ABSTRACT
Japan won general recognition as a major power a century ago (Borton 1955, 239). Its victories over the decadent Qing dynasty of China in 1895 and czarist Russia in 1905 established it as the number-one power in Asia, buttressed by a strong central government, efficient political and economic institutions, and a potent army and navy. It added to its laurels and territorial holdings in the early decades of the twentieth century, as discussed in Chapter 2.
