Tuesday marks the passage of 150 years since an Imperial edict was issued to change the name of the era to "Meiji" on Oct. 23, 1868. The government will hold a commemorative ceremony.
This is a valuable opportunity to look back on the development of modern Japan.
Society, however, seems not to be as interested as it was back in 1968, when the passage of 100 years was marked. Five decades ago, when the nation was in a period of rapid economic growth, people could have found something in common with the time of the Meiji Restoration, when the nation was steadily developing.
At present, when Japan is ever more swiftly becoming an aged society with a low birthrate, and economic growth remains at low levels, it has become difficult even to imagine the energy for reform felt at the time of the Meiji Restoration.
Different regions have different views of the Restoration. People in Yamaguchi and Kagoshima prefectures, for instance, regard this year as marking the "passage of 150 years since the Restoration," while most people in the Tohoku region, including Fukushima Prefecture, see it as "150 years since the Boshin War." This is probably because the historical fact of their having been treated as rebels during the civil war has been handed down in the region.
The Meiji Restoration can certainly be called a historical event that influences people's feelings even now.
Due to external pressure from Western countries, Japan opened itself to the outside world in the closing years of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Restoration and the nation-building in ensuing years were projects of great importance to boldly reshape the nation so as to protect Japan's independence.
There are many cases exemplifying how the seeds sown during the Restoration shot up their buds and took root in Japanese society, albeit in different forms.
Reflect on flaws as well
While relying on the authority of Emperor Meiji, nation-building on the basis of "rule by discussion" was advanced. An article in the "Oath in Five Articles" that says: "Deliberate assemblies shall be widely established and all matters decided by public discussion" conveys that stance.
A modern Constitution was enacted and, on the basis of this, a bicameral Diet comprising the House of Peers and the House of Representatives was established. The two-chamber system is still being maintained.
The class system among the people was demolished. Though centered around an oligarchy of feudal domain cliques of figures from the Satsuma and Choshu domains, personnel were appointed from a wide range of people. The Cabinet system and bureaucratic organizations that were established thanks to these developments serve as the foundation of the present governing system.
The abolition of the feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures, whereby more than 200 domains were abolished and replaced with prefectures, brought about the centralization of administrative power. This can be said to have proved effective in stimulating the homogeneous development of the regions.
Called into question, after the passage of the years, is how to deal with such new challenges as reviewing the functions of the upper house under the two-chamber system and revitalizing flagging local economies.
Needless to say, negative aspects of the Restoration must not be forgotten, either: The policy of building up "a rich country with a strong army" adopted by the Meiji government made the nation rush into colonialism, eventually bringing about its defeat in war in the Showa era.
Japan, a country that has plunged into a society with a declining population, must make unprecedented responses. However different the present circumstances are from that time, what might be learned from the Restoration, which removed the nation from a feudal society and built a modern one? It is important to reflect on both the merits and demerits of the Restoration and use them for nation-building in the years ahead.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 23, 2018)
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