From 16031854, Japan was a closed country. No one could leave the country, and foreigners were limited to a small port near Hiroshima. So when the American naval officer Matthew C. Perry forced Japan to open to trade and diplomacy with the outside world, the country was two hundred years behind the rest of the world economically, technologically, and militarily. Over the next forty to fifty years, however, Japan transformed itself from a feudal society governed by an outdated warrior class to a regional power.In 1896, the Japanese defeated China in the First SinoJapanese War over influence in Korea. Japan also won the island of Taiwan and several other concessions in Chinese cities, which essentially put the Japanese in control of small parts of China. However, Japan was not alone in this: by 1900, China was a weak, corrupt and divided power, and along with the English, French, Germans, Russians, and Americans, all had areas of China that were, if not under their direct control, were heavily influenced by them.In 19041905, Japan won a stunning victory over the Russian Empire. This war, too, was over influence in Korea, which also bordered Russia. With this victory, Japan gained control of Korea and took over Russian interests in northern China.In the 1920s and 30s, many internal and external factors led to the Japanese military's increased power over its civilian government. Moreover, by the second half of the 1930s, the Japanese military government had established almost total control over the government, the economy, and Japanese society. Added to that was the idea that the Japanese culture and people were superior to all others, especially to China and the Chinese, with which Japan had a lovehate relationship for centuries.In 1931, the Japanese army provoked an “incident” in Manchuria, today a part of China, but then a sort of an autonomous territory governed by Chinese military “warlords.” This was what we now call a “false flag” operation which ostensibly gave the Japanese an excuse to invade and take over resourcerich Manchuria.#nanking #ww2 #history #nankingjapan #japanww2 #japanhistory #g2aDISCLAIMER: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If you are, or represent, the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please send an email to adayinhistory2021@gmail.comCopyright © 2021 A Day In History. All rights reserved.Managed by PodcastPayouts.com ----------------------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices