Empire and Constitution in Modern Japan

Junji Banno was a Professor of History at the Institute of Social Science of Tokyo University, Japan. Between 1971 and 2012 he published numerous books on modern Japanese history, three of which have been translated into English: The Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System (1992), Democracy in Pre-War Japan (2001), and Japan's Modern History, 1857-1937 (2014). Junji Banno sadly passed away in 2020.Arthur Stockwin is Emeritus Fellow of St Antony's College, University of Oxford, UK. He is the author of Dynamic and Immobilist Politics in Japan (1988), Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan (2003), and Governing Japan (4th ed. 2008). In 2004 he was presented with The Order of the Rising Sun on behalf of the Emperor of Japan for his efforts to promote Japanese studies in the United Kingdom, and in 2009 was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to academic excellence.

Informative, accessible, and beautifully translated, Empire and Constitution in Modern Japan is an exciting volume that sheds light on Japan's evolving processes of empire building and constitutionalism, highlighting areas of overlap and tension. Excerpts from contemporary archival sources such as letters and diary entries provide invaluable information, presented here in English translation in many cases for the first time. This book will be an invaluable addition to teaching and research on Japanese history, Sino-Japanese relations, and studies of war, imperialism, and democracy in Japan.

• IntroductionPart I. The Beginnings of 'Empire' and 'Constitution': 1874 - 18951. Beating China: Towards a 'Small Empire' -- The Taiwan Expedition2. Demanding a Constitutional System of Government3. The Imo (Jingo) and Kapsin (Koshin) Incidents: 'Empire' Once Again4. The Sino-Japanese War: The Birth of 'Empire' and the Consolidation of 'Constitution'Part II. The Division between 'Empire' and the Consolidation of 'Constitution'5. Strong Army and War Weariness: 'Empire' and 'Constitution' before the Russo-Japanese War6. From the Russo-Japanese War to the First World War: Struggle between 'Empire' and 'Constitution'7. From the Taisho Political Change to the Siemens Affair: Stagnation of 'Empire' and Surge of 'Constitution'8. The Twenty-One Demands to China: 'Constitution' Domesticity, 'Empire' ExternallyPart III. The End of 'Constitution' and 'Empire': 1918-19379. What Happened between the Two World Wars? 10. Three Episodes between the Two World WarsConclusion: Irresponsible 'Empire' without 'Constitution'BibliographyIndex