Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: Land, People, and their Shaping by History
Part I: From Seclusion to Expansion, 1825-1900
1: Japan in 1825: A Crisis in Seclusion
2: The Opening of the Country
3: The Meiji Restoration
4: The Decade of Democratic Ferment: Liberty and People's right
5: The Meiji Constitution
6: The Sino-Japanese War and its Aftermath
7: Meiji Industrialization and its Critics
Part II: The Road to Catastrophe, 1900-1945
8: The Russo-Japanese War and the Annexation of Korea
9: Taisho Democracy and the First World War
10: Taisho Politics and Society: From the Rice Riot to the Public Order Preservation Act
11: Economic Crises and Overseas Colonies
12: Fascism, Militarism, and Thought Control
13: The Undeclared War against China
14: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
Part III: Reconstruction and Reorganization, 1945-1995
15: The American Occupation: The New Constitution and the Tokyo War Crimes Trial
16: Occupation Reform: Education, Women, Land and Labour
17: Post-war Reconstruction
18: From Political Conflict to Economic Growth, 1950-1965
19: Japan Incorporated and Radical Challenges, 1965-1973
20: The Heyday of the LDP: From Tanaka to Nakasone
21: The End of Showa and the End of the Bubble Economy
Epilogue; Appendices; Chronology; Glossary; Index

Reviews

Overall, this is a very valuable addition to the general literature on the history of modern Japan. It highlights aspects of the country's recent past that other authors have shied away from, particularly in regard to social history and the tribulations of the Japanese people, and as such provides a useful rejoinder to those who would paint too roseate a picture of the Japanese state. It is a book that deserves to be on every modern Japanese history reading list and should be singled out as a recommended text, that is to say that Professor Tsuzuki has produced a very fine and useful work. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific