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Created page with "=== The Broad Historical Arc === # '''1600–1868:''' Shogunate and relative isolation. # '''1868–1912:''' Centralization, modernization and emergence as an imperial power. # '''1912–1945:''' Parliamentary experimentation followed by military dominance and war. # '''1945–1952:''' Allied occupation and democratic reconstruction. # '''1952–1990:''' Stable LDP-led politics and rapid economic growth. # '''1990–present:''' Mature parliamentary democracy, economic st..."

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=== The Broad Historical Arc ===
# '''1600–1868:''' Shogunate and relative isolation.
# '''1868–1912:''' Centralization, modernization and emergence as an imperial power.
# '''1912–1945:''' Parliamentary experimentation followed by military dominance and war.
# '''1945–1952:''' Allied occupation and democratic reconstruction.
# '''1952–1990:''' Stable LDP-led politics and rapid economic growth.
# '''1990–present:''' Mature parliamentary democracy, economic stagnation and demographic decline.

=== Tokugawa Shogunate (1600–1868) ===
* Tokugawa Ieyasu unifies Japan after a long period of civil war and establishes the '''Tokugawa shogunate''' in 1603.
* The emperor remains the formal source of legitimacy, while real political power rests with the shogun.
* Japan develops a highly centralized and hierarchical political order, with regional daimyo governed under the authority of the shogunate.
* Foreign contact and trade are tightly controlled, while Japan experiences more than two centuries of relative internal peace.

=== Opening of Japan and the Meiji Restoration (1853–1912) ===
* In 1853, Matthew C. Perry (Commodore Perry) arrives with American warships and pressures Japan to open to foreign trade.
* The resulting crisis undermines the Tokugawa shogunate, which is increasingly seen as unable to defend Japan against Western powers.
* In 1868, the shogunate collapses and political authority is formally restored to the emperor. (Meiji Restoration)
* The new Meiji government rapidly centralizes the state, abolishes the feudal system, creates a modern army and bureaucracy, and promotes industrialization and mass education.
* The Meiji Constitution of 1889 establishes a constitutional monarchy and a parliament, though political power remains concentrated among the emperor, bureaucracy, military and political elite.
* Japan becomes an imperial power, defeating Qing China in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905).

=== Taishō Democracy and the Rise of Militarism (1912–1945) ===
* During the Taishō period, political parties and the parliament gain greater influence, producing a period often called Taishō democracy.
* The military, however, retains substantial independence from civilian political authority.
* During the 1930s, economic crisis, political instability and military influence contribute to the collapse of parliamentary politics.
* Japan expands aggressively in China and elsewhere in Asia.
* In 1941, Japan attacks the United States at Pearl Harbor, entering the Pacific War.
* Japan is defeated in 1945, ending its empire and bringing the existing political order to an end.

=== Occupation and Postwar Constitution (1945–1952) ===
* Japan is occupied by the Allies of World War II, led by the United States.
* The occupation dismantles Japan's wartime military and introduces major political, economic and social reforms.
* The Constitution of Japan comes into force in 1947.
* Sovereignty is vested in the people, the emperor becomes a symbolic head of state, and the National Diet becomes the central institution of government.
* Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan renounces war as a sovereign right.
* Japan regains sovereignty in 1952.

=== LDP Dominance and the Postwar Settlement (1955–1990) ===
* The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is formed in 1955 and becomes the dominant force in Japanese politics.
* Japan develops a stable parliamentary system while maintaining a close security alliance with the United States.
* Rapid industrialization and export-led growth transform Japan into one of the world's largest economies.
* The postwar political settlement combines competitive elections, LDP dominance, economic development and close alignment with the United States.

=== Political Change and the Contemporary Era (1990–present) ===
* The collapse of Japan's economic bubble around 1990 begins a prolonged period of slow economic growth and political instability.
* The LDP briefly loses power in 1993 and again in 2009, when the Democratic Party of Japan forms a government.
* The LDP returns to power in 2012 under Shinzo Abe, beginning another prolonged period of LDP-led government.
* Contemporary Japan remains a parliamentary constitutional democracy, with the emperor serving a symbolic role.
* Major political challenges include population aging, demographic decline, economic stagnation, and the country's changing security relationship with China and the United States.

Broad political history of Japan - Revision history