ABSTRACT

Technology has been closely linked to Japan’s international power since the Meiji Restoration. As Western powers visited and colonized Asia, technology was a major reason for distress in the destiny of the Asian state in the nineteenth century. “Rich country and strong military” was the development motto during the Meiji years. Technology was considered a strategic resource to strengthen Japanese international power. Japan launched its industrial revolution by using vast indemnities from the Qing Dynasty, which lost the first Sino-Japanese War (Dower 1999). Since then, the Japanese state has been committed to technological development, even after World War II. Japan’s endeavors to promote technological development apparently led to Japan’s success and improved reputation. Technology resulted in Japanese autonomy in the turbulent 1970s. In the mid-1980s, Japan achieved impressive economic success and was no longer considered a developing state. Japan’s national interests then became to seek influence. Technology was again used as a strategic resource for Japan to exert its influence.