place in 1868, which brought about an industrialization in Japan. The movement began when the Tokugawa Shogun, who ruled Japan; who lost his power due to being overthrown, was replaced by the emperor of Japan to the supreme position. The emperor chose “Meiji” as the name for his rule as it referred to the “Enlightened Rule”. As the nation began restoring itself, it had to tackle many of its economic needs. Japan at that point was militarily weak, it had no technological advancements and its economy was mainly aided through agriculture. Before the restoration, Japan was controlled by hundreds of semi-independent feudal lords. The Meiji period
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The government built a railway, several shipping lines, a telegraph system, telephone system, shipyards, mines, munition works and fifty-three consumer industries that produced sugar, glass, textiles, chemicals, and other products. This massive move of industrialization proved to be quite expensive for the government; in 1880, the government decided to sell most of its industries to private investors, and later encouraged investments through subsidies and other incentives. At this point, some of the samurai and other merchants, who built these industries, established major corporate conglomerates called Zaibatsu, who controlled much of Japan’s industry. The government expanded its reach towards its people by introducing an educational system and a constitution, creating an elected parliament called the ‘Diet’. This move was considered important because it promoted a good environment for national growth, win the respect of the Western powers, and build support for the modern state of Japan. In the Tokugawa period, before the restoration, popular education had spread rapidly, and 1872 the government established a national system to educate the entire population. By the end of the Meiji period Japan showed drastic changes in its demographics. Almost, all Japanese citizens attended the free public schools for at six years. The government closely controlled the schools,
The government built a railway, several shipping lines, a telegraph system, telephone system, shipyards, mines, munition works and fifty-three consumer industries that produced sugar, glass, textiles, chemicals, and other products. This massive move of industrialization proved to be quite expensive for the government; in 1880, the government decided to sell most of its industries to private investors, and later encouraged investments through subsidies and other incentives. At this point, some of the samurai and other merchants, who built these industries, established major corporate conglomerates called Zaibatsu, who controlled much of Japan’s industry. The government expanded its reach towards its people by introducing an educational system and a constitution, creating an elected parliament called the ‘Diet’. This move was considered important because it promoted a good environment for national growth, win the respect of the Western powers, and build support for the modern state of Japan. In the Tokugawa period, before the restoration, popular education had spread rapidly, and 1872 the government established a national system to educate the entire population. By the end of the Meiji period Japan showed drastic changes in its demographics. Almost, all Japanese citizens attended the free public schools for at six years. The government closely controlled the schools,