History - Modern and Contemporary Japan and World History
What this domain tests
Meiji state-building, imperial expansion, total war, postwar reconstruction and high-speed growth, with the world events that framed each stage.
Meiji and empire
1868 Charter Oath; 1869 return of domain registers; 1871 abolition of domains into prefectures; 1873 conscription and land-tax reform; promotion of industry. The freedom-and-rights movement followed the 1874 petition for a national assembly. The 1889 Constitution and 1890 first Diet created a constitutional monarchy. Victories in the 1894–95 Sino-Japanese War (Treaty of Shimonoseki, then the Triple Intervention) and the 1904–05 Russo-Japanese War (Treaty of Portsmouth) led to annexation of Korea in 1910.
World wars
Japan joined World War I and issued the 1915 Twenty-One Demands, then gained a League of Nations seat. The 1925 universal manhood suffrage law came with the Peace Preservation Law. The 1929 Depression preceded the 1931 Manchurian Incident, the 1937 war with China and the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The Potsdam Declaration was accepted in 1945.
Postwar
The 1946 Constitution, effective 1947, and the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, effective 1952, restored sovereignty. High growth followed: Korean War procurement, technology imports, high savings, a young workforce and cheap oil - ended by the 1973 oil crisis. The 1985 Plaza Accord and the bubble collapse after 1991 mark the shift to slow growth.
Worked example
"Why was growth so fast in the 1950s–60s?" Reasoning: demand from war procurement, imported technology, government industrial policy, strong savings and rural labour moving into factories all raised productivity; the oil crisis then raised costs and ended the era.
Traps
Confusing signing with entry into force for the 1951/1952 treaty; mixing the 1931 and 1937 incidents.